Captain Auston Matthews makes feelings known about Leafs fans' early mass exodus in Game 5

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews made his feelings known about the mass exodus of Leafs fans during the team's 6-1 loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 5 on Wednesday night. The defeat puts the Leafs down 3-2 in the second-round playoff series.

In the third period, droves of Leafs fans headed for the exits early, not wanting to watch the end of the lopsided contest. Crowds began filing out of Scotiabank Arena well before the final horn.

When asked about the fans leaving early, Matthews said:

"I don't think we gave them much reason to stick around."

Fans had already booed the team at the end of the second period after the Panthers took a commanding 4-0 lead. To add insult to injury, an Auston Matthews jersey was even thrown onto the ice during the third period, showing the fans' displeasure.

Reflecting on the loss, Matthews commented:

"I think we just fed into what makes them successful... All we can do is regroup and reset."

Scoring for the Panthers were Jesper Boqvist, Aaron Ekblad, Sam Bennett, A.J. Greer, Dmitry Kulikov, and Niko Mikkola. Nicholas Robertson had the lone goal for Toronto.

Joseph Woll allowed 5 goals on 25 shots before being replaced by Matt Murray. Murray gave up one goal on seven shots. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 31 shots to record the win.

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Leafs HC Craig Berube on 6-1 loss against Panthers

Aaron Ekblad opened the scoring late in the first, slipping a wrist shot past Woll to give Florida a 1-0 lead.

Kulikov kicked off the second-period onslaught with a blast from the point that took a deflection off Toronto’s Laughton and found the back of the net. Boqvist followed up minutes later, tapping in a cross-ice feed from Reinhart to make it 3-0. Mikkola joined the scoring with a rocket from the left side, pushing the lead to four.

Soon after, Greer buried his first of the night at 6:23 to make it 5-0, as frustrated fans began emptying the arena. Woll was pulled, and Murray stepped in, but Florida wasn’t done. Bennett scored the 6th goal on the power play at 9:09.

Leafs head coach Craig Berube made no excuses after the game:

"We just played slow... they were hungrier. It's hard to explain it. We all need to be better. Myself included... Tonight wasn't a good game for anybody. Anybody." Berube said.

Nicholas Robertson scored for Toronto in the final minutes, for the score 6-1. They now face Game 6 in Florida on Friday night.