Times might be rough for the Vegas Golden Knights right now. The gang has countless questions at numerous key positions, whether that lies with the goaltending or the lack of back-end defenders. It's a miracle that the team enters Tuesday's contest against the Buffalo Sabres atop the Pacific Division.
It's left fans wanting a singular hero to step up and take charge. They're hoping that one man can be the team's sparkplug, leading them to a similar run from January. It's what they write all those hero stories and novels about. One person comes in to save the day, making everyone's lives much better.
Enter Mitch Marner. The winger has some history with Buffalo, dominating his old Atlantic Division rivals from his Toronto Maple Leafs days. He's created countless magical moments with superstars like Auston Matthews and John Tavares, beating up on the Western New York team.
So, let's look at how he did during his Toronto tenure. Did he make the fine folks of the greater Toronto area proud and dominate the Sabres? Believe it or not, the statistics will surprise you. In fact, his career stats show why he'll be a key factor in Tuesday's game against Buffalo.
Mitch Marner has 8 goals and 27 assists against the Buffalo Sabres in his career
One might look at Mitch Marner's career statistics against the Buffalo Sabres and say, "wow, he doesn't score many goals!" However, there are a couple of catches to this, starting with the 27 assists. Here, he's set up countless opportunities to his former Maple Leafs teammates. It didn't matter if it was Auston Matthews or William Nylander. The winger was there to act as a terrific offensive facilitator.
Second, he put up 35 assists in 28 games. That's more than a point per game for the Markham native. Yes, the Sabres look vastly different from past iterations, where they're no longer a punching bag. However, that doesn't mean that the new Golden Knights superstar isn't capable of putting up monster numbers.
Marner does have a multi-goal game against Buffalo, scoring two goals on November 3, 2016. However, that wasn't his most noteworthy game against the Sabres. That would be February 21, 2023, when the "Core Four" member tallied five assists in a 6-3 blowout win.
Look, I get that the Vegas Golden Knights aren't in the most desirable situation right now. Fans are worried that the team is back-sliding its way out of the Pacific Division. However, recent history indicates that their biggest summer acquisition, Mitch Marner, is due to go off. That could be the proverbial sparkplug the team needs to go on a deep run.