There’s been highs and lows with the Toronto Maple Leafs this season.
Their star players have started the campaign great, but their lack of depth and secondary scoring has been hurting them, and they headed into Monday’s matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning with four straight losses.
It sure didn’t look great at the start of Monday’s contest either. Two quick power-play goals from the Lightning to end the first period had the Lightning up 4-1, and the Leafs were booed off the ice.
“After the first period, the (lack of) energy, they booed us and rightfully so,” superstar Auston Matthews said postgame. “But we don’t want them to go to sleep just yet. We crawled our way back in the game.”
Matthews scored two within the first five minutes of the second period to get the Leafs into one, and they eventually turned the game around.
They won it in overtime after Calle Jarnkrok scored his second of the game, but the hero of the night was Mitch Marner. He scored the goal to give Toronto the 5-4 lead and also had three assists.
But Mitch Marner also had a hilarious moment as he abused a referee, and luckily, it was all caught on hot mic. The incident happened halfway through the second period as Marner battled with Victor Hedman.
The puck wasn’t anywhere near, but Marner still was hooked to the ice. Marner wanted a penalty on Hedman, and to be fair, the referee probably should’ve called it. But he didn’t, and the hot mic caught Marner abusing him over it, dropping a huge F-bomb.
”What the f–k are you watching then!?” Marner was heard screaming.
Fans on social media found it absolutely hilarious, like always, when things like this get caught on hot mics.
”I love when you can hear the players swear on the broadcast,” one said on X, formerly Twitter.
Many also claimed that Marner was right and that it should’ve been a penalty called.
”I mean he’s not wrong, doesn’t have the puck, hooked to the ice. That’s interference and hooking with a ref looking directly at him. Call it fighting for position but neither has the puck,” one said.
