Toronto Maple Leafs: Can Mitch Marner Still Join the 100 Point Club?

There are two big questions left to be answered heading into the Toronto Maple Leafs final game of the season; can Mitch Marner hit 100 points, and who do they play next week?

Of course, if you asked Toronto Maple Leafs fans at the start of the season whether Mitch Marner would net 35 goals, the answer was very likely no. Thus anything is possible.

The challenging part is the fact that the Leafs  final opponent of the regular season happens to be the Boston Bruins and Marner still needs three more points.  If the Bruins win, they will play the Leafs next week.  If the Leafs win, it’s Tampa.  If the Leafs win in OT, but Tampa loses, it’s Tampa.

Regardless of who they play next week, the whole team will be pulling for Mitch Marner to hit 100.

Toronto Maple Leafs Need A Big Game From Mitch Marner

When you consider the opposition that Mitch Marner has had three or more point nights against this season you realise that there is definitely a chance here. That list reads:

• Vegas Golden Knights (3 points)
• Boston Bruins (4 points)
• New Jersey Devils (3 points)
• New Jersey Devils (4 points)
• Carolina Hurricanes (3 points)
• Seattle Kraken (3 points)
• Detroit Red Wings (6 points)
• Nashville Predators (3 points)
• Florida Panthers (3 points)
• Winnipeg Jets (3 points)
• Tampa Bay Lightning (3 points)
• Florida Panthers (4 points)

Certainly, it’s not just basement-dwellers that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Mitch Marner are beating up on. In fact, you’ve got both the Metropolitan Division and Atlantic Division (twice) champions in there (statistics courtesy of NHL.com).

It should also be noted that the Boston Bruins, who the Toronto Maple Leafs will face in their final regular season fixture are one of the teams listed.

In the two fixtures that Mitch Marner has played against the Boston Bruins this season, he has grabbed 2 goals and 4 assists; which averages at 3 points per game. That is the magic number if he’s to hit the 100-point mark for this season.

Unfortunately for Marner, his point production has slowed up since his 4-point night against the Florida Panthers earlier this month.

Add to that the fact that he’s lost line mate Michael Bunting to injury during that time and the Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t found the perfect replacement to slot in as yet.

Since Florida, a 2-goal game against the Ottawa Senators is the only time he’s managed a multi-point night and he’s running a bit cold with just 4 points in his past 6 games.

Compare that to the wild pace he rode in the month of March with 23 points in 14 games and you have to worry that his slowdown might be injury-induced. More likely, it’s been a result of the focus on Auston Matthews’ goal scoring feat.

You would have to hope with that milestone accomplished, the whole team rally to get Mitch Marner into the elusive 100-point club.

The Boston Bruins aren’t necessarily the opponent to do it against, but it’d certainly be the right sort of form for the team to head into the Stanley Cup Playoffs with, given it has to be a team 3-point night minimum.

Unfortunately it’d seem the powers that be have rendered all of these ponderings moot as it appears that Mitch Marner along with a few others will be rested.

Wile 97 points is still a remarkable total, Mitch will no doubt look back on a few games this season and wonder if there was the odd extra point that he could’ve nabbed with a little more selfishness.