The Toronto Maple Leafs put an end to a three-game losing streak on Thursday night with a surprising win over one of the NHL’s top teams and somehow they still found a way to tick off Leafs Nation.

The team, which had been under fire in the wake of a number of lopsided losses, knocked off the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 at the Air Canada Centre last night but instead of raising their sticks to fans at centre ice, as has been the tradition after every home ice win over the last number of seasons, players celebrated the victory amongst themselves and then skated off to their dressing room.

The so called “snub” followed a 9-2 home ice loss on Wednesday in which a fan threw his jersey onto the ice in protest.

“For us and our group it was something that we decided. I am not going to discuss what we talk about inside our room because I think that is something that stays in our room but I will say one thing: This by no means was an attack on our fans or anything personal,” Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf told reporters on Friday. “It was more about our team and changing up our routine.”

The Leafs refusal to salute their fans on Thursday night drew condemnation on social media where it was regarded as “disrespectful,” “ignorant” and a cheap attempt to punish fans for the anger they have directed at the team in recent days.

Phanuef, however, said it was just one of several routine tweaks the team made as it looked to improve its on-ice performance.

“To be completely honest with you it was something about the way we have been playing at home, our record and just changing up our routine,” he said. “We did a lot of things different throughout the day and that was something that we decided to change. “

The Maple Leafs return to action on Saturday night against the Detroit Red Wings.

It remains to be seen whether fans will even be lucky enough to get snubbed.

 

 

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