Toronto Maple Leafs superstar center Auston Matthews took the ice for the club's optional morning skate on Saturday. But when will he return to game action? When Mitch Marner saw the shot in overtime, he took it and won the game for the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was a tight hockey game between the Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night. Toronto lost the lead, regained it, lost it again, and then regained it before Leon Draisaitl tied the game with 1:29 left in the third period. Edmonton forced three-on-three overtime, an area where its top players Connor McDavid and Draisaitl flourish. McDavid showcased his creativity and speed early with a quick chance in overtime. Anthony Stolarz stopped that, with a little help from Marner on defense. McDavid and Draisaitl trickled out of the zone before trying for an opportunity again. McDavid used his speed to cut back and blow by Oliver Ekman-Larsson, creating a 2-on-1 for him and Draisaitl. Instead of Stolarz stopping this scoring chance, it was Marner. Again. He broke up the opportunity featuring two of the league's top players, went the other way, and beat Stuart Skinner under the blocker for the 200th goal of his career. "I mean, what surprised me is he shot the puck. I thought he was passing it," Matthew Knies, who scored in the third period said, with a smile on Saturday night. "That's why he's a dual threat. I think he shoots the puck so well, too, and it's kind of hard to keep him off the scoresheet for sure." Even Bobby McMann, who had two goals against Edmonton on Saturday, thought Marner would pass on the 2-on-1. "It's unreal. He's so good at reading the play all the time, anticipating, knowing where the puck's going, and that's just who he is. And sometimes you take it for granted. But obviously, it was a huge payoff there for us." [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ylu2Cd4dkA[/embed] The 27-year-old was ecstatic after his overtime winner. And how could you not be when you're going up against McDavid, Draisaitl, and former Maple Leafs Zach Hyman, Connor Brown, and Travis Dermott? "Yeah, it felt good. I mean, I tried to play with the excitement and fun out there. Those are games you kind of live for," Marner said after the game. "So luckily enough, got the shot, saw it and went in. I was actually more excited just to see Stolls. I was going to go all the way down, but I got too lazy." Marner also contributed to Toronto's first goal of the game, poking the puck loose for John Tavares to get a whack at the puck before McMann put it in for his fifth goal of the season. Marner's up to six goals and 18 assists for 24 points through 19 games. That's a 104-point pace if he was to play all 82 games this season. He's never achieved that feat in his career. (The closest he's been was during the 2022-23 season where he scored 99 points —30 goals and 69 assists — in 80 games with Toronto.) Marner is on track to have his best career in the NHL ever, while being heavily relied upon defensively, not only at five-on-five but on the penalty kill, which killed a huge five-minute power play in the second period. "Yeah, he was excellent. I mean, he did so much good in all facets of the game," Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said on Saturday night. "Penalty kill, power play, five-on-five. He did a great job of breaking up that two-on-one in that play and going the other way and scoring." It's a contract year for the forward. Marner is in the final season of a six-year, $65.408 million deal he signed back in Sep. 2019. But with his play right now, it seems like his next contract will be worth more than the deal he signed when he was 22. "I mean, he's obviously not worrying about it. He's just playing hockey and he's enjoying it," Berube said. "Every day this guy has tons of energy and life at the rink and on the ice in practice and during the games. He's in a real good spot right now."
