“Don’t want them to go to sleep just yet,” Auston Matthews fires back at boos from Leafs fans following DISASTROUS 1st period against Lightning

Auston Matthews fired back in the game after the Maple Leafs fans booed the team following their poor first period performance against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“Don’t want them to go to sleep just yet,” Auston Matthews fires back at boos from Leafs fans following DISASTROUS 1st period against Lightning

Auston Matthews (Pic Credit: Imago)

The Scotiabank Arena on Monday witnessed an epic game as the Toronto Maple Leafs came from 4-1 down to win the game 6-5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Their forward Auston Matthews once again impressed. However, after the game, he fired back at the press as the fans booed the team at the end of the first period.

After scoring his third hattrick of the season in a 6-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, Matthews appeared in strong form once again. Lightning though lived up to their name and stuck not one, not twice but four times in the first period to take a 4-1 lead.

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This led to strong emotions from fans who were angered by their team’s display in the opening period. The stadium was rained down with heavy boos as the period came to an end and players took a breather. This boos though turned out to be the waking call for the hosts who rallied back and won the game in overtime.

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"They booed us and rightfully so but we don’t want them to go to sleep just yet. We crawled our way back in the game."
Auston Matthews in press conference.

Fans booing turns catalyst for Maple Leafs as team edges Lightning in classic game

While it is still pretty early to say this, the game on Monday between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Tampa Bay Lightning could be one of the greatest games of this season. The hosts found themselves staring at a huge defeat but somehow found a way to crawl back and stun their opposition late on.

Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs (Pic Credit: AP)

A major reason for this could be the reaction of the crowd. The heavy boos ringing around the Scotiabank Arena turned out to be a catalyst for the Maple Leafs. At the point where they seemed all out from the game, this emotion from the crowd gave them a rallying cry and perhaps momentum to turn the match on its head.

Auston Matthews orchestrated another masterful performance as he scored twice in the second period to cut down the deficit to one goal. Calle Jarnkok equalized the game at 4-4 before Mitch Marner gave them the lead again.

The visitors though did find a way back and equalized with less than two minutes remaining through Brandon Hagel. Jarnkok and his team were desperate to get the job done after the reaction from their fans. He scored his second of the game in overtime to give his side the win in an eleven-goal thriller in Toronto.

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