“We like the result. I like the process throughout as well. I thought we managed it well [third period], kept them to the outside, and didn’t give many Grade A’s [scoring chances].”
– John Gruden
Bolstered by a solid goaltending performance from Ken Appleby, the Toronto Marlies scored early and often in this game to put Hartford on the back foot on Saturday. Once they built a healthy lead over the Wolf Pack, the Marlies kept their feet on the gas to negate any chance of a comeback en route to a 4-1 victory.
First Period
The Marlies exerted pressure from the opening puck drop and should have scored inside the opening minute. Cedric Paré generated a turnover behind the net and fed the puck out into the slot to Alex Nylander, who had his shot blocked.
An excellent fourth-line shift of forechecking and cycling allowed the top line to change on the fly against tired opposition. Vinni Lettieri produced a quality top-shelf finish on a cross-ice feed from Bo Groulx.
Reese Johnson had a similar chance to Nylander at the six-minute mark but couldn’t make it count. That looked like a big miss when two passes cut Toronto wide open 30 seconds later, but Ken Appleby robbed Justin Dowling to quieten the home crowd.
The Marlies doubled their lead at the midway mark with a power-play tally. Quick puck moment ended with Logan Shaw finding the towering presence of Paré parked out front. The big centerman redirected the puck over the pads of Callum Tung to give Toronto a comfortable 2-0 lead.
Toronto killed off consecutive penalties with Appleby in good form despite his lack of competitive action this season. The netminder turned aside eight high-danger chances before Toronto gifted Hartford a late-period goal.
It was a moment to forget for Noah Chadwick, who sent a pizza through the slot from below his own goal line. The normally clinical Trey Fix-Wolansky fired a shot wide, but Dylan Roobroeck picked up the rebound off the backboards to set up Brendan Brisson for a tap-in.
Second Period
Toronto came out firing in the middle frame, scoring two quick goals and chasing the Hartford netminder from the game. Paré should have scored 90 seconds in from point-blank range after excellent work from Nylander and Travis Boyd.
The miss didn’t prove costly, though, as Matthew Barbolini made Hartford pay for a glaring error. Tung came out to play the puck and left it by the side of the net for a teammate, who didn’t get the memo. Barbolini seized on the puck and, from an acute angle, sent it into the vacated cage before the netminder could recover.
Dylan Garand replaced Tung between the pipes but gave up a goal on the first shot he faced 18 seconds later. Tverberg reacted first following a rebound from Chas Sharpe’s shot. After rounding the net, Tverberg squeezed the puck by Garand’s right toe on a quick wraparound move.
Appleby made a pair of good double saves to keep the lead intact, but he was mostly untroubled as the Marlies kept the Wolf Pack to the perimeter. Like in Springfield the night before, Hartford took some liberties with the Toronto goaltender once frustration set in. Daniel Walcott and Tverberg ended up in the box for roughing, although the latter was merely defending himself.
What followed during 4-on-4 action was ridiculous as several Hartford players threw themselves into flying hits with only one intent in mind. It felt more like a WWE match than a hockey game. Thankfully, nobody was injured in a bizarre end to the period.
Third Period
Two early penalties for Hartford cost them the chance to put any pressure on Toronto. The Marlies couldn’t capitalize at 4-on-3, 5-on-3, or 5-on-4 and nearly gave up a shorthanded goal following a misplay by Shaw.
One of the strangest delay-of-game penalties I’ve seen by Nylander handed Hartford the slimmest of lifelines. The best chance generated during the two minutes was by the Marlies. Villenueve delivered the perfect feed to Paré during a 2v1 break, but the centerman’s finishing let him down.
After killing the penalty, the Marlies eased to victory by not sitting back as they did in Springfield. That, as much as anything, will have pleased head coach John Gruden.
Post Game Notes
– The Marlies went 1-for-3 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
– Matthew Barbolini recorded his first multi-point haul (1G/1A) this season. He has been snakebitten, so it was good for his confidence to pot one after 12 games without a goal.
“I really liked that young line with Haymes, Tverberg, and Barbolini,” said Gruden. “They brought a lot of energy, and they have speed. They set the tone there in the second period. Good for [Barbolini] to get rewarded; he was snakebitten a couple of times on some open-netters, so for him to get rewarded is going to be big for his confidence.”
– It’s been a tough season for Ken Appleby injury-wise, so it was a pleasant development to see him bounce back with a solid outing. With a noticeable calmness between the pipes, he turned aside 37 shots for his first Toronto victory.
“Calm is a good word for it,” said Gruden. “He looked poised. He looked like he belonged. It was his second game with us after being injured for so long. I thought he looked really good. It was the performance we needed. He definitely gave the group some confidence and made some big saves when we needed him to.”
– The Marlies’ captain, Logan Shaw, has been hot offensively of late. After this two-assist game, he has points in six of the last seven appearances (2G/6A).
– Saturday’s lineup:
Forwards
Groulx – Shaw – Lettieri
Nylander – Paré – Boyd
Barbolini – Haymes – Tverberg
Stevens – Johnstone – Johnson
Defensemen
Chadwick – Benning
Prokop – Villeneuve
Smith – Sharp
Goaltenders
Appleby
Peksa
