TORONTO – Mitch Marner just wants to relax.
Take a deep breath, make a few sick passes and do what he has done so often for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season. Marner may have four points in this first-round series against Washington, but he knows that he hasn’t been at his best so far.
"I’ve got to have more patience with the puck," Marner said Sunday before Game 6 at Air Canada Centre. "I think I’m just trying to rush things. Thinking too much. I’ve just got to go out there and have fun, and just relax a little bit."
This is a hard league. This is a hard time of year.
It’s easy to overlook that fact because the 19-year-old winger has so often made things look easy during his first tour of duty around the NHL.
The playoffs have been another matter entirely, with Marner playing just 14:29 and 13:26 the last two games – among his lowest totals of the year.
"I just think he’s like all young players when you start, it goes away on you in a hurry," said coach Mike Babcock. "You can’t believe there’s no space. No one loves hockey more than Mitch Marner and no one’s more competitive than Mitch. He’ll be great (in Game 6).
"The other thing about Mitch is he’s a big moment guy and he’ll find it."
With the Leafs fighting to extend their season, the moments don’t get much bigger than this. It has been an incredibly close five-plus games with the Presidents’ Trophy winners, the kind that has left both teams searching for small edges at the margins.
Squeezing a little bit more out of the James van Riemsdyk–Tyler Bozak-Marner line would be a huge boost for Toronto. They are among the worst possession trios in these playoffs, having controlled just 41.74 per cent of shot attempts in more than 48 even-strength minutes together.
They also play together on a power play unit that was stymied in Game 5.
Marner tied for third in team scoring at 61 points this season and acknowledges that he’s been putting a little extra pressure on himself. In recent days, the coaching staff has tried to free up his mind and offer some encouragement.
"I just think I haven’t been playing the way I’m used to playing," said Marner. "Throwing away the puck and not making plays with it. I thinking the coaching staff’s now really put on me: ‘Still have fun with the puck, play your game, don’t change anything up.’
"Yeah, I think that’s what I’ve got to get back to."
This is the sort of lesson you can only be taught through experience.
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Babcock has been speaking about how little space there is to make plays in the playoffs, emphasizing how each player needs to really bear down and exercise patience to make an impact. It’s a huge step up from the regular season, which was a big jump from junior.
At this time last year, Marner was absolutely shredding his way through the Ontario Hockey League playoffs – scoring 44 points in 18 games while leading the London Knights to a MasterCard Memorial Cup win. He was named MVP.
Now he is waging a struggle between the ears in addition to the one on the ice.
"There’s not a lot of scoring chances," said Babcock. "So, you go long moments in the game where nothing happens. You’ve got to overcome that and just keep grinding so that when you do get your chances you continue to play the same way."
Marner spoke confidently about his team’s chances before Game 6 – "I think from the start we said: ‘Why not us?’" – and discussed a desire to work through the struggles that have crept into his game.
It’s been a bit tougher to find a rhythm with the reduced ice time, but Marner knows that he also has to earn his minutes.
"We’ve just to go out there and do what we can do with our ice time and make sure that we’re moving our feet, we’re playing hard," said Marner. "Every shift we get out there we’re ready to go. I think that’s the thing that our line’s got to get back to, is just making sure when we get on the ice we’re ready to do our thing.
"Play with the puck, have fun with it and get things to the net."
The Leafs would be better for it.