In the process, it provided the latest chapter in a season in which Marner has become a true difference maker when crunch time arrives.
He was exactly that during the 4 Nations Face-Off in February while representing Canada, scoring the overtime winner against Sweden in the round robin portion, then setting up Connor McDavid for the overtime winner in a dramatic 3-2 victory against the United States in the championship game.
On Wednesday, he stepped up again when his team needed him most.
The Panthers had just tied the game 3-3 at 5:33 of the third on an Anton Lundell goal that siphoned all the energy out of what had been an impressively raucous crowd.
Seventeen seconds later, Marner restored the roar.
“A lot of good stuff has happened in Mitch’s life,” Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said, breaking into a wry grin. “And then, obviously, a huge goal tonight.
“Mitch is a great player. We all know that. He’s a very intelligent player who plays extremely well on both sides of the puck and touches all areas of the game. And he does have the ability to make something happen when it counts, like that 4 Nations play to McDavid and tonight, with the big goal.
“That’s what we need out of these guys.”
To Berube’s point: You can include goalie Joseph Woll among those who answered the bell when it mattered as well.
Like Marner, it’s been a whirlwind week for the 26-year-old.
Woll had not played in a game since April 17 entering Game 1 on Monday, having served as Anthony Stolarz’s backup during Toronto’s six-game series win against the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference First Round.
But when Stolarz came to the bench and began throwing up during a TV timeout midway through Toronto’s 5-4 victory, Woll entered in relief and stopped 17 of the 20 shots he faced the rest of the way. All the while, Stolarz was transported out of the arena by stretcher and taken to a local hospital for further examination.
Stolarz was healthy enough to visit his teammates at the Ford Performance Centre practice facility on Tuesday but had not yet recovered enough to suit up for Game 2, leaving Woll as the starter and veteran Matt Murray as his backup. Berube said after Toronto’s morning skate Wednesday that he did not know if Stolarz will return for any part of this series, meaning Woll is now Toronto’s starter.
As such, he made 25 saves for the victory Wednesday, including some key ones down the stretch when Florida was pressing for the equalizer. Asked what was going through his mind while the Panthers were making their late push, he just shrugged.
“Not a whole lot,” the unflappable Woll said. “I was just trying to stay in the moment and stick to the process and focus what I needed to focus on.
“The team was great in front of me. It’s been special to see, really, all season. But as the regular season was coming to a close, and then here in playoffs, the guys have just been putting their bodies on the line.”
In past years, the Maple Leafs would not have won playoff games like this. They would have been deflated when the opposition would tie games late in the third period.
Not this year.
In Game 6 against the Senators, forward Max Pacioretty scored the winner just 101 seconds after Ottawa’s David Perron tied the game 2-2.
On Wednesday against the Panthers, Marner’s goal came so quickly after Lundell had tied the game, the Florida goal hadn’t yet been announced to the crowd over the PA.
“I’ve loved the way we’ve responded,” Berube said.
On this night, it was Marner and Woll who did exactly that.
