Mitch Marner and his Vegas Golden Knights are now just two wins away from capturing the Stanley Cup.

The much-maligned former Maple Leaf erupted for a hat trick and an assist as Vegas outlasted Carolina 5-4 in double overtime in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead. At this point, Marner has emerged as the clear frontrunner for the Conn Smythe Trophy. He’s been nothing short of sensational throughout the playoffs.

That’s where the conversation started on the Monday edition of Leafs Morning Take as Bruce Boudreau filled in for Jay Rosehill in the co-host chair. The Golden Knights continue to be a revelation under John Tortorella. Even though the series is only 2-1, it feels like Vegas is firmly in the driver’s seat. They’re a deep, relentless team, and Carolina seems to be playing catch-up right now. Boudreau also weighed in on the goaltending situation, drawing on his experience coaching Frederik Andersen. As “Gabby” pointed out, consistency has been a recurring issue throughout Andersen’s career, and at the moment, he’s struggling. In fact, Boudreau said he would turn to Brandon Bussi—who relieved Andersen and finished Game 3—for Tuesday night’s pivotal Game 4.

Meantime, for the first time since 2018, the Toronto Marlies are headed to the Calder Cup Final. Alex Nylander scored the overtime winner in Game 6 as Toronto edged Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2-1 to clinch the Eastern Conference Final in six games. It’s been an impressive run for the Marlies, who now sit four wins away from capturing the Calder Cup. Toronto will face either Chicago or Colorado in the championship series. Those two teams square off tonight in a winner-take-all Game 7 of the Western Conference Final.

After that, we shifted our attention to the Leafs’ coaching search. We had some fun with John Chayka stating that the organization has spoken with roughly 55 different candidates throughout the process. Meanwhile, over the weekend, Joe Pavelski—who is currently coaching minor hockey—emerged as a potential interview candidate. Clearly, the Maple Leafs are leaving no stone unturned as they look to get this hire right. That said, Boudreau isn’t sold on the idea. Naturally, many have pointed to the success of Montreal’s Martin St. Louis as a comparable path. However, as Boudreau noted, St. Louis needed a few seasons to find his footing behind an NHL bench. The takeaway? While Pavelski is an intriguing name, he’s far from a sure thing.

The NHL Draft is now just 18 days away, and our biggest takeaway from the Draft Combine in Buffalo is that it’s becoming increasingly likely the Maple Leafs will select Gavin McKenna first overall. Ultimately, that shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, but with draft day fast approaching, it’s all starting to feel very real. Anything can happen between now and then, but based on the way John Chayka and Mark Leach spoke throughout the week, all signs seem to point toward McKenna being the choice at No. 1.

Before wrapping up the show, Boudreau also weighed in on Dylan Larkin’s trade request out of Detroit, along with all the fallout from last week’s Matthew Knies trade speculation.

At any rate, Rosie will be back in the mix for Tuesday’s edition of Leafs Morning Take. We’ll preview Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final and take an early look at the Calder Cup Final. Plus, fresh off leading the Kitchener Rangers to a Memorial Cup championship, head coach Jussi Ahokas will stop by the show.

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