“We had a lot of really good moments in this game. We lost a little bit of momentum during the 5-on-3. For the most part, we’re happy with the point, but it would have been nice to get two. Definitely a lot to look forward to in terms of building our game.”
– John Gruden
I’ll go out on a limb here: Given the circumstances of this game, I’d venture that this was the Toronto Marlies‘ best performance of the season to date. Playing a third road game in the space of 66 hours against the team with the stingiest defense in the Eastern Conference was always going to be a tall task. The Marlies matched and outplayed the Bruins at times last Sunday, but decisions outside of their control ultimately robbed them of a deserved two points in a 4-3 overtime loss.
First Period
John Gruden was a little frustrated by his team’s opening five minutes as another early mistake cost the Marlies dearly. Artur Akhtyamov made a brilliant early save on Matthew Poitrais but was left helpless at the five-minute mark. A turnover by William Villenueve, coupled with a missed assignment in the slot, resulted in John Farinacci teeing up Fabian Lysell to open the scoring.
The goal didn’t go to the legs of the Bruins; instead, it spurred the Marlies on. The response was fantastic, as Toronto heaped tons of offensive pressure on the Bruins. The fourth line generated four high-danger chances, and the third line chipped in with a Grade-A chance for Matthew Barbolini, as only Michael DiPietro stood between the Marlies and a tying goal.
Toronto deservedly got on the board 10 minutes after surrendering the opening goal. Logan Shaw and Bo Groulx combined to set up a breakaway for Vinni Lettieri, who made no mistake.
Sam Stevens, who has made a positive impact since joining the fourth line of late, went close to scoring shortly before Ryan Tverberg drew a double-minor penalty.
Second Period
The Marlies didn’t score on the four-minute power play split across two periods and ended up on the penalty kill, with Noah Chadwick in the box for tripping. Akhtyamov kept the game tied with two excellent saves on Farinacci and Poitras.
Those stops looked even more important when Toronto took the lead just after the five-minute mark. By virtue of blocking a pass at his own blue line, Barbolini set a 3v3 in motion. Lettieri led the attack, and Luke Haymes made the smart play of driving the net to draw defenders with him. The open trailer, Barbolini fired a one-time from atop the circle after a feed by Lettieri. The rebound spit out into the slot, where Barbolini won the battle and finished off the second attempt.
Toronto headed to another power play shortly after, but it was another unmitigated disaster. The Marlies struggled to cope with the third-best penalty kill in the Eastern Conference (the Bruins’ 18 power-play goals against is the second-fewest in the AHL).
From that point on, the game took a turn for the worse for the Marlies. They were caught with too many deep in the Bruins’ zone, leading to a 4v2 against through the neutral zone. The play felt offside at the time, but there was no call as Providence worked the puck to Georgii Merkulov, who tied the game at 2-2.
A crude freeze frame by yours truly shows the play was clearly offside, but this isn’t reviewable in the AHL, and there is no such thing as a coach’s challenge at this level.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Nylander was then called for one of the most egregiously incorrect tripping penalties I’ve witnessed in my time covering the AHL. He was in the vicinity of a Bruins player, who tripped over his own skates. Play continued and was whistled down when Sam Stevens was correctly judged to have tripped another Bruin player. A nothing play behind the Bruins’ net turned into a 5-on-3 power play at the whim of a phantom call.
Toronto battled like caged tigers during the penalty kill, but one missed clearance attempt proved costly. Poitras struck with 30 seconds remaining in the frame to give Providence a fortuitous 3-2 lead.
Third Period
An injury sustained by Logan Shaw in the middle frame meant the Marlies’ captain took no further part in the game.
Neither side established dominance in the first half of the final frame, but both goaltenders were sharp. Akhtyamov kept Patrick Brown and Fabian Lysell at bay while DiPietro rejected Barbolini and Matt Benning at the other end.
The Marlies started to turn the screws, inspired by an incredible 60-second shift from the third line, assisted by John Prokop and Villenueve. Tverberg twice forced DiPietro into excellent saves as the Marlies swarmed the Bruins’ net without a reward.
Akhtyamov produced a critically important triple save from point-blank range to rob Riley Tufte and Frederic Burnet. Those were saves to remember after the Marlies’ energizer bunny, Ryan Tverberg, helped create the tying goal with a little under four minutes remaining.
Tverberg burst through neutral ice, dished off the puck, and received it back again in the Providence zone. Tverberg cycled it back to Marshall Rifai, whose shot/pass hit Barbolini and deflected to Groulx. Groulx settled a bouncing puck and guided it past DiPietro.
Overtime
The extra frame was frantic, and the Marlies left the game feeling hard done by once again.
In a night of spectacular saves, Akhtyamov produced another one with a last-ditch left pad save on Merkulov’s rebound attempt. It resulted in Groulx surging down the right wing on a partial break. DiPietro stopped the initial attempt, and Dakota Mermis picked up the rebound but opted not to shoot. Instead, he sent a reverse pass intended for Lettieri. The Toronto forward couldn’t quite connect with the pass and was then bundled over. The replay isn’t clear whether it was a high-stick, a forearm to the head area, or simple interference, but it was clearly an infraction of some kind.
The officials allowed play to continue, and Jordan Harris scored his first goal this season to defeat the Marlies.
Despite getting the extra point wrenched out of their hands by objectively terrible officiating, the Marlies should be encouraged by an impressive performance against a Providence team that looks set for a deep playoff run come springtime.
Post Game Notes
– Four points across last weekend is the haul the Marlies were aiming for, although it could easily have been five or six. The team is trending in the right direction, but can they back it up against divisional rivals this weekend?
– Bo Groulx (1G/1A) scored his 20th goal of the season in his 41st game and accrued six points (2G/4A) across the three-in-three weekend.
– Consecutive multi-point games for Matthew Barbolini (1G/1A) are a byproduct of his consistent performances and effort level. With 15 points (5G/10A) in 36 games, Barbolini has surpassed his total from last season.
– Injury updates: Michael Pezzetta (lower body, day-to-day); Borya Valis (upper body, week-to-week); Cade Webber (upper body, day-to-day).
– Sunday’s lineup:
Forwards
Groulx – Shaw – Lettieri
Kirwan – Paré – Nylander
Barbolini – Haymes – Tverberg
Stevens – Johnstone – Johnson
Defensemen
Mermis – Rifai
Chadwick – Benning
Prokop – Villeneuve
Goaltenders
Akhtyamov
Peksa
