The last time the Toronto Maple Leafs were shut out three times in four games, they were riding high in the standings, off to a 23-12-8 start before the goals suddenly dried up.

Top scorers Sid Smith and Harry Watson inexplicably went cold against Detroit, Montreal and Boston back in January of 1954, part of a disappointing season in which the Leafs were eliminated in the first round in five games.

Sixty-one years later, life is a little more dire than that for Toronto.

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Everyone knew when the Leafs set out on their trip through California and St. Louis that this would be a significant test. What they couldn't have imagined is how badly they would fail. they would match a 61-year-old record by being shut out three times in four games.

It was so bad that defenceman Roman Polak led the team in scoring on the trip with one goal.

How uncommon is one goal in four games? Well, the average NHL team in this era scores about 11 goals every four games. That ebbs sometimes in short stretches, and last season the Leafs had one ugly patch in which they scored just four times in five games in November.

They pulled out of it and went on a run in January – only to have their scoring dry up again late in the year.

According to A.C. Thomas from the terrific stats website war-on-ice.com, only six teams leaguewide have had a four-game stretch with only one goal in the past 12 seasons. It's so rare it happens only once every 4,800 games or so – or every 50-plus years per team, depending on league scoring levels.

Historically speaking, the Leafs were due for one, but it's the timing – with a new coach and the team already mired in a losing skid – that has been so demoralizing for the group.

"We have to just get through this tough time," coach Peter Horachek said. "We're going to have to be mentally tougher."

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"We're cold as ice right now," winger James van Riemsdyk added. "These things happen. I've never seen it quite like this."

The Leafs are also cratering in the standings. Three points from first in the East a month ago, they've picked up only six of a possible 30 points in their past 15 games, falling to 21st in the NHL entering Sunday's games.

It's to the point where the rest of their season matters only in the way it can serve future seasons.

Toronto currently has a 3.5-per-cent chance to win the first overall pick in the draft lottery – and those odds are rising fast.