NHL Rink Wrap: Marner, Maple Leafs survive 10-7 stunner vs. Red Wings

Apologies to the 2022 Stadium Series, but a zany 10-7 Maple Leafs – Red Wings game stole the show.

In a game where just about everyone not named John Tavares joined in the fun, Mitch Marner shined brightest. Marner didn’t stop at his first career hat trick. Instead, Marner generated new career-highs in goals (four) and points (six).

This pushes Mitch Marner’s latest point streak to three games (4G, 4A). It’s hard to believe, but earlier this season, Marner was relatively cold. In October, he only managed three points in nine games.

Since Nov. 1, Marner’s generated a resounding 51 points in his last 34 games. Fittingly, Marner’s linemate Auston Matthews leads all scorers during that timeframe (66 points in 43 contests). Impressively, their frequent linemate Michael Bunting is backing up a solid 2020-21 showing with Arizona, collecting 40 points in 52 games this season. Some might grumble that Bunting could be a Calder Trophy candidate at age 26, but there’s little sense denying his contributions to Toronto. For all the hand-wringing about the Maple Leafs and salary cap management, consider that Bunting is on the books for $950K through 2022-23.

4 for you Glen coco#LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/AOqOn6mC4W

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) February 27, 2022

As much as the Maple Leafs want better goaltending and more support (can someone wake up John Tavares?), Marner + Matthews is a red-hot combo. Actually, call it a red-hot trio with Bunting being a seamless addition.

Really, you can’t go wrong with full highlights of that stunning Mitch Marner performance, and everything else that happened in the Maple Leafs’ wild 10-7 win over the Red Wings.

Don’t forget about the 2022 Stadium Series between the Predators and Lightning,