LAS VEGAS — The moment Mitch Marner had been looking forward to, and possibly fearing for months, finally came on Thursday.
Marner, who was raised just outside Toronto, cheered for the Maple Leafs during his childhood, was picked by his beloved team, and spent nine years donning the blue and white while evolving into an NHL star. He faced off against his former teammates at T-Mobile Arena as a player for the Vegas Golden Knights, which became the main narrative among several that surrounded this crucial game for both squads.
The Leafs held a two-goal advantage on three different occasions but watched the Knights rally, push the game into overtime, and ultimately clinch a 6-5 victory with Jack Eichel’s backhand shot at 2:16 left. For Vegas, it marked their league-leading 19th overtime game of the season, extending the Knights’ winning streak to six.
“It was fantastic,” Marner noted as Vegas secured an overtime win for the second consecutive night after defeating the Kings 3-2 in Los Angeles on Wednesday. “We stayed in it and clearly this one was much more significant for me. We came away with the win, and many guys put in a tremendous effort.”
Tomas Hertl, who tied the game with his goal just seven seconds remaining, mentioned that it’s always challenging and an odd sensation facing your former team for the first time.
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«It wasn’t an ideal start, but we fought back and I’m really happy for Mitch,» Hertl stated. «It’s always nice to achieve a win against your former team.»
In addition to Marner contesting his old squad, Nic Roy, whose name is inscribed on the Stanley Cup as a member of the Golden Knights and was involved in the trade that brought Marner to Vegas, returned to T-Mobile and received a warm ovation in the first period after the team presented a tribute video in his honor.
Adin Hill made his return to the VGK goal after being sidelined for nearly three months due to a lower-body injury from Oct. 20. This was only the sixth start of the year for the 29-year-old goalie.
Normally, any of these elements could have been significant enough to steal the spotlight. But Thursday was all about No. 93. And if you thought his matchup against the Leafs was significant, wait for next Friday when the two teams clash again in Toronto. That matchup might even make John Tavares’ contentious return to Long Island in 2019 seem like a friendly gathering by comparison.
Marner, who secured an eight-year, $96 million contract with the Knights, is having an intriguing first season in Vegas. There was ample preseason speculation about how he would perform playing alongside Jack Eichel. After a slow start that led Bruce Cassidy to place Marner on a different line, he began to ramp up his production. He also transitioned from right wing to center in late December and has been playing in the middle between Reilly Smith and Pavel Dorofeyev on the Knights’ second line while also operating at the point during power plays.
The outcome?
Marner has averaged over a point per game. In 45 games, he has 11 goals and 36 assists for a total of 47 points. Since shifting to center on Dec. 21, he has netted five goals and added eight assists in 11 games (he returned to wing for one contest against Chicago on Jan. 4).
He recently mentioned he’s becoming more at ease with the position he last played in junior hockey, though he acknowledged a desire to sharpen his faceoff skills. However, Smith and Dorofeyev have proven to be effective linemates, and playing in the center gives Marner a bit more freedom to create and utilize his exceptional skating abilities to find space.
On Thursday, he assisted on Dorofeyev’s power play goal in the first period, eliciting boos from the large group of blue-clad Leafs fans among the 17,975 spectators present. Whenever Marner acquired the puck, he faced jeers from those Toronto fans, a precursor to what awaits him next week.
“I think once the puck dropped, it felt like a normal hockey game out there,” remarked Marner, who recorded two assists on Thursday. “Honestly, I know a lot of those guys very well, and I just tried to read some of the plays. But yes, you always aim to win against your friends.”
Regarding Hill, saying he was shaky upon his return would be a significant understatement. He was scored on with the second shot he faced and allowed three of the first ten shots to slip past him.
He eventually gathered himself, but he wasn’t quite the player fans remembered. Nonetheless, his teammates managed to find enough energy to maintain Vegas in the game and ultimately cover for him. The Knights narrowed the score to 4-3 just 2:10 into the third as Dorofeyev scored his second power play goal of the evening. Then, midway through the period, Mark Stone elevated it to 5-4.
Dorofeyev appeared to have completed a hat trick with 4:13 remaining to tie the game, but the goal was annulled after Toronto’s Craig Berube successfully challenged that the play was offside.
However, Tomas Hertl, the NHL’s First Star of the Week, forced overtime with seven seconds left, set up by Eichel, and he scored cleanly against Woll from close range.
This scenario set the stage for Eichel’s heroics and possibly marked a moment in the season where the team demonstrated its resilience more frequently than in past comebacks.
“You never know,” Cassidy said when queried if this was a pivotal point in his team’s season. “It depends on how the remainder of (the season) unfolds. We believe this has the potential for guys to reflect back and draw on.
“Things didn’t start our way, but we stuck together and managed to win a significant game for many players in the locker room, especially Mitch.
“Let’s call it what it is. It’s his former team, and many people have been in that position. You want to perform well, and I think the guys grasped that. We were willing to compete until the final whistle, and that’s what it took. So that’s what players may lean on.”
