Fire
1
Mitch Marner couldn't avoid stating the obvious.
It wasn't just that his Toronto Maple Leafs were reeling from a 5-1 drubbing on Nov. 27 by the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. It was how the brutal defeat halted a semi-remarkable run of victories for the club when so many players were out of action, including captain Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies, Max Domi, Max Pacioretty, David Kampf and Ryan Reaves.
"We're missing half our team up front, man," said Marner, shaking his head at the question of why Toronto couldn't generate any offense that night.