“They were better than us in the third period. They played desperately. We can’t shoot ourselves in the foot like that.”
– John Gruden
“We knew they had a really good power play, and they showed it. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot, and I was part of it. I took a stupid one [penalty in the third period] when I tried to strip the puck from a guy. We have to learn from it.”
– Bo Groulx
The Springfield Thunderbirds entered this game ranked 29th in the league. They had lost five straight games, allowing 26 goals in the process, which was the catalyst for the organization to fire their previous head coach and appoint Steve Ott.
Similar to their games in Iowa, the Toronto Marlies played down to their opposition, giving the Thunderbirds every opportunity to take something from the game. Unlike the Wild, Springfield completed the comeback and grabbed the extra point in overtime.
The Marlies have talked the talk in recent interviews regarding more pace and intensity, but it isn’t translating onto the ice.
First Period
The opening period was mistake-ridden as both teams were sloppy in possession, not helped by the seemingly below-par ice conditions.
Matthew Barbolini was gifted a breakaway 30 seconds in, but he was rejected by a glove save from Vadim Zherenko. At the other end, Artur Akhtyamov produced an even better save 40 seconds later when John Prokop was caught flat-footed, resulting in a 2v1. William Villenueve almost broke up the play, but he and his teammates relied on Akhtyamov to rob Simon Robertson from the slot.
Inevitably, another turnover at the five-minute mark led to the opening goal. Borya Valis was the initial recipient, although he wired a shot wide from the left circle. After sticking with the play, Cédric Paré found Valis out front, facing away from the goal. The rookie made a smart play, sweeping the puck around the netminder and creating a rebound he finished off himself.
The Marlies should have doubled the lead at the seven-minute mark following some excellent work down the left wing by Ryan Tverberg. He combined with Luke Haymes to tee up Travis Boyd alone at the far post, where the veteran couldn’t beat Zherenko from close range.
30 seconds later, the Thunderbirds tied the game with a funky-looking goal. Toronto lost an offensive-zone draw, and nobody in blue closed down the puck carrier, with a scrum underway between the hashmarks. Marc-André Gaudet found the net from above the circles to tie the game at 1-1. The puck appeared to skip just in front of Akhtyamov, who was initially moving in the wrong direction as he peered around a big pile of traffic. It’s a goal the goaltender will likely want back, but it was also not a great look for the Marlies‘ fourth line.
Toronto’s power play restored the lead, with a helping hand from the floundering Thunderbirds penalty kill. Bo Groulx found Paré with so much time alone in front that he could switch from backhand to forehand before slotting the puck by Zherenko.
Marshall Rifai took too many liberties in the defensive zone and was fortunate not to be punished late in the frame. Springfield struck the post following a giveaway.
Second Period
The Marlies had the best of the early opportunities in the middle frame but couldn’t get one to drop. Vinni Lettieri, Luke Haymes (after more brilliant setup play by Tverberg), and Paré couldn’t capitalize on Grade-A scoring chances. At the other end, Akhtyamov produced a high-end save to rob Aleksanteri Kaskimäki.
The game meandered until the final seven minutes, when Marc Johnstone was called for a Charmin-soft holding penalty. Noah Chadwick denied a certain goal for Michael Peca with an outstanding stick block. The Springfield forward continued to threaten on the power play, forcing Akhtyamov into another quality save to keep Toronto’s lead intact.
Those blocks and saves should have been the turning point of the game. After exiting the box, Johnstone led a 3v2 situation; his attempted pass to Rifai found Groulx, who buried from the slot.
Groulx’s ill-advised penalty following the goal resulted in a minor brawl, with Logan Shaw called for slashing and 10 minutes handed out to Blake Smith. Toronto killed off the penalty with a bend-don’t-break mentality, as Akhtyamov turned aside seven shots to keep Springfield at bay.
Clearly rattled by the play of the Marlies’ netminder, Springfield took some liberties after a whistle, and Toronto went from 0-100. Rifai took matters into his own hands with a beatdown of Robertson, who left the ice cradling his arm. The Marlies found themselves down two players from this point, with Rifai awarded a game misconduct and Valis unavailable due to injury.
Third Period
Groulx was guilty of another penalty early in the third period, but Toronto killed off the infraction, which should have been a momentum swing. Instead, the Marlies retreated into their shell, which backfired when the fourth line produced another woeful shift.
After Villenueve and Johnstone lost battles below the goal line, Michael Buchinger skated behind the goal. There shouldn’t have been any danger, but Villenueve allowed Chris Wagner to gain inside positioning to slot home the pass from Buchinger.
The lack of awareness, followed by the shrugs after the goal, served to highlight Toronto’s laissez-faire approach to the third period.
Wagner was assessed an unsportsmanlike penalty following the goal, offering Toronto the chance to strike back. Letteri, Groulx, and Paré didn’t bury any of the three high-danger chances, although Groulx was unlucky when his stick imploded.
Despite not burying, the Marlies should have been able to reset with 10 minutes remaining, but once again, they sat back and invited pressure through sloppy play. The straw that broke the camel’s back was a delay-of-game penalty from the stick of Chadwick. The rookie defenseman’s penalty proved costly after Springfield laid siege to Toronto’s net, with Matt Luff eventually firing into a half-empty net.
While they held the momentum, the Thunderbirds did not record another shot on goal across Toronto’s blue line through the remainder of regulation time. Instead, the Marlies almost snatched a winner in the dying moments. Lettieri escaped on a partial breakaway and sent a backhand shot off the inside of the left post and out with three seconds remaining in regulation.
Overtime
Overtime lasted just 43 seconds. The Marlies didn’t touch the puck once, and frankly, they should be embarrassed by the manner of the game-winning goal.
Shaw and Letteiri chased down possession in the Springfield zone when a change of one or two skaters at that point seemed like the correct choice. Shaw was left chasing shadows behind Kaskimäki (hardly a speedster). As the last man back, Villenueve neither played Kaskimäki nor the pass, hanging Akhtyamov out to dry as Theo Lindstein found the roof of the net to record just a seventh home victory this season.
Post Game Notes
– The Marlies have recorded at least one power play goal in five consecutive games.
– It was a three-point game for Bo Groulx (1G/2A), and his 19th goal of the campaign sets a new career single-season record for him.
– I’ve been waxing poetic about the fourth line for a little while, but they were a mess in this game. I was surprised to see Gruden continue to turn to them as much as he did in the third period.
– Another player who now needs to bounce back is William Villenueve. He produced a shocking performance with several boneheaded, costly decisions.
– Borya Valis was a lone bright spot (I’ll also give Ryan Tverberg and Luke Haymes some credit) in this game. Valis netted his 10th of the season and was a big miss in the third period after he left the game injured. His work ethic away from the puck is an understated part of his game.
– Friday’s lineup:
Forwards
Groulx – Shaw – Lettieri
Nylander – Paré – Valis
Tverberg – Haymes – Boyd
Barbolini – Johnstone – Johnson
Defensemen
Rifai – Chadwick
Prokop – Villeneuve
Smith – Sharp
Goalies
Akhtyamov
Appleby
