Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner continued on his torrid pace late in the first period of Sunday’s game against the New York Islanders.
The 24-year-old winger chipped the rebound of a Mark Giordano shot past Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin to tie the game at 1–1 with 2:29 remaining in the opening frame. Michael Bunting also assisted on Marner’s career-high 34th goal of the season, which coincidentally came without the Leafs’ No. 34 in the lineup.
Marner has been a dominant force for the Maple Leafs since the calendar flipped over to 2022, leading the entire National Hockey League with 73 points (28 goals, 45 assists) in 42 games since New Years’ Day.
Back in 2018–19, Marner set a new career high with 94 points in 82 games; this season, he has 94 points in 67 contests.
Point number 94 (tying career-high) on the year for Mitchy! 🪄 pic.twitter.com/BJll3klpfA
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 18, 2022
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Marner’s goal came just over three minutes after Anthony Beauvillier opened the scoring for the Islanders with his 12th goal of the season. The Maple Leafs and Islanders both recorded nine shots in the first period.
With just six games after Sunday’s contest remaining on the Leafs’ 2021–22 regular-season schedule, Marner needs just six more points to join teammate Auston Matthews in the century club. Connor McDavid, Jonathan Huberdeau, Leon Draisaitl, and Johnny Gaudreau have also recorded 100 points this season.
The Maple Leafs have never had multiple 100-point scorers in a single season. Only three players in the history of the club have ever reached that plateau:
- Darryl Sittler: 100 in 1975–76, 117 in 1977–78
- Doug Gilmour: 127 in 1992–93, 111 in 1993–94
- Auston Matthews: 102 (and counting) in 2021–22
Josh Bailey scored early in the second period to give the Islanders a 2–1 lead over the Maple Leafs, a score that still stands with approximately 15 minutes to play in the middle frame.
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