“We went down early, but we just stuck to our game. The power play came through, as did the PK. That’s just a nice team win, which gives us a lot of confidence to go back home to play in front of our fans.”
– William Villeneuve
The resiliency of the bounce back of being 2-0 on the road… We could’ve just folded the tent. It says a lot about our leadership again. I can’t stress that enough, the composure that we had and the fight that we had, with the resiliency to come back. A lot to like. The power play was outstanding as well.
– John Gruden
The Toronto Marlies‘ playoff lives appeared to be hanging by a thread after allowing two quick goals at the midway point of the first period of Game 2. After a frustrating Game 1 loss, the Marlies were resilient and found the clinical edge to their game offensively while outplaying Montreal’s affiliate in the final 40 minutes, earning a deserved 6-2 victory to split the series on the road.
First Period
It wasn’t the start the Marlies envisioned, as offensive forays were one-and-done affairs, and Laval’s transition game was a factor early. The Rocket looked more threatening and drew the first penalty of the game, but Artur Akhtyamov made an outstanding double save on Sammy Blais from the slot, and the Russian netminder was ably assisted by Dakota Mermis and Cédric Paré’s brave shot blocks.
Still, the Marlies gave up the opening goal just past the midway point. Marshall Rifai decided to absorb the hit instead of making a play on the puck first behind the net, leading to a turnover down low before Laurent Dauphin scored an ugly goal to open the scoring.
When Laval struck again 84 seconds later, the Marlies looked to be in a real spot of bother in the game and series. With Michael Pezzetta in the box, Joshua Roy banged one home from the side of the net to put Laval ahead 2-0.
With the Marlies in desperate need of a spark, their captain stepped up. Thanks to Roy’s ill-advised slash, the Marlies struck on the power play just 46 seconds after falling two goals behind. Logan Shaw kept the puck in the zone by catching a lofted puck, and with the help of Easton Cowan, freed the puck up for Vinni Lettieri. The latter dished the puck back to Shaw, who found a seam and buried past Kaapo Kähkönen.
The Marlies were then handed a 4-on-3 power play, but they couldn’t make good on this occasion. The penalty preceding the power play summed up Laval’s recklessly aggressive approach; Owen Beck lost an edge in the vicinity of William Villeneuve, then jumped back up and punched the Toronto defenseman in the face.
Paré spurned a late chance from the slot area to tie the game before the first intermission, but there was no doubt that the Marlies had gained traction in the game by this point.
Second Period
The Marlies turned the game on its head in the middle frame, scoring twice while dictating the pace of play. Laval’s frustration led to more penalty trouble, as the Rocket were called for five minor infractions in the second period.
Beginning the period on a power play carrying over from the previous frame, Toronto generated one chance, which Bo Groulx couldn’t convert on. Within seconds of five-on-five play resuming, Luke Haymes broke free on a breakaway but couldn’t beat Kähkönen’s glove.
Villeneuve ended up in the penalty box for the second time in the game, but his penalty was quickly negated when Roy high-sticked Logan Shaw, earning Laval a double minor.
In a standout performance, Cowan made a key play at the five-minute mark; in hindsight, it proved pivotal to the outcome. With the Marlies on the power play, the rookie broke up a 2v1 as Laval threatened shorthanded. 30 seconds later, the game was tied when Lettieri unleashed a bomb from the left circle for his fourth goal of the postseason.
Akhtyamov played his part in the middle frame, turning aside all seven shots faced, three of which were high-danger chances. The rookie netminder reined in his naturally aggressive tendencies in playing the puck, making sensible decisions with the game and the series potentially in the balance.
The Marlies continued to push and were unfortunate not to build a sizable lead: Haymes’ withering drive to the net produced a rebound that Paré couldn’t bury; a snapshot from Alex Nylander forced a good save from Kähkönen; Ryan Tverberg rounded the defense but couldn’t jam the puck by the Laval netminder, and Tverberg also hit the iron on the power play on a feed from Haymes.
A certain rookie again played a huge role in the go-ahead goal. Cowan anticipated well and intercepted a pass in the Laval zone to create a breakaway for himself. After rounding the netminder, Cowan’s tap-in was thwarted by Luke Mittelstadt’s last-ditch slash.
The Marlies then made good with the extra attacker. On a brilliant feed from Tverberg, Luke Haymes scored on a one-timer from the slot, firing against the grain as Kähkönen slid from right to left.
Third Period
The crowd was amped for the start of the third period, and the noise was deafening. Toronto’s young starlet silenced them inside 60 seconds.
Cowan collected possession in the defensive zone and gathered speed, winding his way through four Laval defenders before delivering a deft backhand finish that handcuffed Kähkönen. I’d have to think for a while and revisit the archives, but I’m not sure I’ve seen a better individual playoff goal for the Marlies in franchise history.
“Cowan is the kind of guy who makes something out of nothing. You don’t expect anyone to score from end-to-end and go post and in, but he did.”
– William Villeneuve
The silence in the building after Cowan’s dagger goal was deafening.
Akhtyamov turned aside efforts from Lucas Condotta and Florian Xhekaj but was otherwise untested before the Marlies took the game away from the Rocket. It was a textbook road performance in the third period with a two-goal lead. Laval was kept at arm’s length while Toronto threatened to find another insurance marker.
Paré scored an empty net, shorthanded tally to make the game safe with four minutes remaining. Shortly after, all hell broke loose.
Xhekaj and Mermis engaged in a bear hug before splitting, and the Laval forward proceeded to throw punches to the back of Mermis’ head. Xhekaj then took a run at Tverberg on the Toronto bench. Xhekaj’s night ended with an unsportsmanlike penalty and two minor infractions. Somehow, he has escaped any supplemental discipline.
John Gruden wasn’t about to stir the pot or risk his top player, opting to send out the bottom-six forwards for a 5-on-3 power play. Noah Chadwick had no intentions of playing nice, though, and after ringing one post from long range, he went bar and in on the second attempt. The Marlies’ fourth power play goal of the game wrapped up a 6-2 victory.
Overall, it was a job well done in Laval, but the hard work is just beginning with Game 3 in Toronto on Sunday afternoon (4 p.m. EST).
Post Game Notes
– The Marlies’ power play went 4-for-10, and the penalty kill went 4-for-5. A key part of this series is the Toronto man advantage making Laval second-guess their physical antics, and this was mission accomplished. William Villeneuve recorded three assists and did an excellent job of quarterbacking the PP. The Marlies’ execution in solving Laval’s PK pressure was sharp in Game 2 and was a big part in turning this series back in the right direction.
– Easton Cowan’s first professional playoff goal will live long in the memory. He was a key contributor at both ends of the ice, scoring a highlight-reel goal, adding two power-play assists, and drawing the penalty that set the stage for the game-winning goal. He’d been desperate to make more of a difference for the Marlies in these playoffs, and now he has his springboard and confidence-builder to carry forward.
– The Marlies’ veteran players again stepped up when the game and potentially the series were in the balance. Logan Shaw (1G/1A) and Vinni Lettieri (1G/1A) got the comeback started.
– Luke Haymes and Noah Chadwick recorded their first professional playoff goals. This was easily Haymes’ best performance in the playoffs to date, and he was especially dynamic offensively in the second period when the Marlies started to take over the game.
– The rookie pairing of Chadwick and Chas Sharpe once again impressed. The sixth goal was a nice moment as Sharpe recorded his first AHL playoff point on Chadwick’s goal. With Matt Benning unavailable, this young pairing working so well together has been an unexpected windfall for the team.
– Artur Akhtyamov turned aside 29 of 31 shots to register his second playoff victory. I was surprised to see John Gruden turn to AA after Dennis Hildeby did nothing wrong in Game 1, but the advantage of the tandem approach is the ability to feel confident either way, keep both goalies fresh, throw different looks at the opposition, and get both netminders critical playoff reps.
– Game 2 lineup:
Forwards
Groulx – Shaw – Lettieri
Cowan – Quillan – Tverberg
Pare – Haymes – Nylander
Pezzetta – Johnstone – Johnson
Defensemen
Rifai – Thrun
Mermis – Villeneuve
Chadwick – Sharpe
Goalies
Akhtyamov
Hildeby
