Your NHL playoff point-scoring leader as of May 9: Mitch Marner.

After a hat trick and four-point performance in the Vegas Golden Knights’ 6-2 Game 3 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday, Marner propelled himself to the top of the postseason scoring race ahead of Kirill Kaprizov, Quinn Hughes, and teammate Jack Eichel.

The first four games of Round 1 were more of the same that we’ve seen in Marner’s playoff past, but since then, he’s elevated his game to another level, and Toronto Maple Leafs fans have to be asking where this was for the last decade. The comparisons between his postseason production during his short time with his new team thus far, as opposed to his lengthy tenure as a Maple Leaf, have been everywhere of late.

New head coach John Tortorella certainly doesn’t buy into any of the past narratives and has his superstar winger’s back.

“He’s confident. People give him **** about the playoffs, and this, and that. I don’t think it bothers him a lick,”

The 29-year-old Marner is now up to 13 points (six goals, seven assists) through his first nine games of the postseason. He was, of course, dealt to Vegas from Toronto in a sign-and-trade for Nicolas Roy before signing an eight-year, $96 million contract with the Golden Knights this summer.

There’s still a long way to go for Marner to reach his ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup in Vegas. That said, this recent explosion of production will only make one of the league’s most talented players even more confident in his abilities, which is a scary thought for the rest of the NHL.

This was always the Maple Leafs’ and their fans’ worst nightmare—Marner leaving and thriving, perhaps even winning a Cup, wherever he went next. We’re not quite there yet, but there’s no denying it’s been a great start, and the vibes are high in Sin City.

Next: Kucherov, MacKinnon, McDavid Nominated for the Hart Trophy