Marner Working to Avoid Sophomore Slump After an impressive rookie season, Toronto Maple Leafs center Mitchell Marner has been flying under the radar, which has many worried about what the 2017-2018 season will hold. Marner was selected fourth overall in the 2015 NHL Draft after playing two impressive seasons with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. His junior accolades form a lengthy list that includes finishing second among OHL rookies in scoring, being named the 2016 Canadian Hockey League Player of the Year and helping London win the Memorial Cup. After being drafted, Marner went on to play for Canada in the 2016 World Junior Championship where he tied for the team lead in scoring. With such an impressive résumé, many expected the center to make a big impact on the Leafs. He didn’t disappoint. As one-third of the rookie trio, Marner racked up 61 points (19 G, 42 A) in 77 games played. This number was good enough to tie for third place in scoring on the team and his 42 assists set a new rookie record. What the young leaf lacks in size, he compensates for with his speed, passing ability and playmaking skills. As the 2017-2018 season rolled around, Leafs fans and coaches had high hopes for the trio of Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner. All three were quick to make an impact by scoring a goal in the team’s first regular season game against the Winnipeg Jets. As the season rolled on, Matthews and Nylander continued to make their presence known while Marner slid into the background. In an effort to increase productivity and create a better defensive presence, head coach Mike Babcock sent Marner down to the fourth line. Babcock insisted that it wasn’t personal or monumental, but media outlets took it otherwise. News outlets have been constantly talking about the center’s rough start and rumors started flying about a trade between Toronto and Edmonton. While many were not happy about this decision, something seems to be working. Before the move, Marner had just one goal and three assists and now has two goals and eleven assists. The young star didn’t see much action for a series of games until the Leaf’s Nov. 4 meeting against the St. Louis Blues, where he recorded two assists. Just two days later, he chipped in an assist and the lone goal in a shootout in the team’s first meeting with the Vegas Golden Knights. To cap off a strong week, he added three assists and a goal – his first in seventeen games – in two games. There were a number of factors that could’ve contributed to this burst of scoring. Matthews missed three games this past week, which shook up the lines quite a bit – moving Marner up to the second and third lines. Perhaps the new lines worked in his favor or maybe he felt the need to step up in Matthews’ absence. It could also simply be a result of more shots on net. “(Passing first) has always been a mindset of mine that I’m trying to get rid of now,” said Marner (to the Toronto media). “It’s pretty hard when you’ve been passing your whole life. It’s getting better, having the opportunity to shoot a little more.” 1 Regardless of the reason, the Leafs are surely glad to see Marner putting up the numbers. There’s still a long way to go, as the season is only about a fourth of the way over, but thirteen points in nineteen games isn’t looking too bad. If he continues to utilize his speed and playmaking skills, Marner will surely find himself back on track for a solid sophomore season. 2 NHL Season Off to a Hot Start: First Quarter Analysis The NHL season is only a quarter over, but there has been no shortage of action in the first 318 games of the season. In fact, there’s been so much action that we’re just going to discuss some of the top takeaways from the first quarter: Goals on Goals on Goals There have been 1, 924 goals scored in the first 49 games of the season, which is a 12.4% increase from the 2016-2017 season. Individually, even strength goals are up 10.9%, power-play goals are up 17.4%, and shorthanded are up 24.1%. While the scoring is generally spread throughout the 31 teams, fourteen different teams have scored at least seven goals in a game this season. The Chicago Blackhawks lead this group after scoring ten goals in their season opener. Youth Takeover Typically, each team has one or two younger players/rookies that you follow just to see how they’re doing, but they may not be the focus of the team. Well, this season the younger players are everywhere and raking up the points. Twenty-three of the top-40 scorers right now are 25 or younger and almost 50% of players to appear in a game this season are in the same age range. Rookies making a major impact so far include: Clayton Keller, Brock Boesner, Nico Hischier, Mathew Barzal and Will Bucher. Need a Hat? The increase in overall scoring this season may have to do with the fact that hat tricks have become a weekly occurrence. The season kicked off with a bang as both Wayne Simmonds and Connor McDavid scored a hat trick on opening night. This was only the third time in NHL history that multiple hat tricks occurred on the first day of the season. Just one day later, Washington Capitals left wing, Alexander Ovechkin, scored his first hat trick of the season - only to add another two days later. In total, 21 players have combined for 23 hat tricks, which is the third-most through 318 games in the past 20 years. Viva Las Vegas As the first expansion team since 2000, the Vegas Golden Knights faced a lot of scrutiny coming into their first season. People either thought that they would go all the way or wouldn’t win a single game. Well, their season so far is pointing more towards the first option. They been racking up the records including matching the record for the longest win streak by a team in its inaugural season with five. They also currently share the league lead for home wins this season with eight. It hasn’t been a picture perfect season for the NHL newest team however. The team has seen a rash of injuries which forced them to utilize five different goalies. This hasn’t stopped them, however, as the team currently sits in first place in the Pacific division. 1 Is it too early to talk about playoffs? The correct answer is: it’s never too early. Sure it’s only a quarter into the season and thinks can change in an instant, the standings now may give us some indication of what to expect later on down the road. Right now, the western conference is lead by the St. Louis Blues in the Central Division and the Vegas Golden Knights in the Pacific. Don’t expect these positions to last for long however, as the Los Angeles Kings and the Winnipeg Jets are right on their heels. The Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks are also knocking at the playoff door from their wild card spots. Over in the eastern conference, the Columbus Blue Jackets lead the Metropolition Dvision and the Tampa Bay Lightning lead the Atlantic. This is certainly not shocking as both teams have had a pretty good start. The Lightning will probably hold their spot for a while, but things look uncertain for the Blue Jackets as the top three spots are decided by a measly three points. The one shocker in this conference, is the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals looking from the outside in. The two teams that usually occupy two out of three of the top spots, have found themselves in wildcard positions. Looking Ahead: After a nice Thanksgiving break, there’s plenty more hockey to be played and records to be broken in the next few quarters. So, in the words of Lazlo Holmes…let’s do that hockey! 2 Golden Knights Find Luck in Vegas This time last year, the Vegas Golden Knights didn’t exist, but now they’re nine games into their inaugural season and making a big impact. As the first expansion team since the year 2000, the hockey world had mixed feelings about the team. Some thought the Golden Knights would go 0-82 while others were betting on 82-0. However, neither side was correct. On Friday, Oct. 6, the Golden Knights played their first official regular season game and picked up a win against the Dallas Stars. The team picked up two more wins against the Arizona Coyotes before suffering their first loss at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings. They didn’t let the loss phase them however, as they went on to win five-straight games, putting them at a record of 8-1-0. This record not only gives them the best record out of the teams with nine games played, but it is also the most impressive start for an expansion team in NHL history. The road to their impressive record hasn’t always been easy though. In just their fourth game of the season, star goalie Marc-Andre Fleury suffered a concussion. This injury, while not extremely serious, had NHL fans believing things were about to go downhill.