Maple Leafs RW Marner returns after stitches on ear

Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Mitch Marner left Saturday's home game against the New York Rangers with a cut to his ear, but he returned to finish the game after getting stitches. Marner, 22, was struck in the head on a shot with approximately 10 minutes remaining in regulation and grabbed at his left ear as he fell to the ice. He received attention from a trainer, who held a bandage to the bleeding wound as Marner left the ice.

But Marner, who had an assist before leaving, returned in the final five minutes of regulation. Head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters afterward that Marner ran from the locker room back to the bench, insisting he was ready to return after getting stitches. Marner played two shifts to finish the third period -- being on the ice for Auston Matthews' game-tying goal with 53 seconds left -- and had won in overtime, where he was on the ice as the Rangers won it on Tony DeAngelo's goal 53 seconds into the period.

Despite missing 11 games earlier this season because of a sprained right ankle, Marner has 10 goals and a team-high 26 assists for the Maple Leafs, with his 36 points ranking second on the team in scoring behind Auston Matthews. The fourth overall pick in 2015, Marner had 94 points (26 goals, 68 assists) last season and signed a six-year, $65.36 million contracts in September.

--Field Level Media