Sheldon Keefe, Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews touch on Marner's brilliant steal and goal on Saturday night
With the Leafs down 3-1 in the second period against the Oilers on Saturday, Mitch Marner was able to pick off a cross-ice pass in the Edmonton zone, right in front of the crease and fake out Stuart Skinner before putting the puck off both posts and in. The goal cut the lead to one and gave the Leafs some much needed momentum. Takeaways aren't new to Marner's game as he currently leads the league in the category with 88 and was 8th in the same category last season.
It's something that isn't necessarily a taught skill, but rather how a player thinks and can manipulate the game. "Just tried to put pressure on. I realized it was a forward so just tried to make him feel uncomfortable & read the play," commented Marner about his brilliant individual effort.
Sheldon Keefe echoed the sentiment that it is about how a player thinks the game saying, "It is a lot of instinct, but I think there are certainly tells. Some players are able to pick up on those... Mitch is at the top end. On the other side, you certainly say it's a bad turnover, but I don't believe those things happen by accident," he continued.
Marner not only leads the league in takeaways, but he also lead the Leafs in points with 83 and assists with 59, largely due to those takeaways and the offensive opportunities he creates off of them. Auston Matthews called Marner "sneaky" when it comes to forcing turnovers and of course Matthews would know best as he has been at or near the top of the category for a few seasons now in his own right. Marner and the Leafs will look to build on Saturday's win as they take on Buffalo tonight at Scotiabank Arena. Hopefully Marner has some more magic tricks up his sleeve.
