Toronto Maple Leafs: Marner Runs the Show Versus Rangers

Oh no! Auston Matthews didn’t record a point! Whatever will the Toronto Maple Leafs do?

In the first game of a Saturday-Sunday back-to-back, Mitch Marner and Andreas Johnsson both led the way with three points as the Toronto Maple Leafs took down the New York Rangers in a competitive 5-3 tilt.

The win pushes the Maple Leafs to the 50 point plateau with a 24-10-2 record, three points ahead of the Buffalo Sabres, but still eight points back of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

With another puck drop literally in a few hours, the Maple Leafs won’t have too much time to relish in positives and scold the negatives, but that may not be the case for Marner, who continues to have a career year.

Mr. Marner Likes His Drinks Stirred, Not Shaken

WWE Superstar and Maple Leafs supporter Luke Harper seemed to be enjoying the highlights being provided by Marner last night, who tallied two goals and assist, extending his goal-scoring streak to four games.

The 21-year old also became the first Leaf this season to reach 50 points, reaching the milestone in just 36 games. He is currently fifth in the league in scoring, nine points behind league leader Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche. If he continues his pace, Marner will become the first Maple Leaf since Doug Gilmour during the 1993-94 season to top 100 points.

Marner is staking his claim as one of the league’s premier playmakers, and with Tavares banking goals from his passes, there’s a strong possibility Marner could catch Rantanen before the end of the season.

A Solid Team Effort

Maybe everyone looks past them because of that whole “We sent a letter to our fans telling them we are tanking” business from earlier this year, but the Rangers are still a competitive team. They made the Maple Leafs work for their win last night, and the team got contributions from all over the lineup.

Marleau’s tip-in, Johnsson’s three-point outing, Morgan Rielly adding two more points to bring his season total to 42, even Frederik Gauthier chipping in an assist the forwards and defence did their best to hold the Rangers at bay. Throw in 25 saves by Frederik Andersen and the Leafs put together a well-rounded effort up and down the ice.

Elsewhere in Leafs Nation

As mentioned Rielly added two points, pushing his season total to 42, helping him pad his lead as the NHL’s leading defenseman in scoring. He is now only ten points behind his career high of 52 points from last season.

Andersen notched his 20th win of the season (20-9-1) to go along with his 2.50 GAA and .923 SV%.

Tyler Ennis did not return to the lineup after suffering an injury in the second period. Word is that it is a broken ankle and he will be out of the lineup for an extended period of time. The Maple Leafs have already recalled Trevor Moore from the Toronto Marlies to help fill in his gap.

This fun win is going to have to be put in the rearview mirror, however, as the Toronto Maple Leafs are right back to it tonight as they take on the Detroit Red Wings from Scotiabank Arena, looking to extend their home point streak to ten games.