Mitch Marner says he wasn't concerned about shielding his face as he blocked a pair of shots in the dying seconds of the Toronto Maple Leafs' 3-2 victory in Game 3 against the Boston Bruins on Monday night.
"I mean, there's dentists for a reason, so whatever," Marner told the media, including TSN, at practice Tuesday. "Luckily enough, it didn't hit me in the face, but it could have been a tough result if it had."
Marner laid out in front of two David Pastrnak blasts mere moments before the final buzzer sounded Monday night.
"I was already down there, I was right in front of him," added Marner. "I knew if (the puck) got in there, it was going to be kind of a tough shot for (Maple Leafs goaltender) Freddie (Andersen) to save. It was going to be low and hard, and I didn't know what would happen, so I just tried to sprawl out as much as possible. (I) put my arms out and lucky enough, it hit me."
Marner's teammates appreciated his efforts.
"Just a guy doing whatever it takes to keep the puck out of the net," Jake Muzzin said. "We need everybody to (have) that mentality and that mindset, so it was awesome to see (Monday) night."
"When you see a guy sacrificing their body to make a play that's obviously going to help the team, and there's some pain that obviously comes with that, no question, especially a guy like Mitch that obviously plays a big role for our team ... (to see him) make a key play there gives everyone a big boost, especially when it's able to help solidify a victory," he said.
Marner logged more ice time in Game 3 than all skaters for both clubs except Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly, and Bruins blue-liners Torey Krug and Charlie McAvoy. His defense in the game is what stood out, but he also fired five shots on goal and notched an assist on Auston Matthews' second-period marker.
A couple of weeks ago, journalist Zach Schonbrun was browsing the internet and happened across an article about an unusual 3-point-shooting demonstration in Tokyo. Toyota engineers, he read, had built a human-shaped robot that stands 6-foot-10, equipped their creation with pliable knees, elbows, and wrists, and programmed it to aim basketballs at a hoop with knockdown precision.
In front of an Associated Press reporter, the robot canned 5-of-8 attempts from behind the arc - a lesser success rate than usual, its makers said. Later, one publication noted in a headline that the machine is a better long-range gunner than Stephen Curry, the offensive maestro who's shot threes at a 43.6 percent clip throughout his NBA career.
"Steph Curry's going to be long retired before any robot's taking his job," Schonbrun thought to himself.
Schonbrun found the comparison especially ludicrous because, as he puts it, most robots aren't as deft as the average 5-year-old child - if you're in search of a laugh, he suggests watching YouTube compilations of automatons trying to open a door - while Curry and few other people on Earth represent the pinnacle of human motion. No novice basketball fan would look at Curry and see a two-time MVP, but the nimbleness with which he moves on the court, handles the ball, and lets it fly from deep has made him exactly that.
Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images
At 6-foot-3, Curry is smaller than the Toyota robot and many of his opponents, but it's still easy to see how his physical attributes allow him to dominate on the court. We can perceive the elusiveness that earns him a modicum of space from a defender and understand the strength that enables him to hoist effortless, accurate jumpers from close to half court.
But to Schonbrun, this focus on Curry's body is misguided. In his book "The Performance Cortex," which was released in paperback form last week, he contends that the true key to the point guard's greatness - and to the Golden State Warriors' hopes of winning a fourth championship in five seasons - can largely be traced to another factor.
"His skill has a lot more to do with his brain than it does with his fast-twitch muscles," Schonbrun told theScore.
Curry's brain and those of his peers on the highest plane of professional sports are the central objects of fascination in Schonbrun's book. A former contributing writer for The New York Times, he set out a few years ago to explore the ways that neural activity controls the movements of elite athletes - and, as such, how those athletes perform in competition.
Icon Sportswire / Getty Images
In one important passage, Schonbrun writes that top performers "have an inimitable talent for making the right decisions at the right time." Sidney Crosby, he notes, is able to sling a pinpoint pass across the ice when he senses an opening that no one else in the arena has glimpsed; his brain discerns the opportunity and prompts him to take advantage. The same goes for Curry with the ball in his hands. Crucially, this logic doesn't apply to robots that stroke threes but are otherwise incapable of movement.
Schonbrun himself long viewed sports as a purely physical exercise, never appreciating that signals originating in the brain are what make athletic magnificence possible. That changed when a Johns Hopkins University neuroscientist, John Krakauer, told him that his perspective was akin to crediting someone's proficiency in a foreign language to their dexterous tongue.
"I'm no longer focused, necessarily, on how fast (athletes are) running or how high they're jumping," Schonbrun said. "I'm really thinking about the milliseconds it takes for them to make decisions - and make the right ones, most of the time."
This notion can be employed across sports. Take the NFL combine, which in Schonbrun's estimation is a wasteful venture where talent evaluators tell prospects to run in a straight line, leap as high as they can, and execute other quick-twitch acts that won't really identify the best game-day competitors.
Maddie Meyer / Getty Images
He floats an alternative method of assessing, say, quarterbacks: Use neuroimaging technology to track the reads they make in the frantic few seconds after a snap.
"Having an understanding of who's making those decisions more accurately and who's making them better before the ball is even being released, certainly, I think, would be valuable information," he said.
Much of Schonbrun's book is predicated on neuroscience's relevance to baseball, and specifically to the interaction that underpins each of its games: the milliseconds that elapse between the time the ball leaves a pitcher's grasp and the moment it arrives at the plate. When he stares down a 95-mph fastball, a batter has about two-tenths of a second to process the offering and to choose to swing or lay off. If he chooses to swing, he'll have another two-tenths for his brain to send that instruction down the spinal cord and out through his musculature.
That severe time crunch means batting is more about prediction than reaction. Expert hitters can project the appeal of a pitch as it's being released. Jason Sherwin and Jordan Muraskin, two neuroscientists whom Schonbrun profiles at length in the book, have used brain-scanning equipment to show that the best hitters are often those whose neurons make accurate decisions fractionally faster.
Though it may seem counterintuitive, a story of three famous strikeouts helps reveal the brain's paramount contribution to batting. At a 2004 exhibition, legendary softball pitcher Jennie Finch made quick work of MLB All-Stars Albert Pujols, Mike Piazza, and Brian Giles by throwing underhand from 43 feet away, the standard distance in women's softball.
As Schonbrun writes, the speed of Finch's pitches mirrored that of a 95-mph fastball thrown from a major-league mound distance of 60 feet, 6 inches, but the unfamiliar angle of her delivery stripped the hitters of the predictive capacity that propelled them to stardom. They didn't know what to expect, and their physical gifts weren't enough to compensate.
In a number of ways, the aims and possibilities of neuroscience are at odds with the realities of pro sports. Analytics mavens abound in MLB front offices, but a few years ago, when Sherwin and Muraskin tried to convince teams that neural data could help them evaluate hitters, they found that some executives were suspicious of their scientific expertise. Even if a team acknowledges the utility of such data, it might determine the fate of a player's career based on a sample an academic would think too small. Players might not want their employer to study their brain.
Despite these hindrances, Schonbrun believes neuroscience is gradually starting to take hold. He sees it every time a franchise hires a sports scientist who's studied the brain, including a few in recent years in MLB.
"It's silliness to ignore it," he said, "and to continue to go make terrible decisions based off of combine scores and sprints."
For now, one of the main lessons in "The Performance Cortex" can be summarized by a piece of celebrated internet content. In the above video from 2014, a 2-year-old girl solves a Rubik's Cube in 70 seconds. It came up in a conversation Schonbrun once had with Krakauer, and it's worth contemplating anytime Curry pulls up from 30 feet.
Typically, no kid would be considered intelligent at such a young age. But her accomplishment sure seems like a sign of genius.
"Perhaps, then, Krakauer argues, we should be evaluating intelligence simply based upon extraordinary things we can do with our brains," Schonbrun writes.
"Becoming an all-time great professional basketball player would be one of those things."
Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore. He’s on Twitter @nickmfaris.
Hedman also missed Game 3 of the first-round series Sunday with an undisclosed injury.
The reigning Norris Trophy winner notched 54 points in 70 regular-season games during 2018-19.
Cooper added Tuesday that Anton Stralman will also miss Game 4. Stralman has been out with what the club classified as a lower-body injury and last played in Tampa Bay's penultimate regular-season game on April 4.
Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour said Tuesday he would assume Svechnikov is out for Game 4 against the Washington Capitals on Thursday, according to The Athletic's Chris Kuc.
Brind'Amour added that Svechnikov is in concussion protocol and went to the hospital Monday night, though everything "checked out," according to the team's senior web producer, Michael Smith.
"We're going to be real careful," the Carolina bench boss said Tuesday.
Ovechkin dropped Svechnikov to the ice with a hard right hand after the Russian countrymen engaged in the first period Monday night. Svechnikov did not return to the game.
The Capitals superstar said postgame that Svechnikov asked him to square off, but Brind'Amour seemingly questioned that statement Tuesday.
"There's two versions of that going around. I'll just leave it at that," the Hurricanes head coach told reporters, including NHL.com's Tom Gulitti.
Brind'Amour also expressed his feelings about fighting in hockey, in light of the circumstances.
Brind’Amour asked if fighting is needed in the game.
TORONTO - Typically, Andreas Johnsson is a support piece for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He'll contribute, sure, but he isn't expected to do anything spectacular.
Once in a while, though, when the rookie is bolting, buzzing, and bumping around the ice, his impact rises exponentially. Monday's Game 3 against the Boston Bruins was one of those occasions - and the timing was impeccable.
Just hours after veteran center Nazem Kadri was given a series-long suspension, Johnsson scored a goal, earned a primary assist, and, as coach Mike Babcock described it afterward, had "all the details in his game."
Throughout Toronto's 3-2 home victory over Boston, which gave the Leafs a 2-1 series lead, the feisty winger bolted, traveling from zone to zone with that choppy yet efficient stride of his; buzzed, rattling bodies along the boards and in the corners; and bumped, smartly redirecting the puck from the middle lane to the periphery of the offensive zone on the power play.
"Johnny's a gamer," teammate Trevor Moore said, sizing up the turbo-charged performance. "That’s Mango," added Zach Hyman, dropping Johnsson's nickname.
Kevin Sousa / Getty
Now, this Boston-Toronto series shouldn't be about guys like Johnsson. Stripped down to its bare bones, it should be laser-focused on two of the top forward lines in the NHL.
For the Bruins, that's the longtime Best Line in Hockey™ - Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak. For the Leafs, it's John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and Hyman, a trio that lives one rung below best-in-class status.
Conventional wisdom suggests whoever wins the five-on-five battle between those lines will advance to the second round. And so far, the matchup has been tight.
Bergeron, Marchand, and Pastrnak have been on the ice for a combined two goals for and five against, making them minus-3 with a collective Corsi of 52.6 percent. Tavares, Marner, and Hyman have been on the ice for a combined four goals for and five against, making them minus-1. Their collective Corsi is 45.9 percent.
With a better goal differential, Toronto holds the edge in the clash of formidable first lines. But only barely.
Mark Blinch / Getty Images
That brings us back to Johnsson and the rest of Toronto's forward group. Sans Kadri, which players filled the void at even strength and on special teams during Game 3 at Scotiabank Arena?
Two Swedes acted as a Kadri Frankenstein of sorts. While Johnsson assumed Kadri's usual high-slot spot on the PP's first unit, countryman William Nylander slid over to the third-line center spot at five-on-five.
Nylander, who scored a goal in Game 1 but submitted an error-ridden Game 2, semi-redeemed himself on Monday. Unlike Kadri, the crafty 22-year-old will never wow you with his defensive acumen. But when he's engaged and unafraid of contact - more or less a requirement of playing center in the NHL - he can hold his own without the puck. All in all, Nylander did his part in Game 3.
Check out this defensive-zone sequence from the second period. Nylander (No. 29 in blue) identifies the open man (Jake DeBrusk, No. 74 in white), skates toward him, blocks his shot, and then proceeds to awkwardly pin him against the boards. The puck pops out to a Toronto teammate. Crisis averted.
Via Sportsnet/CBC
Johnsson, who's found a nice home on Auston Matthews' left wing, asserted himself a handful of times during his playoff-high 18 minutes and 30 seconds of ice time. His effectiveness shone brightest through his ferocious forechecks, though his PP goal showed he's perfectly capable of manning the Kadri spot on the first unit.
In the clip below, notice how Johnsson (No. 18 in blue) taps his stick to call for the pass from Morgan Rielly. Upon reception, he immediately and intelligently bumps the puck to Matthews and then drives to the net. Thanks to a beautiful behind-the-back pass from Tavares, the puck ends up on his stick in a prime scoring area. Uncontested, Johnsson patiently switches from forehand to backhand before going top corner on Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask.
Via Sportsnet/CBC
That goal gave the Leafs a 3-1 lead and capped off a gigantic opening 40 minutes for the team, during which Moore and Matthews joined Johnsson in the goal column and goalie Frederik Andersen stopped 24 of 26 shots. The Leafs had a firm grip on the Bruins, especially in the second period.
Meanwhile, Matthews' power-play goal was his first point of the series, and don't be surprised if the face of the franchise carries his swagger into Wednesday's Game 4. Earlier Monday, Babcock had hinted the big center was close to breaking through.
"Skill is a wonderful thing," the coach said pregame in response to a question about Matthews. "Will is more important at this time of year, and determination."
Overall, one could argue that not a single Leafs forward took the night off in Game 3 (though Patrick Marleau would lead the non-factor list). Moore and fellow fourth-liners Tyler Ennis and Frederick Gauthier were active throughout the contest. Marner continued to display his all-around game, fearlessly blocking consecutive shots by Pastrnak in the dying seconds of the third period.
"To me, that's team-building," Babcock said of Marner's defensive plays. "That's just laying it on the line when you need to and it makes everyone else around you better. Good for him and good for us."
All things considered, it was a great night for Toronto's forward group. No Nazem, no problem. At least through one tilt.
(Advanced stats courtesy Natural Stat Trick)
John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.
The Russian countrymen dropped the gloves in the first period, and the much bigger Ovechkin dropped Svechnikov to the ice with a powerful right hand. Carolina's rookie was helped to the dressing room by trainers and didn't return due to an upper-body injury.
"If you watch the video, he slashes him twice - Ovi, whack, whack - then Svech gets him back," Brind'Amour said, per ESPN's Emily Kaplan. "I don't know if there's words exchanged but, one guy's gloves come off way first. And that's Ovi, not our guy. So it's a little bit frustrating because he got hurt. It's his first fight. He's played 90 games. He's never fought in his life, and I'm pretty sure Ovi knew that. So that stuff bothers me."
The Hurricanes drafted Svechnikov second overall in the 2018 draft, and the skillful winger put up 37 points in 82 games before notching three points in the opening two games of the first-round series.
"Svech means a lot to us," Brind'Amour said. "Young kid. Just turned 19. He has a special bond with our group, with me too. When you see that it makes you sick. I'm still sick to my stomach about it."
After the Hurricanes' 5-0 win, Ovechkin said Svechnikov challenged him to square off, and that he hopes he's OK.
"You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take."
Wayne Gretzky's famous adage was on full display Monday when the Washington Capitals were shut out by the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-0, in Game 3 of their first-round series.
The Capitals were dominated from start to finish and were outshot in all three periods, including an 18-1 count in the second frame - their only shot on goal in a span of just over 40 minutes. The single effort set a franchise record for fewest in a period for a road playoff game, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti.
With 4:51 remaining in the third period, the Hurricanes held a shot advantage of 42-11. They heavily controlled the possession game as well, out-attempting the Capitals 51-28 at even strength on the night.
Following the game, Capitals star center Nicklas Backstrom called his team's performance "completely unacceptable," according to NBCS Washington's Brian McNally. In total, nine Capitals were held without a shot on the night.
"They were on a different level than we were tonight," head coach Todd Reirden said postgame, according to McNally.
The win marked the Hurricanes' first in the postseason since May 14, 2009.
Washington still holds a 2-1 series lead and will look to bring a stronger effort in Game 4 on Thursday.
The hit took place with just over three minutes left in the second period of Game 3. Thornton was handed a two-minute minor for an illegal check to the head on the play.
Nosek appeared to be shaken up after the hit but stayed in the game.
Thornton has been suspended just once over his 21-year NHL career. He was handed a two-game ban in 2010 for a controversial hit to the head of St.Louis Blues forward David Perron.
The 39-year-old Thornton recorded his third point of the series on Kevin Labanc's first-period tally in Game 3.
San Jose faces a 2-1 series deficit entering Game 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Vegas on Tuesday.
