“I thought we were really good early and even pretty good for most of the second [period]. It’s that [late second period] goal that hurt us. They got a lot of momentum from the tying goal and came out and scored another one to start the third. We can’t afford to give up those goals to this team.”
– John Gruden
Despite holding the lead for 37 minutes, the Toronto Marlies ultimately came up short against Laval on Saturday. The second-best team in the opening 40 minutes, the Rocket punished Toronto for a few mistakes and took the game away from the Marlies in the final frame en route to a 4-2 victory.
First Period
The Marlies could not have pictured a better start against the division leaders, striking 75 seconds into the game when their consistent third line opened the scoring. Matthew Barbolini broke up a play through the neutral zone, resulting in a 2v2 situation. Ryan Tverberg took one defender away as Luke Haymes drove to the top of the circles and found the net with a nice wrist shot.
The Marlies‘ inability to find a second goal while leading came back to bite them. Toronto had a chance to double the lead just two minutes later during a sloppy Laval line change. On a partial breakaway, Bo Groulx chose to shoot early, but his effort was guided high into the netting by Kaapo Kähkönen.
The Marlies posed no threat on the game’s first power play and struggled to generate much in the way of offense during a tightly-contested opening frame. The same could be said for Laval, barring one spell of pressure at the nine-minute mark. Artur Akhtyamov rejected Laurent Dauphin from the slot in a period where the Marlies’ netminder faced just two shots.
A ridiculous interference call on William Villeneuve, seconds after Marc Johnstone was dumped to the ice, sent the Rocket to the power play late in the frame. Toronto’s much-improved penalty kill didn’t allow a single shot on goal, and the Marlies carried a one-goal lead into the first intermission.
Second Period
Groulx was the beneficiary of another Laval turnover in the early seconds of the middle frame, but he couldn’t beat Kähkönen from the slot.
The Marlies looked solid defensively until a couple of brainfarts at the five and seven-minute mark, respectively. Somehow, Dauphin fired wide from point-blank range after an egregious giveaway by Marshall Rifai. Toronto then fell asleep on a defensive-zone faceoff, allowing Josua Roy to ghost through the slot. A brilliant lunging save by Akhtyamov prevented a tying goal.
The Marlies killed off a second penalty and probably should have doubled their lead in the process. Kähkönen made a sharp save after a giveaway to Reese Johnson in the slot. At the other end, Roy, the most threatening player for the Rocket, forced Akhtyamov into an excellent double save on a solo drive to the net.
More chances came and passed for Toronto. Brandon Baddock hit the post on a 2v1 break with Johnstone. Tverberg couldn’t bury a bouncing puck after good work from Logan Shaw and Noah Chadwick during four-on-four action. Alex Nylander managed to get himself between the dots, but he didn’t get enough on his shot to beat the goalie. The Marlies were also wasteful on a late power play and, within four seconds of the penalty expiring, gave up a brutal goal.
An inexcusable play by Villenueve behind his own net handed the puck to Roy, who found Dauphin in the slot, where he scored far side on a first-time finish.
The Marlies came within a whisker of regaining the lead inside the final minute. After Tverberg chased down Tobie Bisson and stripped the Laval defenseman of the puck, there was no time to react as Kähkönen immediately challenged Tverberg, who couldn’t finish through the five-hole.
Third Period
The turning point of the game arrived two minutes into the third period. A brilliant backhand pass from Haymes split the Laval defense, creating a partial breakaway for Barbolini. The shot drifted wide of the far post, and Laval scored the other way.
Villenueve lost a physical battle just across the Toronto blue line when backing off would have been the wiser option. The result was a 2v1 situation as nobody had tracked Owen Beck, with Barbolini caught on the wrong side of the play. Roy teed up Beck for the inevitable go-ahead goal.
On an almost identical play at the five-minute mark, Beck was stopped by Akhtyamov as Laval threatened to run away with the game. Despite the respective lineups featuring plenty of players willing to drop the gloves, it took until the 50th minute for the first tilt.
The insufferable Tyler Thorpe, who whined his way through this game, tried to defend enforcer Vincent Arseneau after Jacob Quillan laid the boom on the latter. Blake Smith wasted no time sending Thorpe to the ice with a flurry of punches.
The fight failed to inspire Toronto, and Laval seemed to be cruising to victory, especially after scoring their third goal. It was a total mess from Toronto’s fourth line and the defensive pairing of Henry Thrun and Villeneuve. They chased and chased in the defensive zone, unable to stop the cycle or win a puck battle. Samuel Blais skated below the goal line and sent a pass into the slot to an open Lucas Condotta for an easy goal. The Marlies’ fourth line was dreadful through the final frame, and I question why they were sent out there at all when Toronto was chasing the game.
With six minutes remaining, the home crowd decided it was time for the “Olé, Olé, Olé” chant. Some would say it’s bad karma, and that may have had some merit as Toronto struck two minutes later. Tverberg made good on a nice passing play, burying from the high slot.
However, there was no valiant comeback afterward, and Laval sealed the victory via Roy’s second goal of the game into an empty net.
Post Game Notes
– Luke Haymes has scored in three consecutive games and is benefiting from his partnership with Ryan Tverberg and Matthew Barbolini. The Marlies’ third line was responsible for both of their goals.
“[Haymes] is not afraid to get into traffic,” said Gruden. “He is making plays and is getting more confident. He had only played 30 games a year, and this would be his senior year (in college). I think the break really helped him — the Christmas break, and this (All-Star) break helped him even more. He is definitely trending in the right direction… He is a smart hockey player with a high IQ, and he is not afraid to make plays under pressure.”
– John Gruden tried to shuffle the lines in the third period, but it was too little, too late. Hoisting Michael Pezzetta up with Jacob Quillan and Borya Valis seemed likely to fail, but options are thin on the ground with mounting injuries.
– This was a game to forget for William Villenueve, who has to stand up and perform a whole lot better if the Marlies are to rebound with some victories this week.
– Saturday’s lineup:
Forwards
Groulx – Shaw – Nylander
Pezzetta – Quillan – Valis
Barbolini – Haymes – Tverberg
Baddock – Johnstone – Johnson
Defensemen
Thrun – Chadwick
Rifai – Mermis
Smith – Villeneuve
Goaltenders
Akhtyamov
Hildeby
