Maple Leafs fans belt out U.S. anthem after pregame mic malfunction

Canadian hockey fans are truly one of a kind.

Ahead of Monday night’s showdown between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres, anthem singer Natalie Morris walked out onto the ice at Scotiabank Arena ready to sing the American national anthem. The only problem was her microphone wasn’t working.

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Audio staff quickly handed Morris another microphone, which also didn’t work, leaving her in a difficult situation. But not a second went by before fans realized the issue and took the matter into their own hands, with the crowd of more than 18,000 joining in to sing the U.S. national anthem, creating a special moment prior to puck drop.

The technical issues were fixed shortly after, allowing Morris to sing the Canadian anthem without interruption.

Ironically, the Sabres play the Canadian anthem before each of their home games and are the only professional sports franchise to do so, making it fitting that Buffalo was Toronto's opponent during this unexpected incident.

On the ice, meanwhile, Toronto’s skaters enjoyed a productive showing across the first 40 minutes and entered the final frame with a 2-1 lead, but Buffalo stormed back in the final frame — outscoring the Leafs 3-1 en route to a critical 4-3 victory for the Sabres, who are still clinging to life in the Eastern Conference wild-card race.