It was a banner night for the Vegas Golden Knights' Mitch Marner as he helped his new team beat his old team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, in overtime. After the game, Marner immediately discussed how beating the Maple Leafs felt and what it meant to get a victory over the team that drafted him.
“Obviously, [my teammates] knew this one meant a little more to me. So I was grateful to get the win. A lot of guys put in an effort, and you know, it's a team game out there,” Marner told NHL.com correspondent Paul Delos Santos.
After spending the first nine seasons of his career in Toronto, Marner was traded to the Golden Knights before he hit free agency this past summer. Before the trade, there was speculation as to where he would go. But that changed after the trade, when the Leafs sent Marner to Vegas.
Things did not start off so well for the Knights, as they trailed 2-0. But it was Marner who helped set up Pavel Dorofeyev for a power-play goal that cut the deficit. When Auston Matthews extended the Leafs' lead to 3-1, the Knights cut the deficit again to 3-2 after a Keegan Kolesar goal. Things looked bad in the third period, as it was 4-3. But Marner again found Dorofeyev for another power-play goal to make it 4-3.
The Leafs once again built a two-goal lead before the Knights fired back with two more to force overtime. Eventually, Jack Eichel got the game-winning goal in the extra session. Marner admitted that all the emotions disappeared once the game began.
“I think once the puck dropped, it just felt like another hockey game out there. Obviously, I know a lot of those guys very well, and I tried to read off some of the plays and some of the things that I think they might do. But it's a competitive game, you always want to try to beat your buddies,” Marner explained.
Marner will not have to wait long for his next game against the Leafs, as he makes his return to Toronto on January 23.
