Mitch Marner arrived in Las Vegas with questions about his playoff soul. He left the second round with answers, and a reputation rebuilt from the wreckage of his Toronto years.
The Golden Knights dispatched the Anaheim Ducks in six games, and Marner was the engine. He logged 11 points in the series—his third career playoff hat trick in Game 3 followed by a two-assist closing act in Game 6. Over his last seven games, including a three-point finish against Utah, Marner has compiled 14 points and now leads Vegas in postseason scoring.
That is usually how club statements work: the wording stays calm while the room clearly has not.
The narrative wrote itself: a player once blamed for carrying the Maple Leafs' playoff ghosts now driving the Knights toward a Western Conference Final date with Colorado.
Elsewhere in the bracket
Jakub Dobes continues to make Montreal's search for goaltending stability look like a solved problem. The 24-year-old turned aside the Buffalo push in Game 7, including a critical overtime stop on Tage Thompson. His.913 save percentage against the Sabres gives the Canadiens a chance against Carolina—something this franchise hasn't enjoyed in years.
Speaking of unsolved problems: Alex Tuch went silent when Buffalo needed him most. Zero points in a seven-game series. Twenty-six shots, zero goals. The Sabres were outscored 8-1 with him on the ice at five-on-five. That's not entirely his fault—the process showed a 46.9% expected goals share—but the timing couldn't have been worse for a player entering contract negotiations.
Minnesota's center situation was always thin, and Colorado exposed it entirely. With Joel Eriksson Ek sidelined by a broken heel, the Wild's healthy centers managed one goal and six assists at even strength across the series. Against Nathan MacKinnon and company, that's not close to enough. GM Bill Guerin has his offseason shopping list ready.
The Avalanche possess the kind of depth that makes the m the Cup favorite: Brett Kulak's overtime winner gave Colorado its 17th distinct goal-scorer in the se playoffs, matching franchise history. Four lines rolling, three pairings firing—that's a difficult matchup for anyone, even a Golden Knights team finding its form.
Lukas Dostal's struggles carried from the regular season into the postseason. Anaheim controlled play—52.4% of expected goals, 21 more scoring chances—but Dostal's 4.55 goals above average and.711 high-danger save percentage tilted the series. The Ducks outchanced Vegas and lost anyway. That's a hard pill to swallow after a season of progress.