The Toronto Marlies slipped to a third consecutive defeat after falling on the road in Utica.
It is the first bout of adversity the Marlies have faced this season. The goal scoring has dried up of late with four goals in three games during the losing skid.
First Period
The tone was set in the opening 30 seconds when Toronto generated a turnover inside the Utica zone but Andreas Johnsson failed to hit the target in space from the hashmarks.
Utica lost the resulting face-off but out-battled Toronto for possession in the neutral zone. Jayson Megna broke in down the left wing unattended and fired home far side on Calvin Pickard to open the scoring.
Toronto responded with a tying goal 3:48 into the period, moments after Pickard made an excellent save to deny Michael Carcone. Dmytro Timashov picked up a huge rebound off of Sam Jardine’s shot and beat Thatcher Demko top shelf from the top of the circle.
For much of the opening 20 minutes, the Comets were making the smarter plays, utilizing their speed and battling harder for every loose puck with the backing of a raucous home crowd at the Adirondack Bank Center.
Utica was rewarded with a power play goal at the seven-minute mark when Philip Holm’s low shot from the point weaved its way through traffic and past Pickard.
Colin Greening and Kerby Rychel both had excellent opportunities to tie the game late in the first frame but those came against the flow of the first period. The Marlies were fortunate to only be trailing by one through 20 minutes.
Second Period
The middle frame featured a stronger effort from Toronto, who perhaps deserved a better fate than a 1-1 period.
Timashov almost doubled his account but brought a good save out of Demko after Toronto hemmed Utica in their own zone for a sustained period.
The Marlies then tied the game on a rush led by Ben Smith seven minutes into the middle frame. The Marlies‘ leading scorer opted to shoot from the right circle and picked up his own rebound at the side of the net before squeezing the puck past Demko.
The Marlies‘ momentum was halted by a penalty kill, but back at even strength, Trevor Moore and Timashov combined again only to be turned aside by Demko.
The Marlies’ pressure led to a power play with under five minutes remaining, but the period took a turn for the worse after that.
Demko was barely tested as Utica killed the penalty with ease and almost scored back at even strength. The puck slowly rolled across the Toronto crease, with Pickard oblivious to his surroundings amid a flurry of bodies.
The carnage in front of the Marlies goaltender continued, leading to Utica reclaiming the lead with 1:40 left on the clock.
A combination of a poorly-timed changed and a non-call from the officials allowed the impressive Carcone to escape alone down the right wing and cut to the net.
Vincent LoVerde was the only player in the vicinity, but he was without a stick due to a slash earlier in the play. Carcone picked up his own rebound and slotted the puck past Pickard.
Third Period
Just 15 seconds into the third period, Miro Aaltonen and Johnsson had essentially a 2-on-0 break but Aaltonen could not elevate the puck over Demko’s pads.
Frederik Gauthier was the next to test the Utica goaltender with 90 seconds on the clock, but Demko’s toe save kept Utica in front.
Pickard kept Toronto within one after turning aside Carcone, who had danced his way through the heart of the Marlies defense with gaps appearing as Toronto pressed for a third goal.
Aaltonen found himself denied by Demko once more — this time during 4-on-4 play — with Toronto now firmly in the ascendancy around the midway mark of the final frame. In the end, they had nothing to show for it.
A power play resulted in no scoring chances bar a mad scramble in the final seconds, with Utica somehow clearing the puck with a glut of bodies piled up in the slot area.
Another poor call from the officials set up Utica with a offensive zone draw and they again capitalized on their breaks. The biggest difference in this game was how clinical Utica was with their opportunities.
Timashov had a step on his man chasing down an outlet pass but the linesman whistled down an icing nonetheless. The Comets too easily won the ensuing draw, setting up Alexis D’Aoust for his seventh of the year.
There were still six minutes remaining, but the Marlies were visibly deflated and the game was definitely over as a contest two minutes later when Utica netted on the power play through Patrick Wiercioch.
A 5-2 reverse for Toronto means the Marlies will look to avoid a four-game losing slide in their Friday rematch versus Utica prior to the short Christmas break.
Post Games Notes
– Special teams played a huge part in this game with Toronto failing to score on their four power play opportunities. Utica went 2 for 4 with the extra man.
– After getting out-shot 13-6 in the opening period, Toronto fired 28 shots on goal through the final 40 minutes.
– The Marlies have scored just four goals in their last three games.
“The concern is we’re not scoring enough,” said Sheldon Keefe. “Our goaltending has held us in for a good portion of the season. It has been enough for us to win games, but more often than not, you’re going to need to score more than two to win.”
“We had our chances to start the game. A wide open look at the net and they come down and score on us on their first opportunity. We start the third period with a 2-on-0 and miss on that. We had our chances — missed breakaways, those kinds of things. They scored on the 2-on-1s that they had. We didn’t score on the three or four that we had. Their power play gets one, and we don’t.”
– Ben Smith extended his points streak to five games (4-3-7).
– Dmytro Timashov’s lone goal was his ninth of the year. He recorded three shots and was one of Toronto’s best players throughout.
– After a three-point haul against Hartford, Trevor Moore has gone six games without a point, but did record a season-high five shots during this game.
– Andrew Nielsen was a late scratch after warm-up due to an injury that popped up in warmup.
– Sam Jardine was the late replacement for Nielsen, making his Marlies debut in the process. It was not an ideal situation for him, but the defenseman kept things relatively simple, wasn’t on the ice for a goal against, and recorded a primary assist on Timashov’s goal.
– Travis Dermott is injured and will not play in Friday’s game.
