Maple Leafs Star Addresses Apparent Game 4 Chirp At Mitch Marner

Saturday marked a demoralizing evening for the Maple Leafs.

Toronto failed to respond to its loss to Boston in Game 3 of the rivals’ first-round Stanley Cup playoff series. The Bruins once again were the better and harder-working team in Game 4 at Scotiabank Arena, and the Leafs now find themselves on the brink of elimination.

To make matters worse for Toronto, frustration appeared to boil over in its second straight loss to Boston. Mitch Marner, who’s played poorly in the best-of-seven set, caught an earful from teammates Auston Matthews and William Nylander on the bench. Nylander seemed to tell his fellow Leafs star to “stop (expletive) crying” before the latter slammed his gloves down.

After Toronto’s 3-1 loss, Nylander was asked about the incident.

“Yeah, you know what? It’s the way we are,” Nylander told reporters, per a Sportsnet video. “We expect a lot from each other and we love each other. So, it’s just to push each other to have a high ceiling. I think it’s great.”

The Maple Leafs’ mettle will be tested in a big way Tuesday night when they will fight to keep their season alive. And with Matthews dealing with an illness that forced an early Game 4 exit, much of the onus will fall on the shoulders of Marner and Nylander.

NESN’s complete coverage of the pivotal Game 5 at TD Garden will begin at 6 p.m ET.