Toronto Marlies Week in Review: November 9

Toronto made their first trip to St. John’s this past weekend for the first two games in the final season of the Marlies – IceCaps rivalry.

Toronto produced a Jekyll and Hyde display as the two teams split the pair of games over the weekend.

IceCaps 4 vs. Marlies 1

On Saturday, the Marlies fell flat and the IceCaps were clinical when it mattered en route to a 4-1 St. John’s win.

The sides were deadlocked after 20 minutes after a powerplay marker from Kasperi Kapanen tied the game up at ones. Toronto managed just two shots in the middle frame, spending too much time in the penalty box, and were never able to find their feet afterward.

There was no further scoring until early in the third period when the Icecaps capitalized on a lack of discipline from Josh Leivo, who was called for hooking and then compounded the error by taking an unsportsmanlike penalty while play continued. The home team tallied on both powerplays in the span of 21 seconds.

Despite Toronto finally playing to their potential inside the last ten minutes of the final frame, Charlie Lindgren turned aside all 16 shots and an empty net goal sealed the Marlies‘ fate.

Marlies 3 vs. IceCaps 2

Sheldon Keefe decided to stick with the same lineup on Sunday, with the only change occurring between the pipes as Garret Sparks made his return from injury.

The first period was full of momentum swings; arguably either team could have built a sizeable lead after 20 minutes. Toronto controlled the opening five and could have easily taken the lead until Sparks let a weak shot from the left boards sneak through his pads. As St. John’s was carrying the momentum after the goal, Sparks redeemed himself with a couple of sharp saves.

The IceCaps could easily have built themselves a three or four goal lead before a piece of magic drew Toronto level. Kapanen’s fantastic individual effort began by collecting the puck inside his own zone before darting between two IceCaps players in the slot and firing over the shoulder of Lindgren.

Like Saturday’s encounter, the game turned on two quick powerplay goals. Brendan Leipsic struck at 19:20 and Kapanen scored his second this 23 seconds later to give Toronto a 3-1 lead through 20 minutes.

Although the Marlies dominated the play for the most part during the middle frame, Lindgren kept them at bay and Chris Terry brought the home team within one with a wicked slapshot on the powerplay.

The IceCaps were lucky to only be down by one midway through the third period but, to their credit, proceeded to push Toronto to the end. Stoic defensive work and some solid stops from Sparks ensured the Marlies held on for a 3-2 final.

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Toronto’s powerplay looked like far more of a threat this weekend; they were able to punish St. John’s on three occasions for a 33% strike rate.

The penalty kill statistics of three goals against on 12 times shorthanded looks poor out of context, but the two of those goals were down to sloppy play individually. In general, the PK looked as solid as it’s been early in the season.

The Marlies road record is now 2-2-0-1, but averaging three goals against on their travels must be of concern to Sheldon Keefe with sterner tests just around the corner.

Player News

– This past week, Nikita Soshnikov was called up to the Leafs while Josh Leivo joined the Marlies for a conditioning stint. Leivo appeared rusty during the first game, only really looking like himself late in the third period. Sunday was a far better outing from him, although it was disappointing that he only registered one shot on net (which came in the opening 30 seconds). His shot is a mightily effective weapon — even more so at the AHL level. Teaming up with Gauthier and Kapanen, the line proved highly effective on Sunday, causing the IceCaps problems on nearly every shift. Leivo is now back with the Leafs and looks ready to go if given the chance by Mike Babcock.

– Kasperi Kapanen just keeps on rolling. Sunday may have been his most impressive performance yet. He was clearly the best player on the ice, including both sides of special teams. His eight shots during the game was a career high and he could easily have netted a handful of times if not for some excellent goaltending. Three goals over the course of the weekend take his total to seven for the season, just two shy of last year’s total achieved in 44 games. Twelve points in ten games propel Kapanen to seventh in overall AHL scoring.

– Brendan Leipsic may not have looked as visually impressive as Kapanen over the two games, but he picked up another two points to remain top of the scoring charts. Leipsic’s goal was his first on the power play and his fourth overall. He now shares the lead in overall AHL scoring.

– Andrew Nielsen can’t stop producing from the blue line. He now has four points in his last three outings. Two power play assists give him nine points for the season and place him ninth overall in rookie scoring.

– Antoine Bibeau may have allowed three goals on 18 shots on Saturday but that does not tell the whole story. He made at least five first-rate saves to keep Toronto in the game but was sorely let down by his teammates. I expect him to retain the number one position.

– Garret Sparks returned to action for the first time since October 21. His play was erratic — including a very weak goal early in the first period —  but he made some crucial stops when required and will look to build on the next weekend.

– Milan Michalek made his Marlies debut and played on an expensive line alongside Brooks Laich and Colin Greening. It was a largely unsuccessful weekend for the trio, who were arguably the weakest Marlies forward line. Michalek did show a couple of flashes of his talent and hit the crossbar once, but overall the performance simply wasn’t good enough.

– Travis Dermott did not make the trip to St. John’s. As far as I’m aware, he’s in doubt for next weekend, although there is still no official word on the extent of his injury.

– William Wrenn stepped into the lineup to replace Dermott and looked like a reliable depth option, although he’s without the offensive flourish of the young rookie. He partnered Viktor Loov through the weekend, playing the right side.

Toronto Marlies Player Stats – November 9