It was a case of déjà vu for the Toronto Marlies, as their results this past week mirrored the week previous.
Two defeats were followed by a victory as the inconsistent play and road troubles continued for the Maple Leafs‘ AHL affiliate. The sole victory allowed Toronto to keep hold of a playoff spot and stay above the .500 mark — an almost inconceivable thought after winning six of seven to begin the season. Toronto’s road record has fallen to 4-7-1-1, with a goal differential of minus ten to boot.
The good news: Despite another poor week, the Marlies have risen to second in the North Division due to the poor form of some divisional rivals. Their 12-10-1-1 record is only good enough for seventh in the Eastern Conference, as the Atlantic Division appears to host a far superior group of teams at this stage of the season.
It’s a drum I beat almost every week, but the Marlies special teams were once again inconsistent. The powerplay connected three times on 13 opportunities, but the penalty kill gave up five goals on 17 times shorthanded. The Marlies‘ PK is now one of the league’s worst, and it’s not helped by the fact that Toronto leads the AHL in times shorthanded.
Game Summaries
Utica Comets 3 vs. Toronto Marlies 2
Toronto turned an early penalty kill into an advantage when Brendan Leipsic netted a shorthanded goal 88 seconds in. The Marlies were by far the better team in the opening frame but failed to extend their lead before gifting Utica a breakaway tying goal.
That theme carried into the second, with Toronto re-taking the lead courtesy of an Andreas Johnsson powerplay tally at the 4:27 mark. The Marlies took far too many penalties during the second period, and inevitably it cost them when Jake Virtanen scored on his own rebound.
Milan Michalek and Brendan Leipsic did not return for the third period due to injuries, but the Marlies battled hard despite a shortened bench. Both teams had their chances, but this game appeared destined for overtime until Toronto unwisely iced the puck after sustained pressure from the Comets.
Utica won the faceoff, setting up Jordan Subban with a shooting opportunity. Kari Ramo, who had been fine up until this point, inexplicably allowed a dipping shot to beat him five-hole and trickle across the line. It proved a dagger blow to a tired Marlies team that rarely threatened to tie the game up in the remaining four minutes.
Providence Bruins 5 vs. Toronto Marlies 3
More individual errors cost Toronto after what was a promising beginning against an in-form Bruins outfit. The Marlies were by far the better team in the opening period, firing 15 shots on net, but they were unable to find a way past Zane McIntyre. Meanwhile, Karri Ramo allowed another soft goal to ensure his team trailed 1-0 through 20 minutes.
After a lazy play from Colin Greening allowed the Bruins to gain possession at the Marlies blue line, Providence made it 2-0 seven minutes into the second period. Toronto responded 40 seconds later as hard work from Tobias Lindberg set up Byron Froese to halve the deficit.
That goal made little difference in the balance of play, however, as the Bruins dominated and netted a third goal on their first powerplay opportunity. Brooks Laich was the guilty party on this occasion, unsure in possession in front of his own net.
Providence then shut the game down and Toronto looked to be meandering to another defeat until the Bruins scored again to make it 4-1 with seven minutes remaining. Dmytro Timashov answered right back, but the Marlies went to the penalty kill seconds later.
With Ramo pulled back at even strength, a flurry of pressure led to Andreas Johnsson pulling Toronto within a goal with 51 seconds remaining, but Providence shelved any thought of a full comeback with an empty net goal.
Toronto Marlies 5 at Hartford Wolf Pack 3
In an opening period of traded chances, the Marlies finally received some solid goaltending. Jhonas Enroth, the second man to make his Marlies debut between the pipes in the past week, had to be excellent to ensure Hartford scored just once in the opening period. That left the teams tied after 20 minutes, with Colin Greening having finished off a simple play from Daniel Maggio and Brooks Laich earlier in the opening frame.
Toronto played some of their best road hockey in a long time in the second period. They tallied four times, including three in a span of five minutes, two of which came on the powerplay. Maggio netted a goal in his debut while Colin Smith, Kasperi Kapanen and Kerby Rychel provided the other three.
Hartford’s second-period goal came in part due to some comical officiating. After Kapanen was called for “Unsportsmanlike conduct” due to his goal celebration, Michael Joly was hooked on a partial breakaway. The officials awarded a penalty shot, which Joly converted.
Toronto should really have extended their lead in the third period with multiple powerplay opportunities of their own, including some 5-on-3 play. The Wolf Pack netted another powerplay goal late in the period but never threatened to break Toronto’s stranglehold on the game.
Player News
– Andreas Johnsson was the team’s leading points producer this week with two goals and two assists. He’s riding a three-game point streak and is now up to 12 in 24 games after a slow start offensively.
– It wasn’t the most enjoyable of weeks from Kasperi Kapanen, who found himself on the receiving end of some vicious hits, but a goal and two assists put him on a point-per-game pace through 24 games.
– For all his solid play this season, Colin Smith has not contributed enough of the offensive production that Toronto is sorely lacking right now. A three-point week is hopefully a turning point for him offensively.
– Daniel Maggio has had to wait patiently for his opportunity to enter the lineup. Given his debut opportunity against Hartford, Maggio took advantage of it, recording a goal and an assist. He has a limited skill set but he played a simple but effective game that Toronto could certainly use more of at times.
– Brooks Laich and Colin Greening both had strong outings — their firsts in far too long — versus Hartford having found some chemistry alongside Maggio. Laich registered three assists this week, while Greening chipped in a goal and an assist.
– Brendan Leipsic and Milan Michalek didn’t feature in the Providence or Hartford games after sustaining injuries against Utica. There is no word on the nature or extent of the injuries to either. Needless to say, any time on the shelf for Leipsic is a significant blow to a Marlies team struggling for offense.
– Frederik Gauthier remains absent due to a wrist/hand injury. His last appearance was back on November 20.
– Travis Dermott returned from a high ankle sprain and made a positive return to game action. Encouragingly, he was able to suit up for all three games last week.
– The goaltending carousel continues, with Antoine Bibeau now up with the Leafs and Karri Ramo and Jhonas Enroth down with the Marlies. Karri Ramo appeared out of sorts in his first game action since his injury and cost Toronto at least one if not two points this week. Jhonas Enroth must have been disheartened to have passed through waivers, but every credit to him for his professionalism in putting on a fine debut performance against Hartford. Garret Sparks served as the backup for all three games.
Toronto Marlies Player & Goalie Stats – December 14
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | PP | SHG | SOG | SH% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brendan Leipsic | LW | 22 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 63 | 12.7 |
| Kasperi Kapanen | RW | 24 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 74 | 16.2 |
| Andrew Nielsen | D | 24 | 5 | 12 | 17 | -2 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 53 | 9.4 |
| Byron Froese | C | 23 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 58 | 17.2 |
| Colin Smith | C | 24 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 9.5 |
| Andreas Johnsson | LW | 24 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 49 | 12.2 |
| Kerby Rychel | LW | 22 | 5 | 7 | 12 | -4 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 57 | 8.8 |
| Colin Greening | C | 21 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 30 | 13.3 |
| Tobias Lindberg | LW | 22 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 7.7 |
| Rinat Valiev | D | 23 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 |
| Brooks Laich | C | 14 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 7.7 |
| Milan Michalek | LW | 12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 10 |
| Viktor Loov | D | 22 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 5 |
| Justin Holl | D | 24 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 2.5 |
| Travis Dermott | D | 11 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| Andrew Campbell | D | 24 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| Trevor Moore | LW | 14 | 3 | 1 | 4 | -1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 25 |
| Dmytro Timashov | LW | 18 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 4.8 |
| Frederik Gauthier | C | 14 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 5.9 |
| Nikita Soshnikov (X) | RW | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 9.1 |
| Richard Clune | LW | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Daniel Maggio | RW | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 33.3 |
| William Wrenn | D | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 8.3 |
| Ty Stanton | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Mason Marchment | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Josh Leivo (X) | LW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| Marc-Andre Cliche | C | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Goalies | GP | Mins | W | L | SOL | SO | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Glass | 2 | 117:11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.05 | 0.917 |
| Garret Sparks | 6 | 355:39 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2.36 | 0.913 |
| Antoine Bibeau | 13 | 779:09 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2.54 | 0.907 |
| Jhonas Enroth | 1 | 59:56 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.889 |
| Karri Ramo | 2 | 116:34 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.6 | 0.879 |
