Marner keeps focus on own voice in helping Golden Knights to series lead

ANAHEIM -- The Vegas Golden Knights are discovering two special traits Mitch Marner possesses beyond his ability to play hockey at an all-world level.

One is his ability to control the game with his voice.

“He’s very vocal out there,” linemate William Karlsson said.

The other is his knack of tuning out outside noise about his game.

“People talk about him, this and that, and I don’t think he listens to it,” coach John Tortorella said, “whether it be good or bad.”

People are certainly talking about Marner today and it’s all good.

Marner got his first career hat trick in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, helping the Golden Knights take the starch out of the upstart Anaheim Ducks and their home crowd with a 6-2 win in Game 3 of the Western Conference Second Round at Honda Center on Friday.

Vegas leads the best-of-7 series 2-1 with Game 4 here on Sunday (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN360, SN, TVAS).

It was Marner’s second multigoal game of these playoffs, and second in the past four games. He has six goals in nine games in this year’s playoffs, his first with Vegas after coming over in a sign-and-trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 1.

Before this postseason, he had 13 goals in 70 postseason games, and two multigoal games for the Maple Leafs.

That led to plenty of people talking, as Tortorella put it, about his and the Maple Leafs’ failures in the playoffs in his nine seasons there.

But to Tortorella’s point, when Marner was asked if his play in this year’s postseason is giving him any personal satisfaction, he said, “no, not really.”

“There is a lot of work to still go. It’s always nice to contribute and help win games, but at the end of the day, you just want to win games. So, there’s been a lot of different moments in these playoffs that people have stepped up and made big plays. And tonight, a lot of great plays by people around me to set me up in a spot I can succeed in.

“I think all of us just want to win hockey games and do whatever we can to win hockey games, so that’s what we’re going to try to keep doing.”

Vegas, which was coming off a 3-1 loss in Game 2, jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on goals from defenseman Shea Theodore at 1:06 of the first period and a short-handed goal from defenseman Brayden McNabb at 12:13, on an assist from Marner.

With time winding down in the first period, Marner began his barrage. With 4.6 seconds left in the period, he cut down the middle, took a shot that bounced in and out of Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal’s glove, and banged home the rebound for a power-play goal.

He was just getting started.

He finished a pretty play with Theodore and Brett Howden at 9:19 of the second period, maneuvering around the outstretched pad of Ducks goalie Ville Husso -- who started the second period -- to make it 4-0.

He capped the second playoff natural hat trick in Golden Knights history when he beat Husso short side under the pad at 17:56 of the period.

“Super happy for him,” said Karlsson, who returned to the Vegas lineup and was put on a line with Marner and Howden in Game 1 of this series after not playing since Nov. 8. “He had a hell of a game. A timely game, to have three goals. He’s a great player and super easy to play with.”

Karlsson said what makes it easy is he always knows where Marner is because he’s always talking, and his ability to distribute the puck.

“That’s a great part of his game. But also, he sees passes kind of that aren’t there,” Karlsson said, “but for him, they are. And he makes it work. I see now why he has been so successful in his career.”

Marner said talking on the ice is something he’s always done.

“I always try to be that energizer guy, a guy that goes out and brings a lot of passion and energy to games. And I always want the puck on my tape. I want to try to make plays. So I think being vocal and speaking about where we want to be, where we want the puck is very important, so I’m always trying to talk. I’m always trying to let people know where I am on the ice.

“I tell (Karlsson) and (Howden) the same thing, that if you’re open, if you’re in a place, let me know and I will get it to you as quick as I can.”

Marner was doing it all on Friday. He led Vegas forwards in time on ice with 23:07 and five shots on goal.

He and Howden have six goals each, which is tied with three other players for first in the NHL in the playoffs. He leads all players with 13 points.

As a comparison, Marner had six goals total in 31 games in his final three playoff runs in Toronto and 16 total points the past two postseasons.

But Toronto could never get past the second round of the playoffs. In fact, this is only the second time in his NHL career he’s been on a team with a 2-1 lead in the second round of the playoffs. The other was the Maple Leafs last season against the Florida Panthers, a series they lost in seven games.

After last season, he was the one member of that Maple Leafs core to leave Toronto, signing an eight-year, $96 million deal with them before being traded to Vegas.

But, Tortorella says, none of that matters to him. He’s not worried about what happened in Toronto and what people say about him. He’s just focused on getting the Golden Knights closer to a Stanley Cup.

“I think he’s very confident in what he brings,” Tortorella said. “You know, people give him (crap) all the time about playoffs this and that, and I don’t think it bothers him a lick.

“He just plays. He’s a hockey player and I’m glad he’s doing some things for us.”