“Obviously, it feels pretty special. I’m lucky enough to have spent as much time here as I have. I’m just very grateful and thankful for all of this and to have that [celebration and presentation] in the dressing room after. It’s special to me and something that I’ll always remember.”
– Logan Shaw
“We are very lucky as a coaching staff to have a pro like [Logan Shaw], who does everything right on and off the ice. He practices hard and knows exactly what his assignments are and what his responsibility is. He’s always trying to help and support them [all the players]. That’s what captains do, through the good and the bad.”
– John Gruden on Logan Shaw
Timely scoring and outstanding goaltending were the keys to the Toronto Marlies‘ 4-1 win over a hard-working Manitoba team on Wednesday after the Marlies stumbled out of the gate in the opening frame.
First Period
The Moose couldn’t generate many high-danger chances despite their dominance over possession and zone time. Artur Akhtyamov robbed Mason Shaw from the slot and dealt with Brandon Yeger’s effort from the hashmarks, but the Moose otherwise struggled to penetrate the interior of the Marlies‘ zone.
Toronto’s first spell of offensive-zone pressure led to the opening goal. After the fourth line drew a penalty, against the run of play, the Marlies broke the deadlock on the man advantage at the eight-minute mark.
Alex Nylander combined with William Villeneuve at the top of the umbrella, and Manitoba left the seam open to Ryan Tverberg in the left circle, where Nylander sent a perfectly-weighted pass across. Tverberg ripped a one-time shot by Thomas Milic before the goaltender could get across to his right.
That was the Marlies‘ fourth and final shot of the opening frame. Akhtyamov kept the door shut, denying Phillip Di Giuseppe’s wraparound attempt and another Shaw effort, this time from the high slot.
Second Period
The Marlies got off to a much better start in the middle frame, and the crucial second goal arrived at the five-minute mark. Logan Shaw bounced a clearance off the wall and across the Marlies’ blue line, just past the outstretched stick of Dawson Barteaux. Tverberg settled the puck down for Alex Nylander, who ripped a bar-down, glove-side finish off the rush, but the spotlight belonged to his centerman on this goal. With the secondary assist, Logan Shaw recorded his 217th point, becoming the all-time franchise points leader for the Toronto Marlies.
A confident Marlies team drew a penalty soon after the restart, although the power play wasn’t as effective this time around. Notably, Vinni Borgesi was part of the PP2 unit.
There wasn’t much in the way of Grade-A chances for either team for the remainder of the period. Even when Toronto gave up an odd-man rush, Tverberg hustled back to make a tremendous shot block.
The Marlies’ fourth line was highly effective with a relentless forecheck and sustained offensive-zone time. They also nearly got on the board off the rush; Reese Johnson led the attack, and with some help from Marc Johnstone, teed up a slot-chance for Brandon Baddock. The towering forward fired wide of the net, but the Marlies retained possession while changing on the fly and scored a third goal late in the frame.
An innocuous shot from the point by John Prokop appeared to clip a skate in front of Milic, who was completely handcuffed as the puck skipped by him for Prokop’s first professional goal.
“I just tried to keep it in the zone, and next thing I know, everyone was coming out to me, and I realized I’d scored.”
– John Prokop
In a far quieter period for the Marlies’ netminder, Akhtyamov still produced the goods when required. A double save on Mason Shaw preserved the Marlies’ 3-0 lead heading into the second intermission.
Third Period
After killing off a penalty that carried over from the previous frame, the Marlies broke down defensively following a fluky bounce on a dump-in. It was a learning moment for Brandon Buhr, who got walked around off the point before Isaak Phillips scored from the slot.
That early strike inside four minutes might have derailed the Marlies a few weeks ago. The current version of the Marlies is a little more resilient and made the game safe at the eight-minute mark. Reese Johnson only needed to hit the net to score the easiest goal of his career after excellent work from Baddock and Johnstone in the build-up.
Manitoba briefly threatened to fight back, but after Akhtyamov turned aside Walker Duehr 40 seconds later, the Marlies saw out the game with relative ease.
It would have been a more lopsided victory had the Marlies taken one or two more chances. Luke Haymes probably woke up in the middle of the night, wondering how he missed the target (albeit while stumbling) with half an empty net to aim at. A brilliant tic-tac-toe play involving Borya Valis and Cedric Paré deserved to be finished off, but c’est la vie.
Post Game Notes
– The Marlies moved into third place in the North Division courtesy of the win. Cleveland is one point back with a game in hand. Toronto’s magic number for playoff qualification is two.
– It was a very composed debut by Vinni Borgesi, who wasn’t at all rattled by the moment. Skating is certainly his forte; he twice joined the rush offensively to good effect. Borgesi was poised whether carrying the puck or making a breakout pass, and he didn’t simply defer to his more experienced partner on the back end. He was on the ice for the lone goal against, but he wasn’t at fault.
– Huge congratulations to Logan Shaw for surpassing Alex Steeves to become the Marlies’ all-time points leader (217). After a slow start to the campaign, he’s picked up the pace massively down the stretch. Toronto’s captain is on a five-game point streak (4G/6A) and, in Bo Groulx’s absence, now leads the team in scoring with 49 points (22G/27A).
– Artur Akhtyamov continues his exceptional form on home ice. After stopping 29 of 30 shots, the netminder’s record is 13-2-2 in Toronto with a .920 save percentage.
– To be honest, I’ve not been overly impressed by John Prokop this season. With Toronto’s depth on the blue line, the rookie had played just once in the last four and a half weeks. But this was comfortably the best performance from him this season, and not only because he scored. Prokop was solid defensively and was measured with the puck. Hopefully, he can build off this game moving forward.
“It’s tough to come in after sitting out,” said Gruden. “Your timing is a little off. But I thought his timing was really good. He played extremely well throughout the whole game and didn’t look like he missed a beat. That is encouraging for us to have that depth on the backend.”
– Alex Nylander and Ryan Tverberg remain in red-hot form with a goal and an assist apiece. I’m running out of superlatives for the line of the Nylander-Shaw-Tverberg right now.
– Injury updates: Matthew Barbolini (lower body, day-to-day); Matt Benning (upper body, week-to-week); Vinni Lettieri (upper body, day-to-day); Dakota Mermis (upper body, day-to-day); Marshall Rifai (lower body, week-to-week); Cade Webber (upper body, week-to-week).
– Wednesday’s lineup:
Forwards
Nylander – Shaw – Tverberg
Paré – Haymes – Valis
Kirwan – King – Buhr
Baddock – Johnstone – Johnson
Defensemen
Prokop – Villenueve
Thrun – Borgesi
Smith – Chadwick
Goalies
Akhtyamov
Hildeby
