Coach Craig Berube to angry Maple Leafs fans: 'Believe, like our team believes'

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Jerseys thrown on the ice.

Booing.

And when the fans were done showing their displeasure during Game 5 on Wednesday night, they streamed toward the exit doors at Scotiabank Arena long before the final horn sounded.

If the passion unites all in Leafs Nation — and that includes the players — the club has little choice but to accept fans’ reactions to their horrid play in a 6-1 loss against the Florida Panthers.

Defenceman Morgan Rielly, the longest-serving current Leafs player, understands.

“It’s tough, but they have the right to do what they want to do and, for us, we need to play better,” Rielly said on Thursday. “We expect to have a team that is going to go out there and win and compete, and when that doesn’t happen, everyone’s upset.”

What would coach Craig Berube say to a fan base that is overflowing with negativity following the Game 5 debacle?

“Believe, like our team believes,” Berube said. “I think that’s all you can do. I get it, I do. They’re fans. They pay good money to come see the game.

“They want to see the results. It’s just part of the game. I’m not focused on the fans. I’m focused on our team.”

Defenceman Brandon Carlo, the only other Leafs player made available on Thursday at the Ford Performance Centre before the team flew to Florida for Game 6, has had only a couple months of experience in Toronto after he was acquired from the Boston Bruins in March. It has been long enough for Carlo to get a grip on what drives the club’s massive group of supporters.

“It’s a passionate fan base,” Carlo said. “That’s one of the greatest things of playing here and being a Maple Leaf, is having fans that are behind you like that. There are going to be ups and downs.

“I’ve been in these situations myself, have had bad games in the playoffs. It’s not just subject to this group by any means. I think that that needs to be taken into account too.”

tkoshan@postmedia.com

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