The Toronto Maple Leafs came in as the underdogs against the Panthers after they almost let Ottawa wipe out their 3-0 series lead. Meanwhile, the Florida Panthers never let Tampa Bay find their stride in the Battle of Florida. So, fans were pleasantly surprised when the Toronto Maple Leafs absolutely dominated Florida in the first two games. They made it look like the defending champions had no answer to their offense. Unfortunately, that changed in Game 3.

The Panthers clawed their way to victory on the back of an overtime winner from Brad Marchand. Then came Game 4, where the Panthers didn’t just draw level with the Leafs but shut down their offense. Yet, little did Leafs fans know that Leafs fans know that Game 5 would get off to a much worse start. By the time the second-period buzzer sounded tonight, the Panthers led 4-0 on the scoreboard, and the fans had had enough.

“The boos have really started at Scotiabank Arena,” said The Athletic’s Chris Johnsoton as the Florida Panthers continued to dominate. Meanwhile, B/R Open Ice posted footage showing just how bad things got inside the Leafs’ home arena. “Now boos from this crowd. So tired of failures from their Leafs in the postseason. This series started out so well,” said the announcer as the clock wound down.

Now, you may be thinking a 4-goal deficit going into the third period isn’t impossible to overcome. After all, the Edmonton Oilers pulled it off, scoring four goals to annihilate the LA Kings’ 4-1 lead heading into the third period in Game 1 of Series 1 at this year’s NHL playoffs. Yes, the Oilers ultimately lost 5-6 in that game, but they did rally behind Connor McDavid’s standout performance.

Unfortunately, none of the Leafs’ stars, like Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, or others, stepped up. Meanwhile, the Florida Panthers ensured that a comeback would be impossible by scoring two more goals. The Leafs finally got a consolation goal with Nicholas Robertson’s backhand shot. Yet the boos don’t begin to describe just how frustrated the Toronto Maple Leafs fans felt.

Leafs fans had one message amid the Florida Panthers’ dominance

The fans fumed as the Leafs’ defense and goalie struggled to keep the puck out of their net. What started with boos only escalated as the defending champions scored two times in the third period. One fan chucked an Auston Matthews jersey on the ice as A.J. Greer’s wrister slammed into the net to make it 5-0. The jersey on the ice only delayed the inevitable as officials cleared the ice.

Barely three minutes later, Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett scored their sixth goal of the night. Aaron Ekblad, the defenseman who opened the scoring, helped Bennett with the assist. The result? Another Leafs fan threw their jersey on the ice. The message was clear. The Toronto Leafs crowd had had enough of their team blowing leads in the playoffs.

Remember the 2021 playoffs disaster after going 3-1 up against the Montreal Canadiens? Something similar may happen against the Florida Panthers if Toronto doesn’t buckle up in Game 6. However, the Panthers’ increasing dominance has become harder to overcome. While the Leafs seemed to have the answer to Florida’s offense in Game 3, things haven’t looked good since then.

Sergei Bobrovsky put on his ‘Big Game Bob’ avatar just in time to help the Florida Panthers get the shutout win in Game 4. Tonight, the former Vezina Trophy winner was only 66 seconds away from getting his second straight playoff shutout victory. So as the Leafs find themselves on the brink, it’s safe to say the pressure ahead of Game 6 will be immense.