Red-hot Marner keeping 'same mindset' as point-streak continues

Mitch Marner and the Toronto Maple Leafs have been enjoying coming to the rink lately. 

"It's been a lot of fun. It really has. I think for me though, I always try to bring the same mindset, energy and enjoyment to every day," Marner told TSN 1050's First Up during a pre-recorded interview. "It does help when your team is doing very well and things are going well for you personally, but I try to bring the same energy every single day."

Marner extended his franchise-record point streak to 22 games with two points, including scoring the overtime winner, Saturday night in a win over the visiting Calgary Flames. The 25-year-old native of Markham, Ont., has been one of the hottest players in the NHL since starting his streak in late October, netting 11 goals and 19 assists over the 22 games. Marner has scored 12 goals and 23 assists over 29 games this season, his seventh in Toronto. 

He passed the Leafs’ point streak record earlier this month, previously shared by franchise legend Darryl Sittler and Eddie Olczyk at 18. Marner currently sits 23rd all time when it comes to the NHL point streak record, still a long way off from Wayne Gretzky's incredible streak of 51 games during the 1983-84 season. Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane has the longest streak among active players at 26, which he accomplished during the 2015-16 campaign. Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins had a streak of 25 games in 2010

Marner told TSN 1050 that he's always trying to improve all aspects of his game, especially his shot. 

"It's something I just try to keep working on throughout practices, summer skates, just anything I can whenever I'm on the ice," Marner explained. "It's something you always try to work on and always try to get better. I mean, I'm not always shooting the hardest usually, but I try to take great pride in my accuracy and placement of shots. I think trying to get it off my stick pretty quickly has been working." 

Not only has Marner been lighting the lamp at a rapid rate, but the Leafs have arguably been the hottest team in the NHL since mid-November. The 18-5-6 Maple Leafs have won eight of their last nine games and own a record of 11-0-3 in their last 14 contests. They haven't lost a game in regulation since Nov. 11 and are three points behind the mighty Boston Bruins for the top spot in the NHL. 

Despite the strong play as of late, the first month of the season was not as fun for the Leafs, highlighted by a troubling West coast road trip in late October when they lost four straight games. 

Marner said the team never lost confidence in each other during those tough times and knew they had the talent to get back on track. 

"I think we always had faith in our group. We knew that we're a group that has a lot of skill, a lot of heart, can do a lot of great things together and we weren't worried. We knew it was an unacceptable start, but we weren't worried because we knew we weren't playing up to our level," Marner said. "We weren't doing what we needed to do. I think we really turned that around. We had a couple really big meetings. We talked about really bringing everyone together and turning our season around. I thought we've done a great job of that so far and the work still has to be done."

The Anaheim Ducks pay a visit to Scotiabank Arena Tuesday night. Viewers in the Leafs region can watch the action with coverage beginning at 6:30pm ET on TSN4 and streaming on TSN.ca or the TSN App.