Despite an easier stretch of schedule than in recent weeks, the yield was three of a possible six points for the Toronto Marlies this past week.
Toronto was unable to keep the puck out of their net, allowing eleven goals in three games after conceding just 11 in their previous five. Discipline also proved an issue as the Marlies averaged over five penalties per game. The powerplay scored twice at a strike rate of 18%, while the previously improving PK allowed four goals against over the three games.
The Marlies blue line stepped up with some much-needed offense, with defensemen contributing four goals and 14 points this week.
A winning streak of five games was ended by defeat in Hershey, but Toronto finished the month of February with a 9-3-1-0 record. A record of .500 this week means Toronto remains third in the North Division, three points behind Albany with a game in hand.
Game Reviews
Toronto Marlies 6 vs. Binghamton Senators 3
For the second consecutive game, the Toronto Marlies trailed after 40 minutes but came roaring back to claim victory. Offense from the defense propelled Toronto to a come-from-behind win after giving up an early lead and falling behind due to three second-period goals against. A fifth straight victory for Toronto marks their best winning streak of the season. Full Recap >>
Hershey Bears 4 vs. Toronto Marlies 3
A Marlies lineup already tired and banged up due to the intense schedule was also without Frederik Gauthier, who was up with the Maple Leafs. Not helping matters was an injury to Garret Sparks, who become the team’s 10th injury after leaving the game in the first period of this Saturday night tilt in Hershey. Toronto outshot Hershey 25-23 despite taking six penalties. Special teams were the difference: Hershey’s power play went 2 for 6 while Toronto went 0 for 2 with the extra man. Full Recap >>
Sound Tigers 4 vs. Toronto Marlies 3 (OT)
Heading into this Thursday morning school day game, the Marlies knew they needed a complete performance to secure the two points on offer. The visiting Bridgeport Sound Tigers had won 16 of their last 19 games entering this matinee encounter, a run of form stretching back to January 15. Despite a late Toronto comeback, Bridgeport’s overtime victory keeps them in the race for a playoff spot in the Atlantic, while Toronto will bemoan the lack of a 60-minute effort as well as some subpar goaltending. Full Recap >>
Player News
– Andreas Johnsson found the net four times in three games this week, taking his season total up to 18. With 16 points in his last 16 games, Johnsson is starting to figure the league out.
– Andrew Nielsen has slowed down a little offensively of late, but a three-point week places him second in scoring by rookie defensemen in both goals and points.
– Andrew Campbell recorded a pair of goals and assists this week, including the game-winner against Binghamton.
– Kasperi Kapanen made his return to action Thursday morning. He was able to shake off a nasty-looking hit early in the game and made an excellent play that led to the late tying goal against Bridgeport.
– The NHL’s trade deadline certainly had an effect on the Toronto Marlies roster. The absence of Byron Froese (traded to Tampa) leaves a huge hole in the lineup at center ice. In what appeared to be an addendum to the Froese trade, Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond joined the Marlies on loan. The left winger fought Ross Johnston and took one minor penalty in his debut against Bridgeport.
– Colin Smith was traded back to San Antonio on deadline day in exchange for future considerations. Smith, who’s posted 28 games in 52 games this season, was not the same player he was after joining the Marlies last season when he closed out the year with 22 points in 23 games. Coming back the other way on loan (contracted to Colorado Avalanche) is Mike Sislo. An experienced winger who was a part of the Albany team that gave the Marlies trouble in the first round of the 2015 playoffs, Sislo will also be looking to get his season back on track (21 points in 54 games) in Toronto.
– Frank Corrado was one of the Marlies’ best defensemen during his short stint and they’ll certainly miss his offensive production (12 points in 18 games). Coming back in the trade with Pittsburgh was defenseman Steve Oleksy, who made his debut against Bridgeport but appeared a little rusty. Oleksy has suited up just 16 times this season.
– Clint Windsor was signed to an ATO with concerns over Garrett Sparks’ fitness after he appeared to tweak his groin. The former OHL goaltender backed up Antoine Bibeau on Thursday but has since been released. Sparks is expected to play against St. John’s this weekend.
– Nikita Soshnikov was added to the Marlies roster in time for the AHL deadline, meaning he can be sent down for playing action at any time from this point on. That includes the postseason.
– Shane Conacher was reassigned to Orlando on Thursday.
– With the additions to the Leafs roster at the deadline, Frederik Gauthier was reassigned to the Marlies and had a positive impact during his first game back Thursday morning, picking up an assist and putting three shots on goal.
– In injury news, Brendan Leipsic and Tobias Lindberg are close to a return, possibly as soon as this weekend. Rinat Valiev is a little further away but could return to action by the middle of March.
Toronto Marlies Player Stats – March 4
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | PP | SHG | SOG | SH% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Byron Froese (X) | C | 48 | 24 | 15 | 39 | 9 | 18 | 8 | 2 | 136 | 17.6 |
| Kerby Rychel | LW | 55 | 12 | 26 | 38 | -10 | 85 | 9 | 0 | 146 | 8.2 |
| Brendan Leipsic | LW | 34 | 11 | 27 | 38 | -3 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 98 | 11.2 |
| Andreas Johnsson | LW | 57 | 18 | 16 | 34 | 7 | 36 | 9 | 0 | 116 | 15.5 |
| Kasperi Kapanen | RW | 34 | 16 | 18 | 34 | -2 | 14 | 9 | 0 | 100 | 16 |
| Andrew Nielsen | D | 55 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 2 | 57 | 4 | 0 | 114 | 10.5 |
| Colin Smith (X) | C | 52 | 8 | 20 | 28 | -2 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 103 | 7.8 |
| Trevor Moore | LW | 40 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 57 | 17.5 |
| Dmytro Timashov | LW | 50 | 11 | 11 | 22 | -2 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 92 | 12 |
| Seth Griffith | RW | 19 | 4 | 18 | 22 | 4 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 9.8 |
| Travis Dermott | D | 42 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 2 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 68 | 4.4 |
| Colin Greening | C | 53 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 83 | 9.6 |
| Andrew Campbell | D | 56 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 9 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 79 | 3.8 |
| Tobias Lindberg | LW | 35 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 5 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 56 | 8.9 |
| Justin Holl | D | 55 | 4 | 10 | 14 | -1 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 92 | 4.3 |
| Brett Findlay | C | 18 | 7 | 5 | 12 | -2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 30.4 |
| Frank Corrado (X) | D | 18 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 2.3 |
| Richard Clune | LW | 33 | 3 | 6 | 9 | -3 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 15 |
| Rinat Valiev | D | 34 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 70 | 1 | 1 | 57 | 3.5 |
| Brooks Laich | C | 26 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 4.5 |
| Frederik Gauthier | C | 27 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 2.9 |
| William Wrenn | D | 31 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 3.4 |
| Tony Cameranesi | F | 26 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 6 |
| Viktor Loov (X) | D | 41 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 4.9 |
| Milan Michalek | LW | 16 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 8 |
| Steve Oleksy (total) | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond (total) | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nikita Soshnikov (X) | RW | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 9.1 |
| Eric Faille (X) | RW | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7.1 |
| Marc-Andre Cliche | C | 16 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 5.6 |
| Daniel Maggio (X) | RW | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 20 |
| Brenden Miller (X) | D | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100 |
| Mason Marchment | LW | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 9.1 |
| Sergey Kalinin (total) | C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Nikolas Brouillard | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Shane Conacher (X) | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Alex Gudbranson | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Ty Stanton | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Willie Corrin (X) | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Josh Leivo (X) | LW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
Toronto Marlies Goalie Stats – March 4
| Goalies | GP | W | L | SOL | SO | GA | GAA | SVS | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Glass | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2.05 | 44 | 0.917 |
| Garret Sparks | 24 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 51 | 2.21 | 610 | 0.923 |
| Antoine Bibeau | 26 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 75 | 2.92 | 673 | 0.9 |
| Jhonas Enroth | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3.03 | 85 | 0.904 |
| Karri Ramo | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3.8 | 81 | 0.88 |
