Injuries and illness left Sheldon Keefe with no option but to ice a makeshift lineup that included seven defensemen on Sunday.
The pregame omens appeared bleak for Toronto, but they found a way to hang in this game and grab a much-needed two points despite a slow start.
First Period
Antoine Bibeau was the star for the home team early as Albany completely controlled the opening eleven minutes of the first period. His best saves came early in the piece, especially his stop on Brian Gibbons on a partial breakaway down the left side after just 15 seconds of play.
For a team low on confidence and often trailing after 20 minutes of late, a change in fortune was badly needed from the Marlie perspective. It came with 12:26 on the clock on an innocent-looking play; Kerby Rychel threw the puck on net and Byron Froese redirected the effort past MacKenzie Blackwood.
The sense of relief on the Marlies‘ behalf was palpable, and from that moment on they looked like a different team. Sent to the powerplay after a dangerous slew foot from Ben Sexton on Bibeau, the Marlies were full of purpose, firing the puck at every opportunity. Some excellent puck recovery ensured there was no respite for the visitors.
After the first stoppage brought a faceoff in the offensive zone, Rinat Valiev released a bomb that beat Blackwood all ends up. Toronto found themselves in an unfamiliar position, up by a pair early.
The Marlies could have further increased their lead from there, but Colin Smith wasn’t able to pounce on a rebound after an excellent one-time shot from Tobias Lindberg. Justin Holl hasn’t shown much of his offensive prowess in the first 26 games of the season, but he danced around two players after leading a rush into the Albany zone. Blackwood did well to turn Holl’s effort aside.
The only blemish in the second half of the period for the Marlies was an interference penalty by Andrew Campbell with only a second remaining in the opening frame.
Second Period
Toronto killed the penalty that carried over into the second period and nearly scored a third once it elapsed. On a 3-on-1 break led by Smith, the centerman chose to shoot, generating a rebound off of Blackwood, but Andreas Johnsson was unable to get a handle on the loose puck.
Travis Dermott, who had far from his best performance in this game, presented the visitors with an excellent chance after over-skating the puck. Rod Pelley dished off to Ben Sexton but his one-timer was gloved by Bibeau, who continued to come up big when needed.
The Marlies were guilty of a number of undisciplined penalties on Saturday, but the pendulum swung the other way in this game. Albany’s Ben Sexton was again sent to the box at the 11th-minute mark of the period.
The Marlies carried on in the same vein as the previous powerplay, with Johnsson denied on a second opportunity generated from Andrew Nielsen’s shot before Froese rang his effort off the post.
Moments later, on a tee-up from Smith, Froese channelled the frustration of hitting iron the day before and seconds earlier into a one-time blast from the middle of the ice that Blackwood barely got a look at to make it 3-0 Marlies.
Having limited Albany offensively to this point, it was disappointing that the Marlies gift-wrapped the Devils their first goal of the game. Dermott was the guilty party as he sent a pass from behind the net straight through the slot area to a waiting Jan Mandat. The Devils forward put home his second of the season, with Bibeau helpless on this occasion.
It proved only a minor blip as Toronto got themselves back on track immediately and drew a penalty to end the middle frame.
Third Period
That carried over into the third for the first five minutes as the Marlies nearly reclaimed a three-goal advantage. Intentional or otherwise, a shot wide of Blackwood’s left post by Johnsson provided a pair of opportunities for Smith and Rychel as the puck bounced out into the crease area.
While an interference penalty taken by Dermott halted the momentum, Toronto’s confidence was now spreading to their penalty kill, which didn’t give the visitors a sniff. In fact, Johnsson came the closest to scoring on a shorthanded chance but lost the handle at the critical moment.
The Devils’ best chances were coming courtesy of mistakes from the Marlies, who were thankful to Bibeau for two huge saves. The dangerous Gibbons picked off a pass from Valiev before driving to the crease, but he was denied by Bibeau’s right pad.
A turnover in the Albany zone then allowed the visitors to create an odd-man rush, but Kevin Rooney was the next Devil left frustrated by Bibeau.
Toronto was indebted to Bibeau once again with five minutes remaining. The Devils outworked the Marlies along the boards, presenting Blake Coleman with a great chance in the slot. Toronto’s young goaltender has received some (mostly unwarranted) criticism about his play since October, but he once again came up with a timely save.
The game should have been put on ice when Eric Faille sent Colin Greening away on a breakaway. The veteran forward missed the target, however, and Albany went for the extra attacker with Blackwood heading to the bench.
It almost paid immediate dividends as a wicked wrist shot from Sexton clipped the crossbar, but that was as close as the Devils came to mounting a comeback. Froese was denied his hat-trick by hitting the post yet again, but Dymtro Timashov was on hand to tuck away the easy rebound.
This was a much-needed victory for the Toronto Marlies, who will feel a little better about themselves headed into the Christmas break.
Post Game Notes
– Antoine Bibeau made 29 saves in what was his 50th career regular season victory.
– Toronto has badly needed their best players to stand up and be accountable amid their prolonged slide. Byron Froese did just that on Sunday with a goal and two assists for his first three-point game of the season.
– Rinat Valiev scored his first goal of the season and broke a ten game pointless streak in the process.
– An assist for Colin Smith extends his point streak to five games.
– Daniel Maggio, Eric Faille, Ty Stanton and William Wrenn entered the lineup in the place of Frederik Gauthier, Brooks Laich, Rich Clune, and Viktor Loov. Brendan Leipsic and Kasperi Kapanen were also still absent.
Sheldon Keefe Post Game
Game Sheet – Marlies 4 vs. Devils 1
| SKATER | G | A | PIM | Shots | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell, Andrew | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Valiev, Rinat | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Holl, Justin | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Nielsen, Andrew | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Wrenn, William | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| Dermott, Travis | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -1 |
| Smith, Colin | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Froese, Byron | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Johnsson, Andreas | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Marchment, Mason | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Faille, Eric | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cliche, Marc-Andre | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Maggio, Daniel | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Stanton, Ty | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rychel, Kerby | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Lindberg, Tobias | 0 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| Greening, Colin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Timashov, Dmytro | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
