Kevin Bieksa reveals the real reason behind Mitch Marner's sudden playoff success.

The Vegas Golden Knights took a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup Final after a big win on Saturday night, a win that was propelled by a huge second period natural hat trick courtesy of Vegas Golden Knights star forward Mitch Marner. It was another example of Marner seemingly becoming a different player this season, and during the broadcast of Game 3 former National Hockey League defenseman Kevin Bieksa revealed his theory on what has changed for Marner.

A Different Type of Opponent This Time Around.

While Bieksa acknowledged Marner's incredible talent, his theory actually has very little to do with Marner himself. Instead Bieksa believes that the type of competition Marner has faced this year represents the biggest difference maker in his estimation.

"That brings me to my theory about Mitch Marner," said Bieksa on Saturday night. "He's leading the playoffs in goal and everybody's asking 'What's different about Marner this year?' Think about the team's he's played. Utah, Anaheim, and Colorado. Nobody is overly aggressive out of those teams so Marner hasn't been really hit or knocked down a lot. He's been able to make plays with the puck, that's the big difference for me."

A History of Bigger Competition.

During his tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Marner and the Leafs would often run into the type of teams that simply grind you down over a playoff series with physical play. Teams like the Florida Panthers in 2023 and again in 2025 or the Boston Bruins in 2024.

It's hard to argue with Bieksa's perspective when looking at some of Marner's more unfortunate numbers during his tenure with the Maple Leafs. Marner had an abysmal 18 game playoff scoreless streak between 2019 and 2021 which included 3 first round exits for the Maple Leafs over that span. Marner's struggles in big games werre also well documented with Games 6 and 7 particularly notable. Marner had just 2 assists over an 0-6 stretch in elimination games for the Maple Leafs, which would be the games where the grinding style of the Panthers and Bruins would have their greatest impact on a player's body.

Changing The Narrative.

There's little doubt that Marner is changing his story in this playoff run with the Golden Knights and Saturday night's Game 3 was no exception. Marner's hat trick marked the fastest hat trick ever recorded in Stanley Cup Final history, doing so in just 6 minutes and 10 seconds.

Marner dethrones some truly legendary company to claim the record as well, surpassing the previous record of 6 minutes and 21 seconds set 69 years ago by the iconic Maurice "The Rocket" Richard.