"I just told Marner, 'You had a [heck] of a series,'" Cassidy said last week. "[Heck] of a player. We had our hands full with him.
"Every time we play him, he's the guy we're worried about. Every time we play him, he seems to make something happen. That kid looks like he loves playing the game every time you see him. Every freakin' time."
Cassidy's task after the loss Thursday: Find a way to stop Marner.
Easier said than done.
"Listen, years ago I remember people said of Wayne Gretzky: 'Why doesn't anyone hit that guy?'" Cassidy said. "Well, it's not that easy. So I think it becomes containment issues, play him hard, play him honest 1-on-1, obviously if you can be physical against him, great.
"He's a good player, he's played well against us and we need to find an answer against him."