Maple Leafs’ Mitch Marner, William Nylander make feelings clear on Game 1 home crowd 'energy' vs Senators

On Sunday, the Toronto Maple Leafs took care of business in Game 1 against the Ottawa Senators thanks to good performances from Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Co. They started the playoffs at home in front of their fans.

Those fans provided an excellent atmosphere that helped propel the team to a 6-2 victory. Afterwards, Marner and Nylander reflected on the crowd's impact on them.

Marner said,

"I thought the [atmosphere] was great. Playoffs in here is always a lot of fun, and you can feel the energy, you can feel the energy when you’re driving into the city. It's special. We've got one-of-a-kind fans, we're lucky to have them. It was a great night by them.”

Nylander echoed that sentiment:

"They were buzzing. It was a lot of fun. Great atmosphere for sure. That’s what playoffs is all about."

Marner had a goal and two assists. Nylander had one goal and one assist. Auston Matthews also chipped in two assists, while Morgan Rielly, Matthew Knies, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and John Tavares added the remaining goals.

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Mitch Marner cites 4 Nations for playoff confidence

Mitch Marner has helped the Toronto Maple Leafs start well in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year. His confidence in the postseason stems partly from being on the 4 Nations Face-Off team for Canada.

Mitch Marner credited the 4 Nations for confidence (Imagn)

He assisted Connor McDavid's winning goal in overtime against Team USA, and that experience has paid dividends.

"That tournament was pretty quick," Marner said (h/t Yahoo! Sports). "It was obviously very, very intense, and that's kind of what playoffs is. It kind of happens quickly, games go by fast, and then you've got to look forward to the next one and realize that it's going to be even harder. So, yeah, I don't know, just calmness and confidence, obviously, from that tournament, which helps."

Marner and the Leafs got the Senators into a lot of disadvantageous spots, as they scored three power-play goals. Ottawa continuously committed penalties and kept falling behind on the power-play.

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Edited by Ribin Peter