It was a game featuring many spills and thrills for the fans to enjoy, but there’s no doubt Sheldon Keefe was tearing his hair out.
Mental fatigue may have played a part in some of the individual errors and general sloppiness, but this has been a trend for a while now, covered up by the amount of offensive talent on the roster.
The first period perfectly encapsulated Toronto’s overall performance against the bottom-ranked team in the Eastern Conference.
It was lowly Binghamton who began stronger, hemming the home team Marlies in their own zone for well over a minute and hitting the post in the process.
A giveaway, the first of many, at the five-minute mark presented Cole Schneider with a chance out in front, but Garret Sparks made a very sharp glove save.
The road team’s control of proceedings was interrupted by a high-sticking penalty. Mark Arcobello, Jeremy Morin and Brendan Leipsic all had good looks but were unable to convert with the extra man.
Toronto generated enough momentum to take the lead shortly after back at even strength. T.J Brennan sent Connor Brown away down the right as Toronto created an oddman rush. Brown faked a shot and squared the puck to Josh Leivo, who buried home a one-time shot from one knee.
The lead lasted just 85 seconds.
A turnover put the puck on the stick of Colin Greening, who wasn’t able to beat Sparks but Binghamton kept the cycle alive. Greening found David Dziurzynski from behind the net, and Dziurzynski made no mistake in tight.
Back on the powerplay, Toronto come close to regaining the lead but weren’t counting on some superb saves from Binghamton netminder Chris Driedger. He turned aside Leipsic, Brennan and Matt Frattin as his team killed off the penalty.
An effort from Casey Bailey with 75 seconds remaining was the last real chance of the period as the teams entered the first intermission tied at ones.
The middle frame saw the Marlies fortunate to take an early lead. Ryan Dzingel was allowed the easiest of breakaways but smashed his effort against the post. The Marlies responded with an oddman rush back the other way, where Josh Leivo potted his second with a beautifully-placed shot over the glove of Driedger.
Leivo almost made it a hat trick inside 25 minutes, but his wrist shot from the high slot brought a fine save out of Driedger.
The penalty parade began moments later as the officials sent ten to the box during the second period.
Toronto killed their first penalty of the game and came close to extending their lead after a good spell of pressure. Hyman almost combined with Leipsic, while Jeremy Morin fully tested Driedger with a quick wrist shot.
With Toronto old boys Mark Fraser and Mike Kostka in the box, the Marlies enjoyed two-man advantage for just over a minute. As Fraser left the box, Arcobello struck the iron before perfectly placing his next shot top shelf to put his team up 3-1.
After Rinat Valiev was called for interference almost immediately afterward, Binghamton clawed a goal back on the powerplay. Ryan Dzingel, showing some speed down the left, appeared to be going around the back of the net only to throw the puck on frame from a bad angle, somehow sneaking past Sparks. Whether it took an odd bounce or not, it was a bad goal to give up, one that the Toronto goaltender wanted back.
The officials played a huge part in this game with some interesting calls, especially a non-call that later decided the game.
A flurry of penalties capped off the period, none worse than an interference call on Andrew Campbell — which was frankly laughable — and a tripping call on Viktor Loov that was certainly up for debate.
Those calls afforded the B-Sens ample powerplay time, some with a two-man advantage, to begin the third period. To their credit, Binghamton took advantage as Eric O’Dell slammed home a one-timer effort after a nice feed from the left side.
Recovering from a 3-1 deficit, the Binghamton Senators took the lead for the first time with their third goal in eleven minutes. Toronto’s powerplay imploded, with Dziurzynski beating Morin in a race to the loose puck to create a 2 and 0 in front of Sparks. Schneider, the second Senator on hand, had the comfortable task of scoring his team’s fourth goal.
As Binghamton headed to the powerplay again due to a Marlies too-many-men penalty — with Max McCormick joining the action from the penalty box — Zach Hyman scored backdoor after an inch-perfect pass from Valiev.
With it now anybody’s game, Toronto contrived to supply Binghamton with some gilt-edge chances to win the game in regulation.
Viktor Loov was the worst culprit, presenting Greening with the puck out in front, but the Senators forward failed to take advantage.
It was sheer desire that saw the Senators take the lead with just under four minutes to play.
After Dziurzynski beat Brennan while driving to the net, Sparks made the first save before Greening beat Holl to the loose puck to score his seventh of the season.
Toronto’s offensive talent bailed them out 20 seconds later. Leivo slid a pass to Brown, who beat Driedger short side.
It was off to overtime with the teams having split 10 goals evenly.
Binghamton controlled the early possession, but failed to test Sparks.
Leipsic chose to shoot on a 2-on-1 break, but his five-hole effort was denied by Driedger.
Brennan thought he had won it only to hear his effort ring off the post.
Valiev was clearly taken down inside the Binghamton zone, but at such a momentous point of the game the officials curiously decided this wasn’t a penalty — despite all that had been called before.
Tobias Lindberg made full use of the fortuitous non-call by winning the game with a backhand finish on the breakaway.
Toronto’s players and coaching staff weren’t blaming the officials after the game, as they knew this wasn’t a performance worthy of a win.
The all-star events come at a good time for a Marlies team that could use a break and a “soft reset” before the second half.
Post Game Notes
– Josh Leivo looked happy to be back in the AHL. Enjoying the extra icetime, he recorded a four-point game for the third time this season.
– Connor Brown’s comeback form is nothing short of remarkable and even further vindicates Toronto’s decision to wait until he was absolutely ready. Six points in four games since his return after a goal and an assist in this encounter.
– T.J Brennan and Mark Arcobello both kept their point streak going with a pair apiece.
The former retakes the AHL scoring lead while the latter moves up to fourth.
– For the second straight game Toronto allowed a shorthanded goal. That’s ten now this season, which must be of concern to the coaching staff.
– Sheldon Keefe, T.J Brennan, Josh Leivo and William Nylander now head to Syracuse for the AHL All-Star events which take place on Sunday and Monday.
Game Highlights
Marlies Player Stats — Binghamton 5 vs. Toronto 4 (OT)
| Player | G | A | +/- | SH | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell, Andrew | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Brennan, T.J. | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Morin, Jeremy | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 0 |
| Percy, Stuart | 0 | 0 | -2 | 1 | 2 |
| Hyman, Zach | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Leivo, Josh | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Leipsic, Brendan | 0 | 0 | -1 | 3 | 0 |
| Rupert, Ryan | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gauthier, Frederik | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Arcobello, Mark | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Brown, Connor | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Findlay, Brett | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Bailey, Casey | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| Frattin, Matt | 0 | 0 | -1 | 3 | 0 |
| Holl, Justin | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Loov, Viktor | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 2 |
| Valiev, Rinat | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Soshnikov, Nikita | 0 | 0 | -2 | 1 | 0 |
