Jim Hiller still defends the Maple Leafs after the worst homestand in franchise history

Jim Hiller defended the Maple Leafs after a 1-0 loss to the Oilers on Saturday night capped the worst homestand in franchise history.

Toronto dropped its sixth straight at home, and the coach insisted his group deserved better. He wasn't in a mood to shift the blame to his players.

"Guys played their tail off, I don't think anyone's gonna question that," Hiller said post-game. "I'd like to see them get rewarded, but I'm going to tell you, we deserve better than that from the six-game homestand. And we didn't so we'll move onto the next one."

The Oilers needed one goal, and Evan Bouchard supplied it. Devon Levi stopped all 19 shots he faced, while Anthony Stolarz allowed one on 23 for the Leafs.

Toronto is last in the Atlantic Division at 8-12-2, and the pressure on the coach is building. The Leafs are eight points out of a playoff spot, they're behind last season's pace at this point, and they don't hold their own first-round pick.

Hiller was also asked how a team gets through something like this. His answer was blunt.

"It's hard. Listen, it's hard," he said. "To me, your option is come out and play your ass off, and hopefully things turn better than they did for us tonight. You've got to go do it again the next game."

The scrutiny of his decisions didn't start Saturday. Matt Larkin pointed out that Jim Hiller's fourth line usage against the league's best lines was already drawing questions during the skid.

Are the Maple Leafs really close to turning it around?

Hiller says yes. "I've felt the whole time that we are. I really do," he said. "With a different bounce one way or the other, we could have. Again, we have to own where we're at."

The record doesn't back him up. Toronto is 2-8-0 over its last 10 and 4-9-1 at home, and MoneyPuck gives the team three percent odds of making the playoffs after Saturday.

A one-goal loss to one of the league's best teams does support part of his case. Edmonton is 15-3-3, and the Leafs were shut out by a single shot. But that's one night. Over ten games, close stops mattering, and a coach talking about bounces with his team 26th in the NHL is asking fans for patience they may not have.

John Tavares weighed in on whether the team has played better than its results, and John Tavares's take on the Maple Leafs' stretch adds another voice to that debate.

The next chance to prove Hiller right comes Tuesday in Chicago, after a Monday practice. The Blackhawks are 31st in the NHL at 5-13-2, but they're 0-8-1 on the road, and they just lost 5-4 in a shootout to Winnipeg. Toronto has lost six straight, and a seventh against that team would be hard to explain.

This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.

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