Toronto Marlies Week In Review: October 15 – 23

The Toronto Marlies have begun the 2016-17 season much as they did the year prior: A 4-1-0-0 record, a goals tally that stands at 20, and some impressive possession play throughout the opening five games.

Toronto defeated Utica twice over the opening weekend, both games finishing with a 5-2 score line. Rookie defenseman Andrew Nielsen registered the first goal of the season on one of four powerplay markers by the Marlies in their opening-day win. In game two, Kasperi Kapanen recorded a three-point outing and Dymtro Timashov’s first professional goal stood up as the game winner.

A 5-2 reverse in Rochester Friday night wasn’t without good stretches of play, but the Americans fully capitalized on opportunities gifted to them as well as a less-than-stellar performance from Garret Sparks. The special teams proved the difference, with Rochester netting three times during seven powerplays, while Toronto was held scoreless on four opportunities.

Toronto dominated Manitoba last season and continued that theme with a pair of home wins over the weekend. A penalty-ridden 4-2 win on Saturday wasn’t helped by poor officiating, but the Marlies also showed a lack of discipline at times. Antoine Bibeau performed well when the game was on the line, while Byron Froese proved the hero with a pair of goals as he looks to put himself in the frame for a call-up.

Sunday’s encounter bore witness to the most complete Marlies performance of the season so far. Kasperi Kapanen set the tone with a wicked wrist shot that beat Ondrej Pavelec all ends up with just 54 seconds off the clock. A three-goal blast during a two-minute span in the second period killed the game as a contest before Antoine Bibeau clinched his shutout to seal the 4-0 win.

In five games so far, the Marlies have outscored their opponents 20-11, with half of those tallies coming in the second period. The Marlies have a shot differential of plus-39 and are averaging over 32 attempts on net per game.

All victories have been on home ice, which is the first time Toronto has managed to win the opening four games at Ricoh Coliseum since the 2013-14 season.

This season’s Marlies team may not have the same amount of high-end offensive talent as the 2015-16 team, but there is certainly a ton of depth on the roster, as shown by the eleven different goal scorers through the opening five games.

The one concern is that the penalty kill has been average and currently sits second worst in the league, having allowed eight goals on 30 opportunities. Conversely, the powerplay (barring the Rochester game) has been red-hot, tallying eight times on the 27 occasions it’s gone to work.

Player News

– Brendan Leipsic is one of two standout performers for the Marlies in the opening two weeks. His nine points, which includes two goals and five powerplay assists, lead the league in assists and points.

– Kasperi Kapanen has really stepped on the gas from the start of his rookie season and looks intent on dominating the American Hockey League in 2016-17. Seven points, including three goals and a primary assist at even strength, leave him tied for fifth in league scoring through five games.

– Byron Froese leads the team with four goals, all tallied this past weekend, surpassing his total of three goals in four AHL games last year.

– Andreas Johnsson was touted as a highly-effective powerplay weapon coming over from Sweden, and it’s a case of so far so good with three goals already on the man advantage. That’s to say nothing of his play at even strength, which has also been impressive.

– Andrew Nielsen is leading the way offensively from the blue line with five points. Four of those have come on the powerplay, including a goal, and his booming shot is proving to be an effective weapon already.

– Rinat Valiev is next best with four points, all assists coming at even strength, and the sophomore defenseman has also shown he’s happy to mix it up physically with two fights on the card already. He’s playing with a new defensive partner so far this season in Justin Holl.

– Garret Sparks won the home opener but put on a disappointing display in the Rochester reverse. Bibeau earned the back-to-back start for Sunday’s game, but it was Glass on the bench backing up, not Sparks, who was said to be “feeling sore” according to Sheldon Keefe.

– Antoine Bibeau has won his first three starts of the season, with his most recent victory tying a franchise record for shutouts (eight). The Quebec native appears to hold the edge in the goaltending battle presently and seems most likely to take the start Wednesday when Providence visits the Ricoh Coliseum.

Player Movement

– Kasimir Kaskisuo and Nikolas Brouillard have been reassigned to Orlando. Kaskisuo was said to play well on debut despite a 3-2 loss, while Brouillard scored on debut.

– Adam Brace has been released from his PTO.

– Taylor Doherty signed for Orlando this season but is also now on a PTO with Toronto.

– Milan Michalek cleared waivers on Tuesday and looks set to join the Marlies.

Marlies Player Stats – October 26