Game 2 win over Lightning shows that the Toronto Maple Leafs are Mitch Marner’s team

Credit: © Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

TORONTO – Mitch Marner needed exactly one shift to chart the Toronto Maple Leafs’ course in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

First, it was a deft pass interception at the Bolts’ blueline to hold the zone. He was perched like a predatory animal, waiting to strike or, as he put it, “I was just trying to read eyes, read the play, see what’s open and see what I can pick off.”

In the transition, he drew a hook from Tampa’s Ian Cole, sending Toronto to the power play at the 40-second mark. Marner needed seven seconds of power-play time to rip a seeing-eye slapper past goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and give the Leafs a 1-0 lead.

The Lightning took over Game 1 at the 1:18 mark on Tuesday. Marner and the Leafs only needed 0:47 to seize Game 2 on Thursday. They got the Scotiabank Arena crowd – rowdy in April if primed in just the right away – titillated from the start. And so began a rip-roaring night for the Leafs that was, as Lightning coach Jon Cooper put it, the mirror image of Game 1. The Leafs were tentative from the start on Tuesday, exiting the ice to a chorus of boos after each period, and sat goaltender Ilya Samsonov after six goals in two periods. They were the aggressors all night on Thursday, taking proper advantage of a Lightning lineup missing two of its top three defensemen in the towering Victor Hedman and Erik Cernak. And it was the Leafs putting six goals past Vasilevskiy in two periods this time.

The Leafs won board battle after board battle en route to a 7-2 victory. John Tavares had a hat trick. Morgan Rielly tied a franchise playoff record for defensemen with four points. The third line of Matthew Knies, Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari tilted the ice in their favor repeatedly. Even greybeard Mark Giordano fired up the Leaf faithful fighting Zach Bogosian in the first period.

But make no mistake: it was Marner swinging the wrecking ball that obliterated Tampa to invert the result in Game 2. He scored the first and sixth Toronto goal and added an assist.

“Mitch draws the penalty, shoots it in the net, takes charge of the game for us right away, obviously that’s the type of performance you’re looking for from those guys,” said coach Sheldon Keefe. “We needed a response tonight in a big way.”

The 5-on-5 possession numbers don’t suggest Marner was the most dominant Leaf on Thursday. But his ability to influence this particular team’s psyche cannot be overstated. The Leafs have established themselves as a group ruled by emotion during their six-year string of early playoff exits. Ask Michael Bunting about that. Or Nazem Kadri. Or Jake Gardiner. Injecting them with early confidence during playoff games matters, and Marner has become the player most capable of doing that. As Tavares put it, Marner’s opening shift “brought a lot of life for the group, and we fed off it.”

Auston Matthews is the Hart Trophy winner, the 60-goal scorer, arguably the greatest pure talent ever to suit up for the franchise. But as we approach the final year before his next contract, it appears more and more that this is Marner’s team. They go as he go, for better or for worse.

Marner’s offensive game obviously pops. Racking up 99 points in a season will do that. But what stands out most his numbers is his direct effect on teammates – and opponents. He ranked second among all NHL players in primary assists per 60 at 5-on-5 this season. No player other than Nathan MacKinnon set his teammates up more than Marner. And guess who led all players in takeaways per 60 at 5-on-5? Marner. He was the king of the transition, reversing momentum in his team’s favor with his ability to pick off passes, just as he did to open Game 2.

The Leafs were 20-5-3 in games in which Marner scored a goal during the regular season. He was the only forward in the NHL to rank top-25 in shorthanded ice time per game and in scoring. There’s simply no player on the team who affects the game in more ways at this point.

And it’s becoming clear that, perhaps even more than Matthews or Tavares or Samsonov, Marner is the player the Leafs need to carry them on his back the most if they are to finally slay the monster under their bed that is the 19-year playoff series win drought. As Keefe reminded reporters Thursday, the Bolts have a chance to get at least one of their injured players back in time for Game 3. The Leafs should thus expect a much stronger pushback at Amalie Arena Saturday. And if they withstand it, there’s a good chance Marner will be the primary reason.

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Game 2 win over Lightning shows that the Toronto Maple Leafs are Mitch Marner’s team

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