Marner’s GWG Ties Sittler Mark and Puts Maple Leafs No. 2 Overall

The last time the Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup was the same year the first Super Bowl was played and McDonald’s introduced the Big Mac for 45 cents.

It was 1967. The NHL still only had six teams. Bobby Orr was the league’s Rookie of the Year and Gordie Howe was earning a $40,000 salary playing his 21st season for the Detroit Red Wings.

Sixty-six years later, the Maple Leafs are still looking for another title. They aren’t the favorite to win it this season. But Wednesday night’s 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators is a reminder that they are indeed a strong contender. They have won three straight and are 7-2-1 in their last 10 going into tonight’s game in Detroit.

Mitch Marner scored the game-winner against Nashville with 1:15 left in regulation (watch here) as the Maple Leafs moved into second place in the league’s overall standings. The Boston Bruins are No. 1 at 32-4-4 and the Maple Leafs are No. 2 at 26-9-7.

The Maple Leafs played without star center Auston Matthews who is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

Marner’s goal extended his home game point streak to 18 games, tying Darryl Sittler (1977-78) for the longest in Maple Leafs’ history. Over those 18 games, Marner boasts seven goals and 19 assists for 26 points.

John Tavares scored his 20th goal of the season in the triumph. This is the 13th season of Tavares scoring 20 or more. He has also scored in four consecutive games.

The Maple Leafs’ regular-season performance is pleasing for the fan base, but the Maple Leafs are always judged on their postseason. They haven’t won a first-round playoff series since 2004.

Toronto is on pace for 115 points, the same number of points they had last season. That likely will put them in a first-round match-up against the Tampa Bay Lightning. That’s the same opponent the Maple Leafs lost to in the opening round last season.

🫡 Brind'Amour, Montgomery, DeBoer, & Cassidy named NHL All-Star Game coaches. Their teams have the highest points percentage (points earned divided by total possible points) in their respective divisions through Wednesday. Last year's Jack Adams Award winner, Rod Brind'Amour (CAR) will be coaching his second All-Star Game, having coached the Metropolitan division last year. Jim Montgomery (BOS) will be coaching his first All-Star Game while Peter DeBoer (DAL) and Bruce Cassidy (VGK) are coaching their third and second All-Star Games respectively.

🔥 Travis Konecny scored a hat trick (watch all 3 goals here) to lead the Flyers past the Caps. The 25-year-old forward extended his point streak to ten games and leads the Flyers with 24 goals, which is tied for 9th most in the NHL with Kirill Kaprizov. Carter Hart made 26 saves and Scott Laughton pitched in a goal and two assists as the Flyers downed the Caps 5-3 last night at the Wells Fargo Center. Having won six of their last seven games, the Flyers sit only 7 points back from the final Eastern Conference Wild Card spot with 40 games left on their schedule. 

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