Are the Toronto Marlies ever really a beaten team?
They showcased their comeback prowess in an incredible third and final game of this playoff series with Bridgeport. The Sound Tigers threw everything they had at the Marlies, but it wasn’t enough for them to avoid elimination in three straight.
On a night when the home team played two horrible periods of defensive hockey, it was fitting that Toronto’s blue liners came up with a tonne of offense in reply.
First Period
In truth, the game and the series should have been out of sight for Bridgeport after the opening 20 minutes. Toronto outshot their guests 19-7 and let some glorious opportunities go begging.
Returning to the Ricoh for the first time since last summer’s trade was Christopher Gibson, who was in no mood for reminiscing. Josh Leivo and Mark Arcobello set the tone early, with Gibson needing to be on his toes early to deny the latter. Gibson then turned aside Leivo after excellent work from Connor Brown, before a rush by Zach Hyman from his own zone resulted in another shot well held by the Bridgeport goaltender.
The one-way traffic was only halted by Antoine Bibeau making his first save over four minutes in. Toronto responded with T.J Brennan letting one fly, but again Gibson was equal to the effort.
It was something of a surprise when Bridgeport opened the scoring six minutes into the game. It started with an ill-disciplined piece of play from Nylander, who tripped up his opponent in what was retribution after receiving a couple of shoves. On the resulting powerplay, Michael Dal Colle did well to hold onto the puck before firing a shot that was blocked by Viktor Loov. Showing composure, the rookie corralled the puck and put a shot through on net. Bibeau made the first save, but could do nothing to prevent Mar-Andre Cliché from slotting home the rebound.
Back at even strength, Toronto bounced back to once again dominate the proceedings. A full wind-up from Connor Carrick produced a laser beam that missed the net by an inch. Sam Carrick tried to provide the tying goal for Leivo, who was again denied by Gibson.
Kapanen, having his best game in a long while, teed up Ben Smith with a delightful pass, but it was the same old story as Gibson stood on his head.
Culpable for the powerplay that led to the first goal, Nylander made amends by drawing a penalty for the Marlies approaching the midway mark. After a Brennan bomb found the outside of the iron, the tying goal wasn’t long in coming. An attempted clearance by Bridgeport was well held in the zone by Connor Carrick, who was allowed to drift a few feet into the middle of the ice — an invitation he welcomed by smashing his shot through traffic and past Gibson.
Brown’s reverse pass to Leivo then took the visitors defense by surprise, but his wicked one time was held. Brendan Leipsic and Hyman broke from just inside their own zone with the former driving the play. A nice move took Leispic around one defenseman, but he was hauled down as he went to shoot on his backhand.
Despite the Marlies being in total control, they had to dodge a bullet late in order to head into the second period level. Giving up possession while overloaded down low, Bridgeport moved the puck swiftly and sent Colin Markison alone the other way on Bibeau. Almost a passenger during the opening frame, Bibeau produced a huge right pad save which delighted the home fans almost as much as the tying goal.
Second Period
Bibeau had a period to forget in the middle frame, but these are 20 minutes that will live on in the memories of Marlies fans. Periods rarely produce more action than the seven penalties, six goals and a goaltending change we saw in period two Thursday night at Ricoh.
Toronto began with a powerplay carried over from the first period, but Connor Carrick was hauled off for tripping 35 seconds in. On the ensuing four on four, the visitors reclaimed the lead off the initial faceoff. Mike Halmo was allowed to walk from the right wall and into the centre of the ice, cruising by the returning Loov and using Stuart Percy as a partial screen while shooting against the grain past Bibeau.
Kapanen had a chance to reply with a partial breakaway. Harassed from behind, the winger fired his shot disappointingly wide after a great effort to create the initial chance. Bridgeport had a chance to extend the lead with a partial breakaway of their own on the next shift, but Connor Jones lost the handle in tight after driving across the goal crease.
Nylander came the closest to tying the game at the seven-minute mark. Percy provided the pass to the Swedish forward, who ripped his effort just wide of the right post in the left circle and from one knee. Seconds later, he made some space for himself with his separation speed, but his shot from the top of the circles was met by Gibson, who somehow saw it through a wall of traffic.
Nylander, proving a constant handful for Bridgeport, was then hauled down by Ben Holmstrom during four-on-four action. Remarkably, played continued with no call.
Loov was careless mere seconds later as he slashed his opponent, sending the Sound Tigers to the power play. It’d take just 34 seconds for Bridgeport to take advantage of Loov’s error. Kane Lafranchise and defenseman Kyle Burroughs played some pitch and catch before the latter launched himself into a one timer that rang off the post and in.
The frustration at the officials only increased ten seconds after the goal after Connor Brown was called for interference — a questionable decision made by the official furthest away from the action. Brown was incensed at the decision and so was the crowd, whose mood was not improved on the resulting penalty kill.
A shot from Bracken Kearns was tipped in front by Cliché, giving Bibeau no chance. After two goals in 78 seconds had propelled Bridgeport into a 4-1 lead, Sheldon Keefe decided to swap his goaltenders around.
The introduction of Garret finally sparked the Marlies into action. Sometimes playoff hockey comes down to the smallest of plays. Many fans would not have Rich Clune in the Marlies line-up given the depth of talent on the roster, yet it was the Marlie agitator who drew a crucial penalty to enable his team to get back into the game; Sebastian Collberg took it upon himself to slash Clune after the two exchanged pleasantries.
On the ensuing powerplay, after Connor Carrick put the puck into his wheelhouse, Brennan’s trademark one-time blast brought the Marlies to within two.
On the shift following the goal, Leipsic’s effort slid just wide and it was clear Toronto had gotten their legs back underneath them. There was certainly a hike in the noise level as the sell-out crowd did their part to lift their team.
It had desired effect — after a huge save from Sparks to deny Colin Markison, Toronto drew within one. It was somewhat of a speculative shot from Connor Carrick, who was positioned just a couple of feet inside the blue line off the right board. It mattered not, as puck found its way in through a melee of players in front of the net, with the Marlies again doing a fine job of screening Gibson.
Could Toronto complete the comeback before the end of the period, with just two minutes remaining? Of course they could. First Kasperi Kapanen sprung a 3-on-1 break, but a diving Lafranchise did well to break up the play. Nylander won back the puck on the right wall before delivering a pinpoint pass to Connor Carrick on the left side of the slot. Carrick wired a low shot just inside the post to clinch a two-period hat trick and tie the game at 4-4.
The action in the middle frame still wasn’t through as temperatures flared between the two teams just before the intermission. Justin Holl was given two huge shots before Sparks was chopped at by Holstrom. As the buzzer sounded, Arcobello was cross-checked by Scott Mayfield, sending the Marlie centerman flying. Leivo jumped into the action like a shot, nailing Mayfield with a glove to the chin, with both parties receiving minor penalties heading into the third.
Third Period
The fast-and-furious action continued into the final frame, with the next goal taking less than three minutes to materialize. After Hyman had the puck poked away from him after trying to make a play from the high slot, it fell to Loov on the right side. Loov showed patience in waiting for traffic to materialize in front, specifically through Zach Hyman, before firing home past an unsighted Gibson.
Bridgeport responded after the early body blow, forcing Sparks into two big saves. Toronto weren’t going to try and sit on a slender advantage after the way the game had transpired up until this point, though. They continued to push the play, allowing Bridgeport little in the way of sustained offensive zone time.
As the game moved inside the last ten minutes, Brown and Arcobello nearly connected for an insurance marker, with Arcobello’s shot just missing the far post.
Bridgeport’s last opportunity to tie the game come via a 3-on-2 break. A drop pass found the trailing Collberg, whose heavy shot was clung onto well by Sparks.
Responding to that warning shot, Nylander used his speed to create an odd man rush for Toronto and found Ben Smith to his right, but Gibson made another fantastic stop to deny a certain goal.
Gibson was, however, beaten for a sixth time as Toronto opened some breathing room. After Leipsic stickhandled in a phone booth around the slot area, he found Hyman waiting by the left side of the net. Hyman wasted no time slapping the puck home for a 6-4 lead with under eight minutes to play.
Toronto opted for a little caution at this point; their defensemen clearly instructed to think twice about pinching or jumping into the play.
Gibson frustrated Leivo and Brown to keep the score respectable, allowing Bridgeport to go for broke with 90 seconds on the clock. The extra attacker enabled the visitors to put some pressure on Toronto and draw a penalty with under a minute left. Even while down two men, the Marlies saw out the final seconds to secure the win and the series sweep.
Post Game Notes
– Toronto out-shot Bridgeport 43-24, with Josh Leivo’s nine efforts on net leading the way.
– Toronto were two for three with the man advantage but allowed Bridgeport to score three times on five PP opportunities.
– Connor Carrick’s hat-trick was the first time since 2011 that an AHL defenseman has scored a hat-trick in the post-season, and also the first time since 2011 that any player — forward or defenceman — has scored five points in a single post-season game. Remarkable.
– Ben Smith fired seven shots but remarkably failed to score or register a point.
– Antoine Bibeau allowed four goals on twelve shots. While he’d like to make a save somewhere along the way, none were explicitly his fault. Garret Sparks turned aside all twelve shots he faced in relief.
– Colin Smith came in for Nikita Soshnikov and Viktor Loov replaced Rinat Valiev (healthy scratch).
– Loov looked rusty at times — caught flat footed and behind the pace on a few occasions — but that’s of no surprise given his lack of game action in the last couple of months.
Game Highlights
Sheldon Keefe Post Game
Marlies Player Stats — Toronto 6 vs. Bridgeport 4
| PLAYERS | Position | ÊGÊ | ÊAÊ | +/- | SH | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ÊCampbell, Andrew | D | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| ÊBrennan, T.J. | D | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| ÊCarrick, Connor | D | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| ÊPercy, Stuart | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| ÊHyman, Zach | RW | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| ÊLeivo, Josh | LW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| ÊCarrick, Sam | C | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| ÊClune, Richard | LW | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| ÊLeipsic, Brendan | LW | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| ÊSmith, Ben | RW | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| ÊGauthier, Frederik | C | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| ÊArcobello, Mark | C | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
| ÊBrown, Connor | RW | 0 | 0 | -1 | 3 | 2 |
| ÊSmith, Colin | C | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| ÊHoll, Justin | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| ÊKapanen, Kasperi | LW | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| ÊLoov, Viktor | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| ÊNylander, William | C | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
