It was another Mitch Marner invisible playoff performance and despite a strong postseason, he remains one loss away from keeping his dark secrets buried.
The Vegas Golden Knights are one loss away from losing the Stanley Cup, and Mitch Marner's Game 5 performance didn't help any. It's showing signs of the old Marner and one more defeat will bury his dark times story for the time being.
Marner was pointless in Game 5, was a minus-1 and had only one shot on goal. Contrast that to the first four games of the series where he has eight points, a plus-3 and 14 shots and you can start to see glimpses of the Maple Leafs player who was unable to come through when it mattered most.
Despite being the leader in points for the majority of the postseason, Marner needed to step it up in Game 5 and didn't, which is leaving him one loss away from heartbreak and losing out on the championship he's tried a decade to win.
Marner's 'dark times' story is at risk of being buried if the Golden Knights lose the Stanley Cup
However there's also another wrinkle to this story that could become buried forever and that's the supposed 'dark times' that Marner referred to prior to the Finals.
Marner explained that he would reveal what that meant only if the Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup, and with one loss preventing that from happening at least for this season - it may be a story we never get the conclusion to.
We can all speculate about Marner and what he means by 'dark times' and considering how much hoopla there was surrounding supposed security issues and feeling 'uncomfortable' while living in Toronto, one can only guess what he could be referring to.
Honestly, it sounds like Marner just trying to stir the pot because frankly he has no reason to bring this back up. Maple Leafs fans have moved on for the most part, and Marner has been closer to the Cup than ever, so it's just rehashing the same tired narrative.
If Marner goes invisible in Game 6 he'll have no one to blame but himself
But all focus shifts now to Game 6, where Marner has to show up and be that player he's been all throughout the playoffs. He's historically been a mixed bag given that sometimes he'll explode in Game 6 but other times he is just as invisible.
If he ends up playing out of his mind then we can all put this to rest until Game 7 where he really has to put his merit to the test. But he has to get through Game 6 first and if what we have seen prior is any indication - it's not good.
Marner had no points in both of Toronto's OT losses in 2021 and 2022, and he also did the same thing in 2017. You can't fault him for the latter season as he was a rookie, but in a series where Toronto was heavily favoured against Montreal in 2021; he didn't show up.
It's something he's had issues with in OT throughout his career, but there's also a very good chance he redeems himself too. The ball (or puck, rather) is in his court.
Marner has a chance to rewrite his own history, but he may only have one game left to do it.
Should Mitch Marner still tell fans what his 'dark times' were in Toronto?
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