Today is a day Mitch Marner and the Vegas Golden Knights have circled on their calendars for a long time.
Today is a day Mitch Marner and the Vegas Golden Knights have circled on their calendars for a long time.
On Thursday, the speculation finally comes to a head when the Golden Knights and Toronto Maple Leafs square off at T-Mobile Arena.
Venue: T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, NV
Date: Thursday, January 15
Time: 7:00 pm PST
How To Watch: ESPN
Radio: 1340 AM, 94.7 FM
Marner ranks sixth all-time in Maple Leafs history with 741 points (221 goals, 520 assists) in 657 games, as well as fifth all-time in franchise postseason scoring with 63 points in 70 games. However, Marner was eventually traded to Vegas on July 1 in exchange for forward Nicolas Roy, and the star winger signed an eight-year, $96 million contract shortly after.
“Been trying to just focus on our games, focus on who we're playing and the next opponent," Marner said after Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings. "I'm sure on the plane ride home it's going to hit more that that's (Thursday) night, and I don't think I got to look at it any different. Just look at it as another hockey game and just try to go out there and do my thing."
Despite the heavy emotional attachment to this game, here is how the Golden Knights can handle their business and keep their winning streak going.
Hold off the exhaustion
As if the emotional weight was not enough, the Golden Knights are already in a challenging position energy-wise.
They needed overtime to dispatch the Kings in Los Angeles, and now they had to travel back to Vegas for this game. With this being their fourth game in six days, fatigue could easily begin to settle in. The best thing for the Golden Knights to do will be to jump out to an early start and force the Leafs to expend more energy to keep things level.
The new Core Four
Marner may have left the known commodities of Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares in Toronto, but he has found himself a new group rather quickly.
Marner’s goal against the Kings now pushes him to seven points in the last five games. Meanwhile, Mark Stone is riding a nine-game point streak, while Jack Eichel and Tomas Hertl both have nine points over the last five games. The current run of all four have directly coincided with the Golden Knights’ winning streak, and it is difficult to stop the team if they continue to get hot.
Keeping them in check
The game against the Kings showed the difference of how the Golden Knights look when they lock in defensively.
The Golden Knights were able to win last night because they were able to get control of the game through their forecheck, which allowed them to dictate the pace of play on the offensive end. It will serve them well to do the same against the Leafs, a team that thrives on quick-forming plays and has a nice array of shooters at their disposal. Putting on the pressure and frustrating their opponent offensively will be crucial to the Golden Knights’ success.
Category: General Sports
