The Toronto Maple Leafs’ frustration reached a boiling point on Saturday night.
The Maple Leafs fell behind by a 3-0 score to the Boston Bruins in Game 4 of their Round 1 playoff series. The Leafs were already down 2-1 in the series and desperately needed a win to avoid falling behind 3-1 in the series.
During the second period, Sportsnet showed a clip of several frustrated Leafs players on the bench. William Nylander appears to tell a frustrated teammate (likely Mitch Marner), “Stop f**king crying, bro.”
VIDEO
Frustration has started to set in for the Maple Leafs stars 😠 pic.twitter.com/PbnQBNigKD
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 28, 2024
According to some lip readers, Nylander also said something along the lines of “this isn’t junior.” It would make sense if this was directed at Marner, as Matthews never played junior.
This Nylander video is going viral on social media, with many praising the Swede for speaking out against his team’s behavior. Nylander was playing his first game of the series after missing the first three games with an undisclosed injury.
You don’t often see the Maple Leafs’ superstars frustrated like this. This clip will likely live in infamy if the Maple Leafs suffer another Round 1 exit. There’s a strong likelihood one member of the Core Four won’t be returning next season if the Leafs don’t advance.
Nylander has consistently been a playoff performer for the Leafs, so you have to love this type of attitude. We’ll see if he can help fire up his teammates to extend the series.
