Leafs fans have been accustomed, year after year, to witness each season end with a whimper.
That didn’t happen on Sunday night, despite Marcus Johansson’s goal at 6:31 of overtime that clinched the Round One playoff series for the Washington Capitals, sending the Leafs to the golf course.
Instead, the 19,740 faithful patrons at Air Canada Centre gave the stick waving, blue and white clad players a rousing ovation in a display of gratitude for a season that few could have predicted.
And who could blame the ticket-buying public? Over the past decade this fan base has been saddled with a painfully abysmal on-ice product, horrendous enough to elicit protests ranging from paper bag masks, to waffles – or even sweaters – tossed onto the surface.