As expected, the Toronto Marlies cruised past the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the opening round of the 2016 Calder Cup playoffs.
It’s the fourth time in five years that Toronto has swept their opposition in the first round.
Some notes to tie off the first round:
– While it was a sweep, the eighth seed provided maybe a little tougher competition than most predicted. Bridgeport opened the scoring and held a first period lead in game one before being taken apart in the following 20 minutes. Then there was game three in Toronto, where the visitors opportunistically surged out to a 4-1 advantage. Toronto’s slow starts were a theme in games one and three in particular, and Bridgeport held a 2-1 scoring advantage overall during the opening period of play.
– The middle frame is where the Marlies came into their own, outshooting the Sound Tigers 41-26 and leading 8-3 in goals. Relevant Mike Babcock quote: “The good teams always eat up the other team in the second period.”
– Their ability to shut down the opposition after building second-period leads was also top notch. Toronto failed to give up a lead during the third period, able to keep a clean sheet during the last 20 minutes over all three games while scoring four times themselves.
– Another good sign moving forward in the playoffs: The Marlies outscored the Sound Tigers 13-5 in the series through balanced production. Sixteen players recorded at least a point, with half of those hitting the twine.
– Defensemen played a big part in the offensive production, with six goals and twelve points recorded from the blue line. Connor Carrick led the way with seven points, four of which were attained at even strength.
– Connor Brown and Josh Leivo were the leading scorers up front with three points a piece.
– T. J Brennan netted two goals on the powerplay, including the marker that sparked the comeback in game three. Brennan is now the Marlies‘ all-time powerplay goals leader.
– Housekeeping items: Viktor Loov was rested for the first two games in Bridgeport, making his first appearance in Toronto. He replaced Rinat Valiev (healthy scratch) and scored the game winning goal, but generally looked rusty after a layoff. Tobias Lindberg played in game one, but his place was taken by Kasperi Kapanen for the remainder of the series. Nikita Soshnikov was rested for game three, with Colin Smith inserted into the line-up for his first playoff action of 2016.
– Garret Sparks is yet to give up a goal in 88 minutes of play, but in truth the team played its best hockey in front of him — firstly in a comfortable game two 3-0 victory, where he made 31 saves; then, in relief during game three, after Toronto finally settled down after taking far too many penalties and showing some defensive fragility with Bibeau in net.
– Connor Carrick‘s hat trick in game three was his first as a professional, and he added two assists for a five point game. The hat trick was the first by an AHL defenseman in the Calder Cup Playoffs since Steve Wagner scored three times for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and his five points were the most by any AHL player in a postseason game since Ryan Potulny’s five-point night for Binghamton, both occurring on April 23, 2011 (per AHL).
– The last Marlie to record a hat trick in the post season was Spencer Abbott on May 29, 2014. Carrick now holds the record for the most points in one playoff game by a Marlie, surpassing Jay Harrison and Greg Scott, who were tied with four.
– The special teams ended at parity, although Toronto will not be happy after allowing three goals against on five opportunities in game three. Overall, the powerplay was 3 for 11 and the penalty kill 3 for 12.
– Toronto’s sweep is the fourth of this years Calder Cup playoffs, with the others attained by Grand Rapids Griffins, Lake Erie Monsters and Wilkes/Barre-Scranton Penguins
– Toronto has now won five straight playoff games on home ice, with the last defeat coming back on May 31, 2014 against the Texas Stars (eventual champions) in the Western Conference Finals.
Full preview of the Albany Devils and Toronto Marlies Eastern Conference semifinal series to come in the next few days.
