Leafs star Mitch Marner's social media accounts being flooded with personal attacks
After back-to-back overtime losses in games 5 and 6, the Toronto Maple Leafs are reeling, with the Montreal Canadiens forcing a seventh and final game in Toronto on Monday.
Aside from Carey Price's game-winning performance, the biggest storey in this series has been the Leafs' top line, notably Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, failure to produce at the level that you need your elite players to produce in order to be successful in the postseason.
While the pair has generated a ton of chances and have combined for 8 points in 6 games, the fact that they have just 1 goal between them is very telling, despite the fact that they have not allowed a single goal at 5v5 during the entire series. Quite simply put, the Leafs' top dogs need to be better.
Following Saturday's tough loss, after outplaying and outshooting the Canadiens for the entirety of the OT period before a costly giveaway in the defensive zone by Travis Dermott led to Jesperi Kotkaniemi's game-winner, a large contingent of unruly Leafs fans stormed Mitch Marner's personal Instagram account, leaving behind some abhorrent messages for the 24-year-old, presumably due to their own personal frustrations on the performance of the young star in the series.
While it's perfectly fine to get caught up in the emotional turmoil of a pair of disappointing losses where the Leafs had plenty of chances to end the series in games 5 and 6, this is certainly crossing the line.
These guys are in an absolute pressure-cooker in the most meaningful games of the season and instead of providing them with the support they need to be able to come out of it, the armchair hockey police are flocking to social media to deliver personal jabs and insults and to remind these young players of what they already know, which is that they must play better.
Disappointing and reprehensible behavior from these so-called members of Leafs Nation. You are an embarrassment to the TRUE fans of the Maple Leafs. Win or lose, you have to be able to understand that it's just a game and that you're crossing a line by entering someone else's personal digital space with the sole intent of disparaging them on a public forum. Just as we as fans may deserve a better on-ice product from time to time, these young athletes deserve better treatment during times of despair.
If you're a harsh critic, then be a harsh critic - but know where the line is and stay on your side of it. You simply have to be better than that.
As seen on National Post
Of all the hate against Leafs' Mitch Marner, this accusation is the weirdest
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