“I’m not exactly sure what it is (driving the slow starts). It’s something for us to figure out internally. You have to give our group credit for not quitting, but we always start behind the eight ball.”
– Captain Logan Shaw on the Marlies‘ slow starts
“The refs are a part of the game. Whether it is good calls or bad calls, we just have to stay in the fight. Sometimes, it is hard to stay composed mentally.”
– Shaw on the standard of officiating
“We made it too easy for [Bakersfield] to break pucks out. We weren’t predictable enough. We didn’t establish our forecheck. We got better in the second, but when you play with fire like that, and you’re always chasing and coming from behind, it’s going to catch up to you. It caught up to us.”
– John Gruden on Toronto’s slow starts
Consistently slow starts have resulted in opponents scoring first in 16 of 22 games as the Toronto Marlies have often needed to dig themselves out of multi-goal deficits.
On Sunday against Bakersfield, Toronto’s slow start and faltering power play resulted in a first regulation home loss this season. That aside, an act of embellishment and substandard officiating played a huge role at a critical moment in this game.
First Period
Artur Akhtyamov responded positively to the pull in the previous game with two outstanding saves inside the opening couple of minutes. The netminder robbed Seth Griffith from close range and Cameron Wright on a partial breakaway.
Toronto continued to give up high-quality scoring chances and paid the price shortly afterward. Tommy Miller lost a battle down low, Topi Niemelä couldn’t bail out his partner, and the result was Wright teeing up Matvey Petrov for a tap-in after the latter ghosted in front of Alex Nylander.
The Marlies, playing like strangers with little structure or focus, were fortunate not to concede more. Griffith teed up Noah Philp in the slot, where his backhand effort produced a wonderful save from a fired-up Akhtyamov.
Toronto then wasted the game’s first power play, not generating nearly enough despite plenty of zone time.
The tying goal arrived in somewhat fortunate circumstances. Miller mishandled the puck and had to hustle back to deny a breakaway, but disaster was averted. Topi Niemelä settled the puck down, and with Bakersfield heading for a line change, he found Nick Abruzzese with a nice stretch pass.
From the left circle, Abruzzese beat Olivier Rodrigue to score his seventh of the campaign and tie the game at 1-1.
Second Period
Bakersfield opened the middle frame on a power play carrying over from the first period and almost immediately restored their lead. Not for the first time, Akhtyamov denied Griffith, but unfortunately, it was only a temporary reprieve.
A complete brainfart from the Marlies allowed the Condors to break on a 4v2, and to Bakersfield’s credit, they played the odd-man rush perfectly as Griffith found the roof of the net from the slot.
John Gruden sent out the third line, who responded by injecting some life into the home team. Jacob Quillan used his speed to create a 2v1 with Roni Hirvonen and opted to shoot, but it was a disappointing effort into the goaltender’s breadbasket.
After a melee after the whistle resulted in 4v4 action, Alex Steeves drew another penalty with some fancy stickwork. It was a better second attempt with the man advantage, but Toronto couldn’t bury three good opportunities to draw level.
The livewire Robert Mastrosimone escaped on a breakaway just after the midway mark, but he never fully controlled the puck. His backhand five-hole attempt was shoveled wide by Rodrigue.
Toronto began to find some momentum in the game, creating five additional Grade-A scoring chances.
Joseph Blandisi didn’t get enough on his shot from the slot after good work from Nylander and Nikita Grebenkin.
Mastrosimone broke away for a second time, this time waiting for assistance from Sam Stevens. The rookie’s shot didn’t fully test Rodrigue.
Logan Shaw was robbed twice from the slot, and Blandisi couldn’t find a way past Rodrigue on a partial breakaway.
Third Period
The Marlies got off to a fast start to the third period. Shaw’s blast from the right circle was well saved, and Toronto drew an early penalty.
A tripping infraction by Nylander negated the penalty, but the Marlies found themselves quickly back on the power play. Nylander had the only scoring chance of note, with half a net to aim at on a rebound off the backboards, but he couldn’t score from an acute angle.
The turning point of the game arrived with nine minutes remaining.
11 seconds into a penalty kill, it appeared as though Toronto scored a shorthanded goal that was quickly waved off. The replay showed Drake Caggulia skating into the back of Matt Benning and then snapping his head back as if he’d been sucker-punched. The officials bought the embellishment, tagging Benning for an interference penalty.
To opine for a second, I understand the darker arts of the sport and competitive athletes seeking a competitive edge wherever they can find one. But this type of behaviour should be strongly discouraged, and video review should be used to assess possible supplemental discipline for offenders.
Toronto was angered by the embellishment and treatment by the officials, with Blandisi pointing at the replay on the big screen to no avail.
Bakersfield then scored on the 5-on-3 via Lane Pederson to give them a 3-1 lead.
Gruden mashed up the lines for the remainder of the period, and it paid dividends with five minutes left. After Quillan shot for a rebound low in the right circle, Mastrosimone produced a deft finish to send the puck into the far corner of the net. That’s a play I’d like to see Quillan utilize more often.
The comeback fell short as Toronto failed to register another shot on net. Nylander whistled a couple of efforts narrowly wide with the extra attacker, but Bakersfield held on pretty comfortably.
Post Game Notes
– Nick Abruzzese has recorded a point in nine of his last 10 games (5G/4A).
– This was the second five-on-five assist in three games for Topi Niemelä, who has had a strange season so far with limited ice time and defensive partners. Personally, I would like to see him separated from Tommy Miller.
– Encouragingly, Artur Akhtyamov bounced back with a solid performance in his second game in as many days following the pull against the Condors on Saturday. To a lesser extent than on Saturday, he was hung out to dry, but he responded with some key saves on Grade-A scoring chances.
“[Akhtyamov] had a good response,” said Gruden. “A little bit of it was that Dennis Hildeby is up with the Leafs, and Matt Murray is coming off of an injury. We didn’t want to play (Murray) for five periods (this weekend). I liked that we gave Arty a chance to go in there. I thought he made some nice saves. He gave us a chance to win the game.”
– Sunday’s lineup:
Forwards
Abruzzese – Shaw – Steeves
Grebenkin – Blandisi – Nylander
Hirvonen – Quillan – Paré
Barbolini – Stevens – Mastrosimone
Defensemen
Kokkonen – Benning
Rifai – Villeneuve
Miller – Niemelä
Goaltenders
Akhtyamov
Murray
