First, let’s establish the fact that both Mitch Marner and John Tavares are phenomenal hockey players and any team would be lucky to have them.

Second, let’s explain what is qualified as a tap in. By definition, a tap in is “a goal scored without great effort by simply knocking the puck into the goal from close range”. So pretty much, this is what a tap in looks like:

In order to get to the bottom of this mystery, however, we’re going to need some sort of scoring system. And that’s where the Tap-o-Meter comes in.

The Tap-o-Meter is very simple and assigns a percentage of how much of a tap in it was to the following degrees:

Full Tap – A goal which is by definition a tap in. Major Tap – A goal in which may not be a by-the-book definition of a tap in, but was as close to a sure thing as possible. Half Tap – A goal in which, which the setup play was nice, it wouldn’t have happened without an equal amount of help from a teammate or the goal scorer. Quarter Tap – A goal which has some part of a tap in, but is heavily influenced and assisted by linemates and/or the goal scorer. No Tap – When there isn’t a tap in.

Alright, we’ve got that settled. Let’s hop into the goals and finally see if Tavares just dunks home Marner’s tap passes.

1. Oct. 7, 2018 vs. Chicago — TOR 4–3

About: Off a won powerplay draw, Rielly fires from the left Point to Maner at the right point. Marner shoots it towards the net and Tavares tips it five hole on Cam Ward.

Verdict: Not a tap in; Tavares had incredible hand-eye to tip that puck.

2. Oct. 7, 2018 vs. Chicago — TOR 5–4

About: Tavares forces a turnover, Marner retrieves it and lofts a backhand in Tavares’ general direction. Tavares knocks it out of mid-air, takes two strides, and snipes it

Verdict: Not a tap in; Tavares created the turnover and turned a waist high floater pass into a nice goal.

3. Oct. 9, 2018 vs. Dallas— TOR 5–2

About: On the PP, Marner gets the puck after some solid movement, fakes a shot to get Lindell to bite while Tavares backs dat ass up with perfect positioning for a pass and Marner hits the target.

Verdict: A tap in, but with some help from linemates and Tavares (seriously, that positioning was immaculate).

4. Oct. 9, 2018 vs. Dallas — TOR 6–4

About: Hyman hustles and creates a loose puck that Marner alertly steps in and grabs. Marner makes a nice pass to Tavares, then Tavares made a great choice to go for the wrap around and barely slides the puck in.

Verdict: No Tap. A good pass from Marner but Tavares created the majority of the goal.

5. Oct. 24, 2018 vs. WPG — TOR 4–2

About: Par Lindholm misses the puck bat-in at the blueline; Tavares controls it and him and Marner execute a perfect cross to create space, allowing Marner to make a wicked move past a flatfooted Buff. Marner slides a weak but tricky backhander on net and Hellebuyck lets out a tough rebound which Tavares is ready for and pounces on it.

Verdict: Major Tap. Not a direct tap in pass, but lots of work done by Marner after the initial entry and cross with JT to make the goal happen and JT had to do some solid positioning against so I guess we’ll give it a 0.75 tap in.

6. Nov. 3, 2018 vs. PIT — TOR 1–0

About: Marner rushes up the ice, makes an excellent cut, fires the puck towards the net where Tavares makes a nasty deflection.

Verdict: No Tap. Great zone entry by Mitch but, while the goal doesn’t happen without him, the goal only goes in thanks to the saucy hand-eye by Tavares.

7. Nov. 10, 2018 vs. BOS— BOS 3–1

About: On the PP, Dermott slings a pass from the right point to Rielly on the left point, who makes a pass to the right dot for Marner creating a fairly empty passing lane for. Marner flings it over to Tavares who did a good job receiving the pass that was between his feet before wiring it home. Shoutout to Kadri pulling the defender out of the lane too.

Verdict: Quarter Tap. Was it a nice pass by Marner? Yes. Was he the key reason behind it? No. Was it a tap in? No. This was an overall team passing play, plus Tavares had to handle a pass that would handcuff a lot of players before scoring.

8. Nov. 15, 2018 vs. SJ — TOR 1–0

About: On the tail end of a powerplay, Marner rushes up the ice and gains entry of the offensive zone before sliding the puck to his left for Tavares. Tavares goes behind the net his centering pass banks in off of Vlasic for a goal.

Verdict: No Tap. Next.

9. Nov. 19, 2018 vs. CBJ — TOR 2–2

About: Kapanen goes from his goal line to the far blue line for Marner. Marner comes in, insides out Harrington to create a shot and a rebound, then beats Harrington to the rebound and makes a tidy little tap pass to Tavares. Tavares, with a defenseman draped all over him, outmuscles the defender to tap it in.

Verdict: Full Tap. Okay, this was a fantastic play by Marner, and yes it is a tap in, but I don’t think many NHLers are scoring that goal because the positional work by Tavares there is once again elite. Seriously, the guy is a brick house. We’ll score it as a tap in with an asterisk for Tavares’ body work (seriously, it was immaculate).

10. Nov. 24, 2018 vs. PHI— TOR 5–0

About: Marner races to the loose puck, does a beauty toe-drag past a sprawling Sanheim before running into Radko Gudas and losing the puck. The puck slides into an area where, you guessed it, Tavares is there first, outmuscles the opponent, and then wires the puck home.

Verdict: A Quarter Tap. Was the Marner move nice? Yes. However, even though he plays Fortnite, I doubt Marner thought of the 500 IQ “let the puck slide into empty space perfectly” given that he ran into the equivalent of a brick shithouse. It’s not a tap in, but it’s a nice play and Tavares once again follows up the play to perfection, out positions Giroux (notice a theme?), and wires a tough shot top corner. This ain’t a tap in, although it’s a solid assist with some puck luck. We’ll score it as a 0.25 for Marner’s sake, since it was an unintentional perfect pass and he did do a lot of work.

11. Nov. 28, 2018 vs. SJS— TOR 1–0

About: Marner gets the secondary assist on the next goal after he sends a nice slap pass across the ice to Matthews who corrals it perfectly while Tavares slides back into a perfect place to receive the pass to tap the puck in.

Verdict: No Tap. It’s a tap in, but not caused by Marner. And, again, Tavares’ positioning is probably the biggest reason the goal goes in.

12. Nov. 28, 2018 vs. SJS — TOR 3–1

About: The puck’s turned over in the Leafs end with the Tavares-Marner-Hyman trio breaking out on a 3-on-2. Marner broke his stick just before so he sprints to the bench to grab one on the fly which Vlasic notices so he cheats on Hyman. Hyman enters the zone and just barely slides the pass to Marner who, with the new twig, slides it perfectly backdoor to Tavares, who out-positioned Burns, for a tap in.

Verdict: This is a tap in, but one that probably doesn’t happen if Marner doesn’t break his stick deflecting a shot in the defensive end. Either way, nice pass Mitch and, oh would you look at that Tavares positions himself perfectly *again*.

13. Dec. 11, 2018 vs. CAR— TOR 4–1

About: Marner breaks out and plays crisscross apple sauce with Connor Brown, then drives behind the net before sliding it to Tavares who, once again, is in perfect position after he out positioned the defender and pots in another one.

Verdict: Full Tap. While it may be another tap in, it’s also another “oh hey look, Tavares once again out positioned a defender who was draped all over him to put himself into a perfect spot to receive the pass and score.”

14. Dec. 20, 2018 vs. FLA — TOR 5–0

About: Marner picks the puck up in the Florida zone, starts to go around the net while Andreas Johnsson drives to the net, creating a lot of time space for Marner. Marner then putting on the breaks half ways behind then net when literally all of Florida at this point is on the middle or right side of the ice while Tavares sneaks down and makes himself a wide-open target with his stick raised and ready for a shot. Marner sees him, makes the simple pass to Tavares who then wires it home.

Verdict: Half Tap. While you could call this one a tap in, but again I don’t think too many players are making the read Tavares did there and executing the perfect stealth cut while making himself a massive target for Marner who slid an easy pass to him. While this isn’t the definition of a tap in, we’ll give Marner with a 0.50 tap in on this because most players don’t slap on the breaks like that and he did technically find Tavares literally skating with his stick in a shooting position for a back door pass. As an aside, that play doesn’t happen without Johnsson’s terrific cut too. Just a beautiful hockey play.

15. Dec. 28, 2018 vs. CBJ — TOR 1–0

About: On the PP, Marner slides the puck to Kadri in the slot for a deflection, who then tips it into Tavares’ skates before sliding it in and Marner picked up the secondary assist in the process.

Verdict: No Tap. Ironically, if it was Tavares and not Kadri making that initial redirection, I think we had a more clear case for this being a tap in because Tavares probably deflects it home instantly. Alas, we don’t so no point. Sorry Mitch.

16. Dec. 28, 2018 vs. CBJ — TOR 2–1

About: An errand Columbus breakout pass hits Panarin’s skate before bouncing back to Tavares. Tavares controls it, enters the zone and dishes to Mitch Marner who skates in, passes it back to Tavares and then Tavares absolutely wires a perfect shot.

Verdict: No Tap. Yeah, this goal doesn’t happen without Tavares’ elite shot although it was a nice give and go.

17. Jan. 10, 2019 vs. NJ— TOR 3–0

About: Marner gets a secondary assist after sends a nice pass to Morgan Rielly who waits for what seems like an eternity before sending up Tavares backdoor for an easy tapin.

Verdict: No Tap. Yes, this is a tap in, but it’s not created by Marner so NO POINTS FOR YOU.

18. Jan. 20, 2019 vs. ARI— ARI 2–1

About: Off a faceoff in which Hyman wins, Marner taps it back to Tavares who literally shoots the puck through Darcy Kuemper.

Verdict: No Tap. Yeah, that ain’t a tap in. That’s a wicked shot off of a beautiful set play.

19. Feb. 6, 2019 vs. OTT— TOR 4–2

About: On a 2-on-1, Marner toe drags around Ben Harpur, the B̶e̶l̶l̶e̶v̶i̶l̶l̶e Ottawa Senators defenseman, and slides a pass over to John Tavares who, you guessed it, is in perfect position to tap-it in. At least Harpur won’t have to play against Marner except in practices now.

Verdict: Full Tap. We’ve got ourselves a good tap in where Marner makes a good move and Tavares is in perfect position again.

20. Feb. 9, 2019 vs. MTL— TOR 4–3 (OT)

About: In OT, Marner stops up on a perfect crisscross play with Tavares, slides a simple pass to him, before Tavares does all the rest including a wicked backhander top shelf where Paul Marner hides the offer sheet tweets.

Verdict: No Tap. Look, if you’re calling this a tap in or that Marner had everything to do with this goal, I’ve got a monorail to sell you.

21. Feb. 27, 2019 vs. EDM — TOR 6–1

About: On a two-man advantage against the Edmonton Oilers, Marner takes a pass in the left corner from Nylander who was at the left point. Tavares slips out of the Oilers coverage to create an easy passing lane for Marner before picking the corner better than he pick his team in free agency.

Verdict: No Tap. Tavares does all of the set-up work besides passing the puck here and wires a perfect shot. This ain’t a tap in. Seriously, Tavares positions himself incredibly again.

22. Mar. 2, 2019 vs. BUF— TOR 1–0

About: Marner deflected a Martin Marincin point shot. A scrum ensues while the puck is loose, Hyman is tied up by Ristolainen, and Tavares, like he normally does, follows the play and is the first person to get to the puck to tap it in.

Verdict: No Tap. Tavares had some sort of x-ray vision here and Marner had a crazy tip, but no Marner tap in points here.

23. Mar. 13, 2019 vs. CHI— CHI 5–4

About: Up 2 goals with 1:30 left in the third, Duncan Keith tries to clear the Chicago zone but Mitch Marner glues himself to the boards and knocks the puck down. He passes it to Tavares who is at the goal line, and Tavares does the rest here cutting to the net before sneaking it in short side.

Verdict: No Tap. Another Marner primary assist and a nice job at keeping the puck in, but yet another goal that was created by Tavares off a cheeky short side cheese shot.

24. Mar. 25, 2019 vs. FLA— TOR 3–0

About: On the powerplay against Florida, Marner throws the puck on the net from the point where Tavares deflects it, then taps it between his legs (whether it was a shot attempt or a pass to Kadri remains to be determined) but he also slid it through Luongo’s five-hole and scored.

Verdict: No Tap. This is another one that, while it’s a primary assist to Marner, Mitch literally just threw the puck on net and Tavares did the rest.

25. Mar. 25, 2019 vs. FLA — TOR 6–2

About: After a mad scramble in front of the net, Marner makes a terrific effort to get the puck back to Muzzin. Muzzin slings it across to Zaitsev who fires the shot, the rebound comes out to Marner who shoots it again, this time the rebound comes out to a, you guessed it, John Tavares in perfect position to knock in his 4th goal of the game and it six-two be the Panthers.

Verdict: No Tap In. While Tavares does technically have a tap in goal from Marner, it’s not like Marner was intentionally playing a bank of the goalie to Tavares. Nice initial effort from Marner, but this isn’t him creating a tap in for Tavares.

26. Apr. 1, 2019 vs. NYI— TOR 2–0

About: Against his old club, Tavares and Marner enter the zone on a 2-on-2. Marner and Tavares snake across the ice, where Marner draws both defenders to him and creates space for Tavares as he drops the puck to him where Tavares corra… sorry did he just shoot the puck top corner in a single motion?

Verdict: Half Tap. Marner gets credit for the nice set up play, but this is by no means a tap in. We’ll give him 0.5 tap in points again because we’re generous, but this goal doesn’t go in if it’s anyone not named Tavares or Matthews shooting the puck on the Leafs.

Conclusions

Alright, those are all the regular season goals where they combined and Tavares scored. Going by our Tap-o-Meter scale on primary assists, the final results were:

No Taps: 13 (56.5%)

13 (56.5%) Tap Ins: 5 (21.7%)

5 (21.7%) Half Taps: 2 (8.7%)

2 (8.7%) Quarter Taps: 2 (8.7%)

2 (8.7%) Major Taps: 1 (4.3%)

Marner had five tap ins. Of those, a few of them were also from Tavares just dominating the defenders to gain perfect positioning to receive that pass that I don’t think many other players would be able to do.

After watching all of these goals, I’ve drawn the following conclusions:

Mitch Marner is a great hockey player who is fun to watch and does a lot of good things to set up teammates. I mean, I knew this heading in but thought I would restate it because it was cool to watch him do his dekes.

John Tavares is the equivalent of a giant bulls-eye with a neon Las Vegas Strip style sign hanging above is head that says “hit me and I’ll score”. Watch all of his goals, his knowledge of the ice and his ability to position himself to receive a pass is just ridiculous. He makes it look so easy, but there are very few players who can do it that well.

And, the main point: “Marner created so many tap ins for Tavares which is why he scored 47 goals” a false narrative.

So let’s dive into that more.

What Does It All Mean?

There are quite a few things true about Marner’s game that stem from the tap in arguments: he’s got great passing abilities, he sees the ice very well, he is a terrific skater, and he has a great set of hands that can help him open up the ice to create scoring chances. All of these are undeniable and Marner’s ability to use them all at the same time make him an elite playmaker.

At the same time, John Tavares is one of the best in the league — and perhaps hockey history — at positioning himself on the ice. He is able to get himself into a perfect position to not only make himself an easy target for his teammates, but to also seamlessly transition into his next course of action whether it’s shooting, passing, or skating with the puck. This is explains why Tavares’ teammates are constantly better with him than without him:

Chart via Jeff Veillete

It also can help explain why Tavares score 47 goals this year.

The players Tavares played normally played with were more shot-oriented players so Tavares was doing more of the setting up his teammates and scoring.

When playing with Marner, however, Tavares adjusted his game to be the shooter since Marner is a terrific playmaker. Marner, as playmaker, needs to have a target to hit in order to produce the most amount of offense. If there is no target to hit, then a goal doesn’t happen. Given Tavares’ ability to get open to receive the passes while in a scoring position, it allows Marner to connect on a lot more of his passes.

And this is likely why we see a lot of people saying Tavares was a product of Marner because of all the tap ins. People see Marner completing passes to Tavares, both regular and spectacular, and come to the conclusion that Marner is doing all of the work.

It is also an easy narrative to believe in because when most people watch a hockey game, they’re following the puck and see Marner to Tavares to the back of the net a lot.

They’re not following Tavares sliding up from the slot to make himself open for a pass. They’re not following Tavares when he’s making sure he has the better body positioning than the defender.

And those little things that Tavares is busy doing makes it easy for Marner to know he’ll have a passing lane to use his passing skills.

Final Thoughts

Just like it takes two to tango, it takes two to tap in. Tap ins, and passing in general, require two parties: the passer and the receiver. If you don’t have the passer, the receiver is useless. If you don’t have the receiver, the passer is useless.

In order for Mitch Marner to thrive the most, he needs an elite receiver and finisher on his line: someone who can get open, take passes, and convert on his chances.

As a result, Marner’s point totals will scale depending on the quality of receiver he plays with. If it’s a lower-end receiver, he’ll have less points. If it’s John Tavares, who is one of the best in the league at doing what Marner needs in a linemate, Marner will register career highs in points.

On the other hand, Tavares has a unique tool set that allows him to adapt to who he plays with. His ability to get open to receive passes combined with his ability to make plays allows him to play with whoever at a high degree of efficiency and production.

For Tavares, his point totals scale with the quality of linemates he plays with. The better his linemates are, the higher his point totals are. This is why he set career highs last season with Marner, as Marner was the best ever linemate he’s ever played with.

All-in-all, Marner and Tavares are a great pairing because Tavares’ skill set match Marner’s needs in a linemate. They’re fun to watch and they benefit from how great of players they both are.

But, Tavares isn’t a tap in machine that’s a byproduct of Marner’s passing abilities. He’s a key contributor to Marner’s ability to collect so many primary assists because he’s always open and ready to score.

Mystery solved.