“I thought we were more direct and physical. We were getting inside and making it hard on them. It would have been nice to get those two points, but I liked our team’s response [to Friday’s performance].”
– John Gruden
After getting dominated in the previous outing, the Toronto Marlies‘ performance in the rematch against Laval was a step forward despite the 3-2 shootout loss. A defensive breakdown and a terrible defensive-zone turnover spotted Laval a lead in a game that the Marlies should have won in regulation.
First Period
It took less than two minutes for Toronto to concede a quality scoring chance. Gifting the puck in the slot to a player who scored a hat trick the day before isn’t the best plan, but Artur Akhtyamov produced a good glove save to rob Sean Farrell.
The Marlies were fired up to make amends from Friday’s dud, as Zach Solow dropped the gloves quickly, followed by Kyle Clifford, with emotions running high.
The fisticuffs did not help the cause defensively, though, as the Marlies gave up another two Grade-A scoring chances inside six minutes. Akhtyamov made an incredible flying save to his right to deny Laurent Dauphin a certain goal. He followed it up with another quality stop, as the young Russian goaltender was dialed in and looking somewhere closer to his early-season form.
Toronto generated a pair of Grade-A chances but didn’t take advantage of either. Roni Hirvonen’s deft pass sent Alex Nylander in behind the Rocket’s defense, but he sent his shot high with just Connor Hughes to beat. The bang-and-crash third line had Laval on the ropes, but Joseph Blandisi didn’t trouble Hughes enough from point-blank range.
Seconds later, loose defensive coverage handed Laval the opening goal as Florian Xhekaj tallied his 11th of the season.
The Marlies‘ first power play of the game was ineffective, except for one good look created by the second unit in the opening seconds.
An ex-Marlie inadvertently handed his old club a lifeline with 3:31 remaining. Noel Hoefenmayer mishandled the puck just outside the blue paint as he attempted to look for a breakout pass. Solow was alert to the mistake and seized the chance, tying the game up at 1-1.
With the period winding down, a costly turnover by Toronto handed the Rocket a second lead. From below his own goal line, Marshall Rifai sent a blind pass through the heart of the slot with disastrous consequences. Akhtyamov stopped Zack Hayes and Lucas Condotta from close range but could do nothing to prevent Rafaël Harvey-Pinard from scoring with 22 seconds remaining.
Second Period
Laval spent the first five minutes of the middle frame almost exclusively in Toronto’s zone. Akhtyamov turned aside five shots in that span, including two quality stops on Alex Barre-Boulet and Alex Beaucage.
After Barré-Boulet was called for roughing after the whistle, Toronto took advantage of a debatable penalty. 13 seconds into the man advantage, Jacob Quillan scored on a rebound from Nylander’s shot to tie the game at 2-2.
Toronto drew two more penalties but didn’t test the goaltender often enough. Quillan went nearest to netting a go-ahead goal with a shot through the blue paint.
Alex Steeves, Logan Shaw, and Blandisi couldn’t capitalize on some good looks as Toronto threw 14 shots on goal in the period.
Third Period
The Marlies will review the video and wonder how they didn’t win this game in regulation. Laval edged the shot count 11-8 but generated just one scoring chance of note. After Akhtyamov turned aside Joshua Roy in the opening 30 seconds, he was only called to make routine saves to keep the door shut for the remaining time.
At the other end, Alex Nylander’s shot from the top of the left circle was easily handled with a lack of traffic around the crease. A Laval giveaway then presented Nick Abruzzese with an opportunity, but his finishing attempt was easily pushed aside. Blandisi also didn’t take advantage of his look 45 seconds later.
A surging drive by Quillan created space, resulting in Roni Hirvonen teeing up Nylander, but once again, the Swedish forward couldn’t bury.
With 2:07 remaining, Toronto was gifted a power play as Filip Mešár chipped the puck out of play. It was a disappointing effort with the extra skater, as Toronto lacked conviction with their puck movement and failed to register a shot on net.
Overtime/Shootout
Abruzzese attempted to make up for his miss in the third period as he split the Laval defense. Two slashes on his hands denied the winger from scoring but did draw a penalty.
It was an equally terrible power play as the late third-period man advantage, with no pressure exerted and no shots recorded.
Laval came closest to winning the game in overtime. Akhtyamov twice denied Xhekaj and then Adam Engstrom in the dying seconds.
The best chance was a shot fired over the crossbar. A mistake by Rifai resulted in a 3v2 break, and the ordinarily prolific Barre-Boulet missed the target from low in the right circle.
The shootout wasn’t much of a contest. Nylander or Steeves couldn’t convert, while Jared Davidson and Roy made it look easy on their attempts to complete a weekend sweep for the Rocket.
Post Game Notes
– The Marlies’ home form is becoming a concern. Their sixth straight defeat on home ice leaves them with an 11-6-0-3 record at Coca-Cola Coliseum.
– As much as the shootout can be a coinflip, Toronto’s 2-5 record in the skills competition is the difference between automatic playoff qualification and the play-in round at this time.
– The Marlies’ power play was feckless (1-for-7), and some adjustments are required. PP2 is overreliant on teeing up Alex Nylander. That worked once, as he appeared to shoot for a rebound rather than going top-shelf. PP1 is a mess as opposing PK units cover Alex Steeves vigilantly, and Toronto has to find a way to create inside the dots.
– It was a third successive loss for Artur Akhtyamov (0-1-2), but none of those defeats have been due to his play. Since returning from injury, the rookie netminder has posted a .914 save percentage.
“[Akhtyamov] gave us a chance to win,” said Gruden. “He made some big saves when he had to, and there was nothing he could have done about those goals. He is grinding and doing what he needs to do.”
– Jacob Quillan recorded his seventh goal of the season and third in his last five games. Since his reassignment from the Leafs, the rookie has registered two points (1G/1A) in three appearances.
– The curious case of Marshall Rifai. His play has fallen off a cliff lately, and it’s difficult to pinpoint why. He’s making basic execution errors on a game-by-game basis, and I’m never entirely sure where a defenseman is mentally when he’s continually throwing the puck out in front of his own net. It boils down to decision-making, so perhaps a reset is required, and I would not be surprised to see him take a seat this upcoming week.
– Why didn’t Fraser Minten or Nikita Grebenkin play this past weekend?
Gruden: “They skated. We are going to implement them as we move forward. They’re here… They weren’t available today, but they skated, and moving forward, I expect them to be in the lineup.”
Gruden also gave a firm “no” when asked if either was injured. Just by the coach’s demeanour and evasiveness when asked about the two players, I wonder if there was a trade in the works over the weekend which fell through or is on pause. The entire situation feels very odd.
– Saturday’s lineup:
Forwards
Abruzzese – Shaw – Steeves
Hirvonen – Quillan – Nylander
Clifford – Paré – Blandisi
Barbolini – Tverberg – Solow
Defensemen
Webber – Benning
Kokkonen – Villeneuve
Rifai- Niemelä
Goaltenders
Akhtyamov
Hildeby
