when you play 5 games in 7 nights esp. at the end of a long season it is not easy to play great hockey every night. The schedule maker for the NHL had it in for the leafs this year. 
Having said that, they did not play poorly last night. The bounces did not go their way and they blew another lead. They will need to go after Ovechkin hard to even have a slight chance against Washington, no surprise.