Paul Bissonnette unloads on Mitch Marner over unacceptable performance
Mitch Marner's lackadaisical effort and tantrum on the bench has drawn the ire of the media after last night's defeat and Paul Bissonnette hits the nail on the head.
The Toronto Maple Leafs tied the series at 1-1 after a strong effort in Game 2 on the road and had a golden opportunity to take the series lead on home ice. Unfortunately they looked disengaged from the moment the puck was dropped and the veteran group in Boston took full advantage.
Last night's defeat in Game 4 was no different on the scoreboard but there was a lot more happening off the ice - primarily on the home team's bench. William Nylander and Auston Matthews looked very displeased with Marner's effort and with some of the words he was saying. After the game, the core players made sure to address the situation as nothing more than a mere disagreement amongst close teammates and friends.
Paul Bissonnette, however, took his talents to TNT and absolutely unloaded on Marner and his analysis, as usual, was pretty spot on:
This is later in the period, he's not bending his knees, no real true battle in front, yeah he takes a little bit of a whack, looks at the referees [for a call]. So disengaged. This is even later on, this is just the middle of the neutral zone, he's just not playing any type of good hockey, he's losing every puck battle. This is on the penalty kill, he loses it there, doesn't get the block, he's the top guy of the diamond. Watch this as the puck ends up going to Charlie Coyle. It comes back to him, one hand on his stick and on the wrong side of the puck. Where is his spot? The top of diamond where it goes, McAvoy reads it because everybody has to collapse on the inside over to Brad Marchand.
Where's Willy? No - where's Mitch Marner?!. This is pathetic, he doesn't deserve the ice he's getting right now, they need to sit him and set an example, once again I don't know if he's injured but right now that is unacceptable."
Marner was all over the ice last night but it ultimately did the Maple Leafs no favours as he was caught losing puck battles along the boards, in the neutral zone, in the defensive zone and on the penalty kill.
He did score the only goal of the game for Maple Leafs, but it seemed to be too little too late as the damage had already been done by the Bruins.
The Maple Leafs, who are now on the brink of elimination, will be heading to the TD Garden for Game 5 on Tuesday night as they try and force a Game 6 back within the friendly confines of the Scotiabank Arena.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 28 | 1002 ANSWERS Paul Bissonnette unloads on Mitch Marner over unacceptable performance Is Mitch Marner worth the near $11M salary he earns? | ||
| No, not even close | 582 | 58.1 % |
| Yes, he's solid | 102 | 10.2 % |
| Depends which Mitch Marner shows up | 318 | 31.7 % |
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