After four outings on the road, the Toronto Marlies will begin a six-game homestead on Friday evening — the longest stretch of consecutive games at Ricoh Coliseum this season.
First up on Friday is a clash between the top two teams in the AHL as the second-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins visit Toronto.
Friday, February 19 — W-B/Scranton at Toronto, 7:00 pm EST
In their lone meeting so far this season, the Marlies won a memorable game they had no right winning. Being totally outplayed and trailing 3-0 early in the third period, a comeback looked incredibly unlikely. Cue Toronto scoring three shorthanded goals in a span of just 2:44, as Mark Arcobello, Nikita Soshnikov and Rich Clune all hit the twine. The Marlies took the victory in the shootout on Soshnikov’s lone strike.
Much like Toronto, WBS Pens have been missing some of their better players in recent weeks due to injuries and call-ups. Still out for the Pittsburgh affiliate are Scott Wilson and Conor Sheary, their two leading scorers. Also unavailable are defenseman Derrick Pouliot, centre Oskar Sundqvist and right winger Tom Kuhnhackl.
They do, however, have their excellent goaltending duo of Matt Murray and rookie Tristan Jarry back together, neither of whom played in the game in December. Both have a 2.04 goals against average, almost the same save percentage (.929 vs. .932), and have split seven shutouts between them. Murray, in his second pro season, is the senior and has taken the majority of the starts (19-8-1).
Stepping up offensively have been defenseman Will O’Neill (eleven points in eight games), RW Carter Rowney (eight points in six games) and LW Kael Mouillierat (nine points in eight games).
Despite a current four-game point streak, the Pens record in the last month is an unspectacular 4-7-2.
Special teams are very much the strength of this WBS team. Their powerplay is fourth best in the AHL, running at just over 20% and accounting for over a quarter of their goals this season.
The penalty kill is even more impressive, ranked second with an 87% efficiency.
This game will be a good test of Toronto’s recent revival of more structured hockey. Discipline will again be key, as will special teams and the goaltending battle, with Matt Murray almost certain to take the start.
Saturday, February 20 — Portland at Toronto, 1:30 pm EST (ACC)
The Portland Pirates currently occupy third place in the hotly contested Atlantic Division, where nine points separate first and fifth place.
A three-game win streak may have been broken with a defeat in Utica on Wednesday, but Portland are generally strong on their travels this season. After losing their opening four games on the road, the Pirates have a 13-6-1-0 record away from Portland, including two recent overtime victories in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Portland have struggled for offense of late, scoring just eleven goals in regulation during the last seven games. They often rely on the brilliance of veteran netminder Mike McKenna, who is having himself another fine season with a 23-11-1 record.
Leading scorer Rob Schremp is pointless in his last seven games, as is Cameron Gaunce, the top points producer on the Portland blueline. Rookie Kyle Rau has 17 goals and 27 points but won’t be in the lineup after receiving the call from Florida. Also absent is a familiar name in Greg McKegg, another recent recall by the Panthers.
Rejoining the Pirates is left winger John McFarland, who will be looking to assist the only Pirate in offensive form right now centerman, Rocco Grimaldi (eight points in his last nine games).
Unlike WBS, Portland have issues in the special teams department. At the time of writing, the Pirates have a deficit of minus two when it comes to powerplay goals for and against. The problems lie mostly with the man advantage, which is converting under 14% .
Special teams are an area that Toronto can certainly exploit, along with the early start time for this game. Portland are in Rochester Friday evening and will have to deal with the travel issue. It’s something the Marlies have had to endure countless times this season, so there’s no doubt Sheldon Keefe will be emphasizing the importance of a fast start.
