Remember seeing that and thinking to myself that is the very first time I've EVER seen Marner get physical after a whistle.
Same... I was blown away.
Marner has distanced himself so much from the physical side of the game that his emotions never get the best of him. Then Berube makes him go into a corner, and voilà!
How can you be ready for playoff hockey if you’re not playing physical during the season?
How can you "go to war," as Marner described the playoffs in his locker cleanout interview, if you’re not in the battles?
How can you match the intensity of the opponent if you’re just standing on the side, watching?
It’s like any human skill: if you’re forced to do it regularly, you become accustomed to it, and it starts to come naturally. But if you avoid it all season, then come playoffs, you’ll be timid and afraid. That’s where Marner’s mistakes come from.
It really does pass the eye test.
I would have loved to be at that practice where Marner was standing on the side, waiting for the puck to come loose, and Berube yelled, “Marner, get in there!” . Obviously something clearly triggered the change.
Even in the game against the Blues on the penalty kill, Marner got into a board battle, holding the puck for a large chunk of the Blues’ power play. The broadcast praised him for using his body and board work to protect the puck.
In the past, that never would have happened. He would have just waited for the puck to squirt out and then tried a stick lift or a poke check.