Maple Leafs Coach Gets Brutally Honest Post Embarrassing Loss to Florida Panthers at Home: ‘Stood and Watched’

Another game, another heartbreaker if you’re repping blue and white. The Florida Panthers came out swinging and never looked back, bulldozing their way to a 6-1 thumper over the Maple Leafs right inside Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday. Sergei Bobrovsky was a total brick wall, locking in 31 stops and letting absolutely nothing slide, except maybe Toronto’s hopes. And on the flip side? Panthers were dishing out goals like it was a buffet special. Ekblad, Boqvist, Kulikov, Mikkola, Greer, and Bennett all decided to crash the party. Meanwhile, Leafs fans watched Joseph Woll get shelled for five goals before Matt Murray stepped back into playoff action for the first time since 2020, only to eat another one.

It was a whole highlight reel of Panthers pressure and Maple Leafs chaos. Matthews’ turnover gift-wrapped Florida’s opener, and Marner’s no-look pass? Yeah, that turned into Boqvist’s celebration moment. By the time the third rolled around, Toronto was already spiraling, and fans were visibly deflated. The Leafs finally snapped their goal drought in garbage time, thanks to Nicholas Robertson sneaking one past Bobrovsky. But it was too little, way too late. And now? Let’s just say, Coach wasn’t sugarcoating a thing postgame, it was raw, real, and as brutally honest as it gets.

B/R Open Ice took to X and dropped the realest postgame clip from Coach Craig Berube, and let’s just say, he did not hold back. After the Maple Leafs got smacked 6-1 on home ice, a reporter asked, “Hey Craig, a lot of the guys are talking about resetting in the next 40 hours or so, whatever it is. How do you do that if you have a fairly good idea that the Panthers are going to come just as hard as they did just now?” And Berube? He cut straight through the noise: “Well, I don’t think they came any harder than they have, to be honest with you. I think we let them come tonight. Well, you know, I mean, we stood around and watched.” That’s not just criticism, that’s a whole mic drop.

But Craig wasn’t done. He made it real clear that this isn’t about fancy tactics anymore: “It’s more of a mindset for me going into this game six than anything else. It’s not X’s and O’s.” And even with the sting of the loss, he gave the Panthers their flowers: “They played a simple game tonight and they were excellent at it. Very good. I mean, they did exactly what they needed to do.” Still, he’s keeping hope alive: “We’ve responded in the past, you know, and I expect a response from our team.”

So yeah, this wasn’t some sugar-coated pep talk. Berube dropped cold, hard truth and now Game 6? It’s either bounce back or break down. Next stop? Game 6, and it’s all going down Friday night under the Florida lights at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise. The Panthers are feeling the heat, and the Leafs? Well, they’ve got one last shot to cool things down. If they can manage to pull off a win, Game 7 will head back to Scotiabank Arena on Sunday for one final showdown. But let’s be real, Maple Leafs fans aren’t exactly buzzing with hope right now.

Maple Leafs’ fans express their disappointment!

The Maple Leafs faithful? Yeah… let’s just say they were not vibing with the disaster that was Game 5. Right in the middle of the madness, Sportsnet hopped on X and dropped the truth bomb: “Fans are on their way out of the building as the Panthers score their sixth goal in Game 5.” And honestly? Facts only. Cameras caught folks making a clean getaway, jerseys on, spirits deflated, just straight-up vanishing from Scotiabank like ghosts at midnight, while Florida lit the place up like it was their backyard BBQ.

But hold up, it didn’t stop there. B/R Open Ice jumped in with even more heartbreak fuelled. First they posted, “A fan threw an Auston Matthews jersey on the ice in Toronto. The Leafs trail 5-0 and are close to being shut out for the 2nd straight game.” And yeah, there it was, clear as day, the ref standing there, holding the poor jersey like it was a broken promise. Then came the real mic drop: “Leafs fans are throwing their jerseys on the ice.” Meanwhile, the Panthers? Just out there eating.

And even Auston Matthews wasn’t ducking the mood. In a clip shared by Spittin’ Chiclets, the disappointment was hanging heavy in the air. A reporter hit him with that tough one about fans bailing or booing during such a huge game, and he didn’t sugarcoat it. With the kind of shrug that speaks louder than a goal horn, Matthews laid it out: “I mean, I don’t think we give them much reason to stick around, so.” The vibes were cold, the energy was flatter than a deflated puck, and Maple Leafs Nation? Yeah… they were dreaming of fireworks, but all they got was smoke.