Marner’s big night helps Vegas reach Western Conference Final

Vegas Golden Knights players celebrate a goal in the third period during a Stanley Cup Playoff game against the Anaheim Ducks on May 14, 2026 in Anaheim, CA. ANAHEIM, Calif. — Mitch Marner may not care about the narratives that surround him, but whether he likes it or not, the hockey world does.

Over the past few years, Marner has drawn the ire of Toronto Maple Leafs fans for the team’s postseason struggles, as he was one of the superstars expected to help the Maple Leafs end their 59-year Stanley Cup drought. In the end, the team failed to get past the second round of the playoffs with their star-studded core of Marner, Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares, and Marner took the brunt of the blame as fans doubted his playoff playing abilities, which led to his departure last summer. In his first season donning a Vegas Golden Knights uniform, Marner is proving that all the noise is just narratives.

And on Thursday night at Honda Center, Marner cemented his case with a two-point effort in a Game 6 win, 5-1, to eliminate the Anaheim Ducks and move on to the Western Conference Finals. In the playoffs as a whole, Marner scored seven goals and notched 18 points in 12 games. His 18 points lead all players this postseason.

“This game is probably one of the biggest non-individual games out of all the sports that are professional, to be honest,” Marner said of making the conference finals for the first time. “Nothing in this sport can really beat one man, so I think our line has done a great job throughout this series of making plays, finding the open ice, playing very responsible (defensive) zone wise but yeah, I mean, obviously, individually wise it feels great to be going on to the next round with this team and the work now really just keeps getting harder and we're excited for it. ” Honda Center had been a tough place for visiting teams to play in this season.