"Refs bailed Maple Leafs" "NHL is fixed": Florida Panthers fans irate as disallowed penalty goal leads to loss against Toronto

The Toronto Maple Leafs' 2-1 shootout win over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday was clouded by various questions directed at the NHL by Florida fans.

Leafs' Noah Gregor ensured victory for the home team with his shootout goal in the sixth round, snapping the team's two-game losing streak.

However, in the fifth round, Evan Rodrigues had scored, which would have put the visiting team ahead. However, after several checks, it was disallowed after the officials determined the goal to be double-tapped by Rodrigues before it went past Joseph Woll in the back of the net.

The Florida Panthers fans were furious with the decision and slammed the NHL on X, formerly Twitter, following the defeat.

One tweeted:

"That was horrendous. NHL IS FIXED"

Another wrote:

"Refs bailed the leafs i’m so shocked"

Here are some more reactions on X:

How did the Maple Leafs beat the Florida Panthers?

On Tuesday, the Leafs (11-6-3) hosted the Panthers (13-7-2) at Scotiabank Arena. The Leafs marched on victorious, courtesy of a shootout win.

In the first period, Kevin Stenlund put the Cats up 1-0 after putting the puck back into the net from the left-off circle for a wrist-shot goal off Jonah Gadjovich and Aaron Ekblad's assist.

In the second period, Noah Gregor capitalized on the opportunity to put a loose puck into the back of the net to tie the game 1-1. Both teams failed to score in the third period. After a goalless overtime, the game moved to the shootout.

Gregor scored the winning goal for the Panthers in the sixth round of the shootout to secure a much-needed win for the Maple Leafs after suffering defeats in their previous two games. Joseph Woll made 38 saves with a .974 save percentage(SV%) for the Leafs in the contest. Meanwhile, Anthony Stolarz blocked 31 shots with a .969 SV% for the Cats.

The Maple Leafs will next be up against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, Nov. 30. The puck drops at 7 p.m. ET.