“We weren’t very good for the first 20 minutes. They beat us to all the loose pucks and won the battles. But I really did like our intensity after that. We made a few mistakes, but I loved how we responded to them. We got some huge momentum swings from our goaltender with some really big saves.”
– John Gruden
Artur Akhtyamov received a raucous reception when he entered the Toronto Marlies‘ locker room after this 3-2 overtime win over Belleville. The rookie netminder made several tremendous saves to steal the team a much-needed victory.
First Period
The Marlies were fortunate to escape the first period relatively unscathed. They generated almost nothing offensively for 19 minutes, while Belleville held the upper hand in possession and zone time. One effort from Alex Nylander on an early power play and a shot from Logan Shaw on a 3v2 were the only times the Senators’ net was really threatened.
Artur Akhtyamov held down the fort with nine saves through the opening 12 minutes, including stops on Keean Waskurak and Sam Gagner from close range.
Belleville’s opening goal came in a fashion we’ve seen too often from the Marlies this season. Scrambling in the defensive end and missed opportunities to clear the zone led to an open shooting lane for Jeremy Davies to take advantage of as he scored unassisted with 3:27 remaining.
Belleville would have doubled their lead within 12 seconds of the restart if not for Akhtyamov’s top-drawer save on Philippe Daoust.
It proved an even more important save when Toronto drew level with four seconds left on the clock. The power play clicked on the second attempt as Alex Steeves scored with a trademark one-timer from the top of the right circle.
Second Period
The Marlies were excellent in the opening 90 seconds of the middle frame. They should have established a lead, but Dakota Mermis fired wide on a great chance, Nick Abruzzese clanged a shot off the crossbar, and Fraser Minten couldn’t solve Malcolm Subban from point-blank range.
Belleville took charge after the early scare, out-shooting Toronto 7-1 in the next five minutes as the Marlies hung on for dear life. Akhtyamov came to the rescue again with excellent saves on Stephen Halliday, Hayden Hodgson, and Cole Reindhart.
Toronto attempted to respond with a give-and-go play between Roni Hirvonen and Cedric Paré, but Subban turned aside the former from the high slot.
The Sens netminder was far from overworked but produced a few more sharp saves on Matthew Barbolini and Cade Webber to keep Toronto off the board.
Jan Jenik was stopped three times in 20 seconds by Akhtyamov in another dominant shift from the Senators at the midway mark. The rookie netminder racked up 26 saves through 40 minutes to keep the game tied heading into the second intermission.
Third Period
The final frame was a low-event affair.
Belleville had a goal correctly waved off at the midway point, and Hodgson struck the crossbar, although it appeared that Akhtyamov got a slight touch on it.
The Marlies were the victim of two bad calls in the latter stages of the period. Jacob Quillan was called for tripping when a replay showed the Belleville forward stepping on the puck before collapsing theatrically.
The Marlies killed off the penalty without allowing a shot and then scored 60 seconds later.
Dakota Mermis played a key role in the go-ahead goal, denying Bellville a zone entry and sending Joseph Blandisi away through the neutral zone along the left flank. Barbolini joined the rush on the opposite wing and delivered a one-time forehand finish on a perfect saucer pass from his veteran teammate.
Toronto needed to hold out for the remaining 3:35 and looked set to do so until another dubious call. Jenik jabbed his stick toward Akhtyamov when the goaltender had already gained full control of the puck, and Marshall Rifai intervened. No punches were thrown, and it was the type of incident in which officials normally hand out no penalties or coincidental minors at most.
Despite two sharp saves from Akhtyamov and a couple of tremendous shot blocks by Topi Niemela, Belleville tied the game with 1:03 left on the clock. Davies unloaded a booming shot into the top corner through traffic to resolve Toronto’s excellent penalty-killing effort.
Overtime
Steeves took matters into his own hands in the extra frame, drawing a penalty inside 34 seconds and netting the game-winner 18 seconds later.
Steeves’ 28th goal of the season was a booming one-timer from just inside the right circle to earn the Marlies the extra point.
Post Game Notes
– The Marlies improved to 6-2 in overtime this season. This is in stark contrast to last year when they posted a horrific 3-10 record in the extra frame.
– This was Toronto’s ninth multi-power play goal game of the season as they went 2-for-3 with the man advantage. A 20.9% conversion rate ranks them sixth in the AHL on the man advantage.
– I’m quickly running out of superlatives for Alex Steeves. His two-goal game included an 18th career game-winning goal. He’s not reliant on power play production, either, with 14 five-on-five goals (t-2nd in AHL) and a pair of shorthanded tallies.
“[Steeves] was totally engaged and under control throughout with complete composure,” said Gruden. “He kind of got under their skin a little bit, and because of that, he got rewarded with some really nice goals on the power play.”
– Artur Akhtyamov was worthy of the first-star award. The rookie goaltender was stellar, and I put this victory in the “steal” category, given how many Grade-A chances Toronto conceded. Akhtyamov has kept the opponent at two goals in each of his last three starts and posted a combined .939 save percentage in the process. He’s been the definition of giving the team a chance to win when called on.
– Saturday’s lineup:
Forwards
Grebenkin – Shaw – Steeves
Abruzzese – Minten – Nylander
Hirvonen – Paré – Quillan
Blandisi – Stevens – Barbolini
Defensemen
Mermis – Villeneuve
Webber – Miller
Rifai – Niemela
Goaltenders
Akhtyamov
Hildeby
