Goals typically get the glory, but you get the sense assists are about to generate their share of chatter around the Toronto Maple Leafs thanks to Mitch Marner.
Or, if you’re not afraid of some fun, how about “Dish Marner.”
On an evening when goalie Frederik Andersen had his sharpest outing as a Maple Leaf, Marner doubled his season points total by drawing helpers on all three of his team’s goals during a 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Thursday. All the scoring was done by Marner’s linemates, as centre Tyler Bozak had a pair, while left-winger James van Riemsdyk also found the range.
The offensive talk, though, focused squarely on the right-winger and his ability to hone in on teammates’ tape.
“He’s fun to play with,” said Bozak. “He creates so many opportunities for you.”
Indeed, not since a certain No. 93 was offering up perfect passes 25 years ago has a Leafs player made apples look so juicy. Marner—who wears No. 16 now, but donned Doug Gilmour’s 93 during his OHL time with the London Knights—sure knows how to exploit the smallest of spaces.
After drawing the second assist on Bozak’s first marker during the opening frame, Marner upped the aesthetic in the second. With his team down a goal, Marner found himself barrelling toward Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo, flanked by van Riemsdyk on a two-on-one break.
Separating the pair of Leafs was Florida defenceman Jason Demers. Marner waited for just the right moment to slide the puck through the defender, leaving van Riemsdyk with a clean look he wasn’t going to miss.
“He’s got that special ability to hold the puck for an extra second to let those passing lanes open up,” van Riemsdyk said.
He’s also got off-the-charts feel. That was apparent on the game-winner, when Marner rescued what appeared to be a busted rush by whipping around near the top of the circle and finding the stick of a streaking Bozak at the side of the net.
It was the kind of play that had you wondering whether the beneficiary of the pass dared to dream it would come.
“I was kind of expecting it,” Bozak said. “Just playing him in practice and throughout the games, he knows where to throw the pucks, he knows where you’re going to be.”
Marner, who has ostensibly stepped into Phil Kessel’s old skates beside Bozak and van Riemsdyk, said the trio is always talking on the ice, in the dressing room and even in hotel lobbies. The result is beginning to show.
“We had a lot of chemistry going tonight,” said Marner, a 19-year-old who now has six points in the first seven games of his NHL career.
Marner wasn’t the only Leaf setting up success on this night. Andersen, who entered the game with an .851 save percentage, stood tall against a Florida team that outshot a sometimes-sloppy Toronto squad 31-28.
A handful of his saves—including a showstopper on Colton Sceviour which saw the big Dane stretch across the crease with his left leg and deny a sure goal—came on a flurry that occurred just prior to van Riemsdyk pulling his club even.
Stops at one end, a sliver of light at the other and all of a sudden it was a new game.
“Definitely feels good when you make those saves and help the team out a little bit,” said Andersen, who tried to take a more relaxed approach to this contest. “It was cool to see we scored right after those saves and kind of took advantage of them.”
Speaking after the game, Andersen had a little blood-tinged sweat dripping down his face thanks to a wayward high stick from Sceviour in the third period that snuck through the wires of his mask. When the incident occurred, Andersen skated to the Leafs bench for some quick repairs. Upon returning to the crease, he drew a hearty round of cheers from fans who’ve spent much of the young season worrying about his abilities.
“He was our best player by far,” said coach Mike Babcock. “This would be as many good chances as we’ve given up all year. But the goalie was good, so it just goes to show you how important goaltending is.
“I’m real happy for Freddie.”
To say nothing of the kid who made sure all his goalie’s hard work didn’t go to waste.
