“It’s a great response by our group. I give a lot of credit to the leadership group. They led the way. It just set the tone.”
– John Gruden
“Especially after giving up that second goal, which I’m sure he would have liked back, I thought he responded extremely well… For him to stay composed, make those big saves, and look comfortable doing it was huge.”
– Gruden on the performance of Vyacheslav Peksa
Searching for a response after a humiliating defeat the day before, the Toronto Marlies came out firing and hit Charlotte for three goals in the opening frame. A fast start coupled with a bend-not-break mentality and an inspired performance from a somewhat rusty netminder helped the Marlies get back on the winning track.
First Period
Marlies defenseman Rhett Parsons didn’t take long to make an impression in his AHL debut. The rugged rearguard, who has racked up more than a few penalty minutes in the ECHL, wasn’t about to take any nonsense from Riese Gaber. In the first minute of the game, the pair tangled up following an excellent shot block by the Marlies blue liner.
After coincidental minor penalties were handed out, Toronto scored during 4-on-4 action. Initially denied on a breakaway, Jacob Quillan continued to bang away at the loose puck and was rewarded for his stick-to-itiveness.
It wasn’t a busy period for Vyacheslav Peksa, but the Russian goaltender came up trumps when called on. He robbed Ben Steeves on a partial breakaway before benefiting from a slice of luck at the nine-minute mark. After a sharp save on Hunter St. Martin, the puck bounced kindly for Matt Benning, who smashed the rebound flat against the crossbar.
Some excellent work in the Charlotte zone by John Prokop resulted in a drawn penalty by the rookie defenseman. The first power play unit put together a solid 70 seconds without success, laying the groundwork for the second unit. Luke Haymes deflected home a point shot from William Villeneuve, giving Toronto a 2-0 lead.
The Marlies struck again 76 seconds later when the top line combined to good effect. Logan Shaw and Bo Groulx completed an exchange of passes before Travis Boyd delivered the backdoor finish.
Peksa kept the three-goal advantage intact with another stunning save on Steeves. As the goalkeeper scrambled in the aftermath of the play, his defense supported him by diving in front of a loose puck before firing it clear.
Second Period
Toronto could not have gotten off to a worse start to the middle frame. Less than three minutes in, the Marlies’ defensive-zone coverage fell apart, and Sandis Vilmanis finished off from close range.
After the resulting Teddy-Bear Toss clean-up gave Toronto time to reset, they should have reestablished their three-goal advantage. Shaw didn’t convert in alone on Kirill Gerasimyuk after good set-up work by Groulx. The latter was rejected 30 seconds later on a partial breakaway, and his resulting rebound crawled through the blue paint while staying the wrong side of the goal line.
Those missed opportunities looked monumental when Charlotte scored a smelly goal at the eight-minute mark. A speculative backhand shot by Gracyn Sawchyn banked in off Peksa’s blocker via his near post. It was a moment to forget for the Toronto netminder, but he did exactly that.
Peksa’s redemption began on the penalty kill with two solid saves to prevent a tying goal. Toronto got a jolt from the kill and scored a fourth goal.
It was certainly the nicest goal of the game. Travis Boyd showed great vision as he threatened to round the net but instead produced a brilliant reverse pass to Shaw, who delivered a finish to match the setup.
Peksa had seemingly forgotten about his earlier slip-up when he robbed Sawchyn on two high-danger chances, the second of which would have made for a big momentum swing in the dying seconds of the frame.
The Marlies came close to scoring a second power-play goal, but again, they didn’t get the rub of the green on a bouncing puck. Quillan’s shot from the slot clipped the inside of the post and bounced through the blue paint and out the other side.
Third Period
Reese Johnson won’t need reminding that his slashing penalty 26 seconds into the third period was inexcusable. It gave the Checkers some early momentum as they generated some great looks with the extra skater, only for Peksa to stand on his head. A huge sliding save on Sawchyn was followed by a flurry of stops as Peksa rejected Nolan Foote (x2) and Gaber.
Toronto killed a second penalty but not a third. The officials did not cover themselves in glory with a tripping call on Peksa, which was at best a speed wobble by the Charlotte forward or at worst embellishment.
The Marlies may still have killed the penalty had Groulx not suffered a brain fart. Instead of dumping the puck clear from the neutral zone, he tried to make a play that quickly backfired while Toronto was trying to complete a line change. In a 4v2 situation, Peksa stopped Gaber, but Steeves scored on the rebound to draw Charlotte within one.
The Checkers took control and fed off a fervent home crowd, outshooting Toronto 10-1 in the next seven minutes. At times, it looked as if the Marlies were on a permanent penalty kill. The bend-not-break mentality was apparent, and for the most part, Charlotte was kept to the outside. Peksa gave up no second chances, and when the Checkers did get inside, the netminder made three solid saves to keep the Marlies’ slim lead intact.
When Charlotte opted for the extra attacker, Johnson redeemed himself for his early penalty. He won a crucial battle in the neutral zone, and Shaw looked set to score an empty net goal before realizing it would’ve been offside. After circling back to tag up, the captain set up Johnson to score the insurance marker and secure a much-needed Toronto victory.
Post Game Notes
– The Marlies were 1-for-2 on the power play and were 3-for-4 on the penalty kill. Charlotte outshot Toronto 38-20.
– Vyacheslav Peksa made 35 saves for his first career AHL win. He would certainly want the second goal back, but this performance was a huge step forward for a netminder who made just one previous start, along with two relief performances this season. Peksa is 1-1-0 this season with a 2.82 goals against average and a .914 save percentage.
– Toronto’s captain, Logan Shaw, recorded a three-point game (1G/2A), including his 12th game-winner for the club. Shaw recorded his 111th assist as a Marlie with his assist on Reese Johnson‘s third-period goal. He is now tied with Alex Steeves for fourth all-time in assists.
– Jacob Quillan got back to his previous form after getting his feet wet Friday night. His third goal of the second broke the deadlock, and he tied for the team lead in shots (5).
– The Marlies’ leading scorer with 16 points (8G/8A) is now Travis Boyd after a two-point haul (1G/1A) in this game.
“That [Groulx-Shaw-Boyd] line really stepped up,” said Gruden. “They drove it. They set the tone for the whole game. Their game was outstanding. They did everything; they finished checks, and they were committed to putting in pucks, chasing them down, and making it hard on the opposition. They’re a handful. They’re big, strong guys, and Boyd sees the ice extremely well. It was a big game for those three.”
– Saturday’s lineup:
Forwards
Groulx – Shaw – Boyd
Lettieri – Quillan – Nylander
Barbolini – Haymes – Valis
Pezzetta – Paré – Johnson
Defensemen
Prokop – Villeneuve
Webber – Chadwick
Smith – Parsons
Goaltenders
Peksa
Akhtyamov
