TORONTO (AP) - Mitch Marner had a big smile on his face after his stellar performance. The only thing missing was a hat trick.
“It’s always in your mind,” he said. “You know, it’s always a pass mentality in my head.”
Marner had two goals and three assists, helping the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Ottawa Senators 6-3 on Saturday night.
Patrick Marleau added a goal and two assists as the Maple Leafs (33-19-5) won for the seventh time in eight games. Auston Matthews, James van Riemsdyk and Nazem Kadri also scored, and Frederik Andersen made 22 saves.
Craig Anderson was pulled by Ottawa in the first period after allowing three goals on 10 shots. Johnny Oduya, Derick Brassard and Ryan Dzingel scored for the Senators (19-26-9), and Mike Condon made 28 saves.
Marner became the first player to record five points in a game for Toronto since Tomas Kaberle on Oct. 26, 2009. The 20-year-old forward got off to a slow start in his second NHL season, but he has picked up his play since he was placed on a line with Kadri and Marleau last month.
On Saturday, the trio combined for 10 points.
Marner has “been working hard in practice, and now it’s starting to show in the game,” Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. “He was (playing like that) the full 60 minutes. I don’t how many pucks he stole. I think a ton of them.”
Marner got the Maple Leafs off to a fast start when he picked up a loose puck in the slot and sent a wrist shot past Anderson at 1:55.
After Matthews picked up his 26th goal, Marner scored again at 11:30. Marner’s 12th of the season made it 3-0 and chased Anderson.
“We had to find a way to slow him down, check him better,” Brassard said. “It felt like he had an answer for everything, he was on the puck, he made plays. He was the difference tonight.”
Oduya fired a snap shot from the circle past Andersen’s glove to cut Toronto’s lead to 3-1 at 8:32 of the second period.
But the Maple Leafs regained their three-goal advantage when Marner’s centering pass hit both Codi Ceci and van Riemsdyk before bouncing past Condon. The power-play goal gave Toronto a 4-1 lead at 13:51. Morgan Rielly collected a career-high 28th assist on the play.
Goals by Brassard and Dzingel helped Ottawa get within two in the final period before Marleau scored into an empty net at 18:38.
NOTES: Mark Stone had two assists in his return to Ottawa’s lineup after missing nine games due to a leg injury.
UP NEXT
Senators: Visit Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.
Maple Leafs: Host Tampa Bay on Monday night.
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