“We missed a couple of coverages in front of our own net. They didn’t do anything other than just put pucks to the net, which you do at this time of year, and they got rewarded.
“Our guys do a lot of good. We just have to eliminate the catastrophic. If we do that, we’ll take this series back over. I think they know that. I don’t need to tell them all the time about it.”
– John Gruden
The Toronto Marlies should either be preparing for the Calder Cup Final right now or be up 3-1 in this series with an opportunity to close it out on Friday night at home. After winning two on the road, they held the upper hand in both home games of this series, only to make the critical, costly mistakes. Much of the focus will center on Easton Cowan, whose egregious late-third-period own-zone turnover led directly to the game-losing goal of Game 4, but it really started with the second-period implosion that left the team down 3-2 heading into the third.
First Period
A penalty inside four minutes — Cédric Paré for hooking — wasn’t the start the Marlies were looking for, but Artur Akhtyamov produced a huge save on Gabe Klassen, and the Marlies scored their second shorthanded goal of the postseason. A clearance by Dakota Mermis went the length of the ice and bounced off the backboards, where Sergei Murashov completely misjudged the bounce, leaving the puck in the blue paint for the onrushing Bo Groulx to jam home.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton almost struck back on the same power play via Mikhail Ilyin, but a brilliant goal line clearance from Dakota Mermis preserved the early lead.
The Marlies could have built a bigger advantage afterward with better finishing from Easton Cowan, Alex Nylander, or Vinni Lettieri, but the power play buried one after a WBS too-many-men call. Lettieri received a good pass through a high seam from Cowan and snuck a low shot by Murashov to give Toronto a 2-0 lead.
Almost from the restart, Landon Sim verbally goaded Chase Pietila, and the Penguins defenseman dropped his gloves. Somehow, the officials decided both players should be sent to the bench for unsportsmanlike conduct, another dubious officiating decision in this poorly called series.
The Marlies were the better team during four-on-four action but couldn’t take advantage of two chances for Henry Thrun and Ben Danford. Sim and Pietila then dropped the gloves after exiting the box, but it was more of a hugfest after Sim landed an early punch.
A slashing penalty by William Villeneuve handed WBS a late power play, but Toronto’s penalty kill stood firm for the second time in the period to keep the Marlies’ 2-0 lead intact.
Second Period
The middle frame was nothing short of a disaster from the Toronto perspective, as the Marlies failed to convert on a bunch of quality scoring chances and conceded three goals.
The Marlies took it to the Penguins inside the opening minute and generated a breakaway on an ill-timed line change. Lettieri couldn’t solve Murahosv with a low finish after he was sent clear by Villeneuve’s heads-up stretch pass.
Two minutes later, the Marlies’ lead was cut in half. Scooter Brickey’s point shot was tipped into the net as the Marlies collapsed toward their own net and didn’t box out or take away the sticks in front.
The Marlies killed off a penalty but officially conceded their lead seconds later. Caught running around after a blown clearance defensive zone, Pietila was free to tip a point shot as the Marlies again — this time, Henry Thrun — didn’t front the shot or get the stick tied up in front.
Groulx should have restored the lead 60 seconds later at the midway point. A giveaway from WBS presented him with the puck in the heart of the slot, but the finishing touch from the regular season has deserted him somewhat in the playoffs.
Danford and Groulx didn’t bury additional chances in the slot before Klassen capitalized on more loose net-front defending by the Marlies to give the Penguins a 3-2 lead.
Despite conceding with 51 seconds remaining, there was still time for one final high-danger chance for Toronto. Murashov came up with a critical save after Lettieri escaped behind the Penguins’ defense once more.
Third Period
WBS could have added the lead and cemented their victory inside the first 10 minutes of the third period. Harrison Brunicke sent a shot wildly off target from the slot, Akhtyamov produced two excellent saves on Avery Hayes and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, and Dakota Mermis broke up a 2v1 with a nice diving play.
Villenueve struck the post with a point shot through traffic, but the Marlies didn’t test Murashov enough until they struck in the dying seconds of a power play. With under seven minutes left, good puck movement through the seam and a shot from Luke Haymes led to a mad scramble in the crease, with Murashov down and out. Haymes stuck with the play, and a poised Noah Chadwick — who avoided the temptation to shoot, with a shot blocker closing down on him and a maze of bodies in front — calmly slid it over to Haymes to bury the 3-3 goal.
Two minutes later, Cowan had the game-winning goal on his stick on another breakaway for Toronto, but Murashov got the better of the rookie’s backhand attempt.
Almost the hero, Cowan turned villain with three minutes remaining, forgetting about time & place in the game and making a shocking decision/misread by attempting a pass to his defenseman in his own zone off the halfwall. Rutger McGroarty beat Akhtyamov with a five-hole finish to give WBS the 4-3 win.
The Marlies’ recipe of outshooting WBS 35-27, going 3-for-3 on the penalty kill plus 2-for-3 on the power play, and scoring first (5-1-0 in such situations before this loss) should’ve been a winning one in Game 4. They’ve been at their best when in a jam in the recent playoff past, and they’ll need their best in Game 5 to avoid returning to WBS for Games 6 and 7 down 3-2 in the series. It starts with cleaning up the net-front coverage and gifted goals.
