Toronto Maple Leafs stars Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner were tied to lead the NHL in points last week with four goals and nine points each. However, Auston Matthews was awarded NHL 1st Star of the Week while Mitch Marner was left off the list.
Instead of Mitch Marner, the NHL elected to name J.T. Miller of the Vancouver Canucks and Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning to the list. Miller did have two goals and six points in two games last week while Stamkos had two goals and four points in two games.
Toronto Maple Leafs rookie standout, Michael Bunting, was tied for the third most points in the NHL last week with two goals and seven points in four games.
In all fairness, Miller was tied for most points per game with Patrick Kane who had four goals and six points in two games and Jack Hughes who had one goal and six points in two games.
It seems like Steven Stamkos was chosen as the third star because he was in on all of Tampa Bay’s goals including scoring the game winner in their 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators in their outdoor Stadium Series game.
(Stats from QuantHockey.com)
Marner Had One of the Best Performances in Toronto Maple Leafs History
Mitch Marner had one of the best performances in the over 100 year history of Toronto Maple Leafs last week when he scored four goals and six points in a single game during Toronto’s epic 10-7 win over the Detroit Red Wings.
The only member of the Toronto Maple Leafs to score more than six points in a single game is Darryl Sittler who had a seven point game in 1978 to go along with his NHL record setting 10 point game in 1976.
Mitch Marner’s four goal six point game is the greatest offensive performance the NHL has seen in 10 years! The last time a player had a game that good was Sam Gagner’s eight point game in 2012 where he also scored four goals.
Now, Mason Marchment had a six point game with two goals this season, Mika Zibanejad had two six point games last season with three goals in each game, Leon Draisaitl had a six assist game last season, and Jamie Benn had a goal and six points in a 2013 game. None of them had a four goal game though.
If the NHL is going to name one of the three stars based on a single game, why would they choose Stamkos for his three point outdoor game instead of Mitch Marner for his historic six point game? Marner had more goals than Stamkos had points.
Another Snub for the Toronto Maple Leafs
Mitch Marner did receive NHL 2nd Star of the Week in early February after leading the league with three goals and seven points in two games that week but lost out on the first star to Claude Giroux who received the honour by winning MVP at the NHL All-Star Game.
Auston Matthews had the second most points that week with four goals and six points in two games but was snubbed from the list in favour of Giroux and Mason Marchment who had his six point game and a pointless game that week.
Jack Campbell is the only other member of the Toronto Maple Leafs to receive a weekly star this season when he was awarded NHL 2nd Star of the Week in November.