Any Marlies fans or players under the illusion that this series was over experienced a rude awakening on Saturday afternoon.
A belligerent and determined Albany Devils team showed a great deal more desperation than the Toronto Marlies and deservedly won game six. A sold-out Ricoh Coliseum witnessed the Devils control the neutral zone and score at opportune moments to spoil the party atmosphere and send this series to seven.
First Period
With the absence of Nikita Soshnikov through injury, Matt Frattin was inserted into the lineup and made an early impression with a forceful hit on Max Novak along the left boards that eventually resulted in a chance for Sam Carrick, but he could not convert.
A turnover from Ben Smith allowed Albany a pair of gilt-edge chances, but Antoine Bibeau was on hand to deny Ryan Kujawinski and Paul Thompson. The Devils made up for missing those opportunities by opening the scoring at the four-minute mark. Vojtech Mozik was tripped as he looked to make a play, but his intended pass bounced off Connor Brown and into the wheelhouse of Reid Boucher, who couldn’t miss.
Toronto responded with Nylander feeding Zach Hyman in the slot, but the winger’s one-timer brought a magnificent glove save from Scott Wedgewood.
Albany then doubled their lead a mere 49 seconds after scoring their first. Rod Pelley won an offensive faceoff draw and Corbin McPherson wasted no time shooting a knuckle-puck effort through traffic and past Antoine Bibeau.
The Marlies had been excellent on the powerplay the two games previous and were afforded the chance to strike back immediately with the extra man. A goal was rightfully waived off for a hand pass, much to the frustration of the home team, who also came close through efforts from Stuart Percy and Brendan Leipsic.
The home fans weren’t pleased by the officiating in this game, and the referees weren’t helped by some embellishment from the players; the worst coming from Scott Wedgewood, who came out of his net and was — at worst — brushed by Leipsic as he tried to avoid contact. Albany’s goaltender threw himself backwards, holding his head like he’d been steamrolled, and drew the penalty at the 13-minute mark.
Toronto were able to kill the Albany powerplay thanks to some excellent shot blocking and should have drawn a penalty of their own when Connor Brown was clearly interfered with. The Marlies did end up with a powerplay shortly after, but created nothing of note and almost conceded a shorthanded goal when Chris McKelvie struck the post.
The Marlies finished the period well with three good chances inside the last 73 seconds.
Nylander should have one-timed a pass he received in the left circle, but took his time and Wedgewood pulled off a brilliant glove save. The Devils netminder then gloved a quick-release effort from Mark Arcobello, who tried to go short side. The best opportunity fell to Connor Carrick after a set up from Nylander, with the defenseman firing high under pressure from the slot.
Second Period
While the Marlies were 2-0 down, the second period has typically been Toronto’s most productive during this playoff campaign.
Viktor Loov was unlucky not to draw his team within one as his shot from the blue line appeared to redirect off a defenseman in front, with the puck somehow wedging itself in the elbow joint of Albany’s goaltender.
That early warning shot only seemed to stir the Devils, who responded by driving Toronto’s net and drawing a scrum. Paul Thompson ran into Bibeau, knocking the goaltender’s helmet clean off his head, but the Marlies ended up on the penalty kill after Sam Carrick and Loov were called for roughing.
Hyman had an opportunity shorthanded but was turned aside by Wedgewood before Albany could easily have extended their lead on their next zone entry. Damon Severson looked to have scored, but Bibeau showed great athleticism to slide across the length of the net to deny a 3-0 Devils lead.
It was somewhat against the general run of play when Toronto finally got on the board shortly after the midway mark. Percy recovered a shot from Loov behind the net and teed up Kapanen down low. The Finnish forward could not have caught his one-time effort any sweeter, putting the Marlies within one.
The game could easily have been tied less than a minute later. Leipsic stripped the puck from an opponent and slid it across to Sam Carrick, but his shot found iron instead of twine.
The Marlies appeared to take their foot off the gas somewhat after that and Devils subsequently made them pay.
Sam Carrick and Leipsic coughed up possession cheaply on a failed communication, with Connor Carrick turning his back on the play to complete the comedy of errors, before Matt Lorito fired past Bibeau.
Toronto could still have found themselves down by only one after 40 minutes.
Leivo picked out Brown in front, but the latter was heavily slashed as he tried to score on two successive attempts.
Third Period
That powerplay carried over into the third and was followed by another man advantage, but the Marlies looked less likely to score with each passing 5v4 opportunity.
At even strength, only the fourth line was still making an impact for the Marlies. After two scrambles in front of the Albany net, Colin Smith nearly got the Marlies back within one but he couldn’t quite wrap his stick around the loose puck to jam it home.
A rare gift from Albany with 12 minutes remaining represented Toronto’s last feasible chance of rescuing the game. Mark Arcobello went in alone on Wedgewood, but the Devils goaltender made the pad save as the Marlies centerman looked to tuck it five hole.
Less than sixty seconds later, Graham Black was the beneficiary of a friendly bounce off the back boards and found the net before Bibeau could readjust.
Although trailing 4-1, some faint comeback hopes still lingered knowing the Marlies’ offensive power, but Albany were doing a fine job of stifling the home team. Toronto looked unlikely to find a second, let alone score three times.
Only Rich Clune, Colin Smith and Leivo tested Wedgewood the rest of the way despite Sheldon Keefe pulling Bibeau for the final six minutes. That turned into a 6-on-4 with four minutes on the clock, but it made little difference as Toronto failed to add to Kapanen’s marker.
Toronto’s frustration’s boiled over and the game ended with Sam Carrick and Mozik fighting and Clune receiving an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Hopefully that’s now out of the system for the Marlies, as the greatest challenge of the seasons so far awaits Monday night in a winner-take-all Game 7.
Post Game Notes
– Toronto went 0/5 on the power play.
– A positive amid the disappointment of Game 6: Kasperi Kapanen’s goal was his second in three games and fifth point of the post-season. Sheldon Keefe on Kapanen’s play: “I think he’s been good. He’s given us a lot of speed. He’s on the puck. It’s good to see him get goals and everything, but he’s been good in other areas for us, both offensively and defensively with his speed especially. This is a big, strong, older, heavy team. When you have a guy with some legs that can win pucks and get their first for you, it’s helpful. He’s been able to do that.”
– Mark Arcobello fired a team-high six shots but was unable to add to his one goal in the playoffs. It’s been a frustrating post-season at times so far for Arcobello, who will be ruing the missed chance to make it 3-2 on a breakaway in this game in particular.
– William Nylander has received some criticism for his performance and competitiveness in this game (Keefe: “We need Willy to be a lot more competitive with and without the puck; he’s foot off the gas quite a bit when we don’t have the puck and as a result we don’t have it nearly enough when he’s out there”). He was not alone in that respect. The only line to consistently trouble Albany was Rich Clune and the two Smiths, as it was a let down nearly across the board from the Marlies’ top-nine forwards.
– Sheldon Keefe: “Our guys just weren’t up for the challenge today; weren’t nearly competitive enough. I thought we were outworked all over the ice. When that happens, the other team is going to score a bunch. That’s the result of us not being competitive, and their goaltender made a bunch of saves and kept us off the board. That was really the difference. I thought offensively we still created quite a bit, and still had more than enough opportunities. Their goaltender made saves today that he wasn’t making the other games.”
– There was some confusion about why Nikita Soshnikov, who has four goals in five playoff games, wasn’t in the lineup. Sheldon Keefe confirmed he attempted warmups but did not play due to injury.
– The Marlies have played three Game 7s in franchise history. Their record stands at 2-1.
Game Highlights
Sheldon Keefe Post Game
Marlies Player Stats — Toronto 4 vs. Albany 1
| PLAYERS | Position | G | A | +/- | SH | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brennan, T.J. | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Carrick, Connor | D | 0 | 0 | -3 | 4 | 0 |
| Percy, Stuart | D | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hyman, Zach | RW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Leivo, Josh | LW | 0 | 0 | -1 | 3 | 0 |
| Carrick, Sam | C | 0 | 0 | -2 | 2 | 9 |
| Clune, Richard | LW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| Leipsic, Brendan | LW | 0 | 0 | -2 | 1 | 2 |
| Smith, Ben | RW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Arcobello, Mark | C | 0 | 0 | -1 | 6 | 0 |
| Brown, Connor | RW | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| Smith, Colin | C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Frattin, Matt | RW | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 |
| Holl, Justin | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kapanen, Kasperi | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Loov, Viktor | D | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Valiev, Rinat | D | 0 | 0 | -3 | 0 | 0 |
| Nylander, William | C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
