“I thought our guys did a heck of a job defending and keeping them to the outside. They [Manitoba] didn’t get too many high-quality chances, so that makes my job a lot easier.”
– Matt Murray
“He’s solid. He’s unflappable back there. It’s contagious through the team and the defense; it trickles down. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
– John Gruden on Matt Murray’s influence
While the Toronto Marlies deserved a second consecutive victory against Manitoba, arguably, this performance wasn’t as polished.
The Marlies were solid defensively in the first period. The second was notable for excellent penalty-killing and goaltending, which allowed Toronto to break out offensively in the final 20 minutes.
After losing four straight to begin 2025, the Marlies have three of the last four and now fly to California riding a much-needed confidence boost.
First Period
The Marlies produced a picture-perfect first period on the road. The Moose registered six shots and generated only one quality scoring chance. That chance was a backhand effort lifted wide of the target by Jaret Anderson-Dolan late in the frame.
Toronto struck inside four minutes to immediately put Manitoba on the backfoot. After an excellent forecheck put the Moose under pressure, Nick Abruzzese found Alex Nylander with space in the right circle. Nylander’s quick-release shot beat Kaapo Kähkönen cleanly at his near post.
The Marlies almost doubled their lead from the restart. Nikita Grebenkin surged by two opponents on the left wing before delivering a centering feed to Jacob Quillan. A sprawling Kähkönen smothered the chance as Quillan couldn’t provide a finish to match the set-up.
Quillan fired a similarly good chance narrowly wide of the far post, and Alex Steeves was denied on a late partial breakaway as Toronto had to settle for a 1-0 lead.
Second Period
Probably with harsh words from their head coach ringing in their ears, the Moose came out with some intensity and were aided by a sloppy start from Toronto. Matt Murray turned aside four high-danger chances inside the opening five minutes, robbing Mason Shaw twice.
The goaltender’s stellar play allowed Toronto to grow into the period and draw the first penalty at the midway mark. The second power-play unit looked more dangerous and drew a penalty to create a 5-on-3 situation for 13 seconds.
Nothing came of the two-man advantage, but the top power-play unit was better in their second go-around. Steeves and Nylander both came close to doubling the lead.
The Marlies held sway when the game returned to five-on-five, dominating possession and exerting offensive-zone pressure without reward.
Momentum was only halted by a mistake from Cade Webber, whose shot was easily blocked, resulting in a footrace back toward the Marlies net. Webber was forced into a holding penalty to deny Manitoba a breakaway.
It proved a pivotal moment in the game as Toronto put themselves under pressure for the final four minutes. Kyle Clifford had a breakaway opportunity but fired his effort wide of the target, and Toronto took a too-many-men penalty in the immediate aftermath.
During the 5-on-3 PK, which lasted 65 seconds, the Marlies didn’t allow a shot and kept the puck away from Murray on the second penalty.
After an excellent PK effort, it was disappointing when William Villeneuve took a needless penalty with 23 seconds remaining, handing the Moose another power play on a fresh sheet of ice to start the final frame.
Third Period
Toronto killed off the penalty thanks to one good save from Murray to deny Chaz Lucius. The Marlies then took the game away from Manitoba by scoring three goals in four minutes.
Clifford made up for his breakaway faux pas by drawing a penalty that the Marlies capitalized on.
The power play lacked fluency and almost lost possession three times in the offensive zone with sloppy passing, but that appeared to scramble Manitoba, and Quillan finished off a rebound on a point shot from Villeneuve.
Manitoba attempted to respond, but Murray made the one save required of him before Toronto delivered the dagger blow. Marshall Rifai escaped down the left wing and produced a speculative wrist shot that somehow found the twine.
It was the ultimate backbreaker for Manitoba, and Toronto’s third line pounced on a downtrodden Moose team. Quillan and Grebenkin were the architects of a pretty move finished off by Matthew Barbolini to put the Marlies ahead 4-0.
It could have been 5-0 90 seconds later if Cedric Paré had produced a better shot from the slot.
Looking to avoid a second shutout in three days, Manitoba generated six Grade-A scoring chances in the final five minutes. Refusing to yield, Murray’s double saves on Fabian Wagner and Ben King were top-class.
The Marlies added a fifth tally on the power play. Moments after Robert Mastrosimone ripped a shot off the crossbar (deserved a goal), Paré rounded off the scoring with his sixth goal of the season.
Post Game Notes
– The Marlies improved to 11-2-0-1 when scoring first this season. The special teams have been inconsistent lately but better this past weekend. Toronto went 2-for-4 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
– Matt Murray picked up his third shutout of the season by turning aside 32 shots. He’s 7-4-2 with a .933 save percentage and an AHL-leading 1.74 GAA (at the time of writing).
“[Murray] is just solid,” Gruden. “Never too high or too low, you never know if he’s given up three or not given up any. He is unflappable back there. He has won a couple of Stanley Cups and has been around for a long time. It is contagious through the team and through the defense. It trickles down. Couldn’t be more proud of him.”
– Per Toronto Marlies PR: Toronto last recorded shutouts in consecutive games on Feb. 1 and Feb. 2, 2019. Dennis Hildeby was the last Toronto goaltender to record shutouts in consecutive starts (11/04/2023, 11/11/2023).
– Alex Nylander broke a five-game goalless slump with the opening tally. It is his fourth game-winning goal of the season. Playing on the wing alongside Logan Shaw and Nick Abruzzese, I’d like to see Nylander take more of a shoot-first approach as he did this past weekend (seven shots in two games).
– Jacob Quillan ended the weekend with four points after registering another two-point haul (1G/1A). He recorded his first professional power goal by going to the dirty areas. I hope John Gruden sticks with the third-line combination, which includes Matthew Barbolini and Nikita Grebenkin. It’s very early days, but they remind me a little bit of the 2018 “kid line” of Mason Marchment, Trevor Moore, and Adam Brooks.
– Sunday’s lineup:
Forwards
Abruzzese – Shaw – Nylander
Clifford – Blandisi – Steeves
Grebenkin – Quillan – Barbolini
Mastrosimone – Paré – Solow
Defensemen
Webber – Benning
Rifai- Niemelä
Kokkonen – Villeneuve
Goaltenders
Murray
Peksa
