Jake McCabe caught Mitch Marner clean in the open ice tonight in Vegas, and the Maple Leafs bench had a front-row seat for it.
The clip shows Marner carrying through the neutral zone before McCabe steps into him, sending the Vegas forward to the ice as Brandon Duhaime sails over the top of the pile.
Tomas Hertl trails the play in the foreground, a step too late to do anything about it. Maple Leafs Hotstove called it clean, and from that angle, it's hard to argue.
Only hours earlier, Marner insisted facing Toronto doesn't feel any different. “I don't think so,” he said.
Auston Matthews had called him a great person, great teammate and great friend before puck drop.
Friendship is lovely. McCabe apparently skipped that part of the pregame chatter, and good for him.
It's like an old neighbor showing up to your housewarming and backing into your mailbox on the way in. Nothing personal, but you'll remember it.
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Jake McCabe delivers massive hit on Mitch Marner in front of Maple Leafs bench
The Leafs defenseman came into tonight without a point through four games, carrying a $4,513,102 cap hit.
He opened the night beside Chris Tanev on the projected top pair, and the 36-year-old was right there in the frame when it happened.
Marner came in with a goal and an assist on a $12,000,000 cap hit.
So how does a guy who says it all feels normal react to ending up on the ice courtesy of a Leafs defenseman?
Vegas came into tonight at 3-1-0, with Jack Eichel already sitting on 10 points.
Hertl, the forward a step behind the play, came in with 3 power-play goals of his own.
Toronto opened its road trip after a 2-2-0 homestand, with Sergei Bobrovsky getting the start in goal.
The Leafs head to Colorado on Saturday and Utah on Tuesday before returning home.
These two teams meet again Dec. 12 in Toronto, and that crowd won't need a reminder of tonight.
Marner can keep saying it doesn't feel different. The next time he cuts through the middle against this group, will he look for McCabe first?
Was Jake McCabe's open-ice check on Mitch Marner clean?
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