“We started well. There was a lot to like about our game. Again, we don’t like the result. If we can bring the same effort tomorrow, we’ll give ourselves a chance to win.”
– John Gruden
There’s no shame in a hard-fought 3-2 defeat to a Grand Rapids Griffins team that leads the AHL with an impressive 17-1-1 record. For long periods, the Toronto Marlies went toe to toe with the visitors, but the key moments broke Grand Rapids’ way.
First Period
In a low-event opening frame punctuated by rare offensive forays, the Marlies nearly got off to a perfect start with 17 seconds played. Cedric Paré led a rush through Toronto’s defensive zone, initiating a 2v1, and dished the puck off to Ryan Tverberg, only for Sebastian Cossa to make a sprawling last-ditch save.
Marc Johnstone drew a penalty at the three-minute mark, leading to nothing as Toronto’s power play produced a futile effort with just a single shot on goal.
It took until the final six minutes for the Griffins to gain a foothold in the game, spending extended chunks of time in Toronto’s zone. Vyacheslav Peksa held down the fort with some solid saves before robbing Sheldon Dries after a brainfart by Matt Benning in the slot.
The excellence from Toronto’s netminder was instantly rewarded. Alex Nylander stripped the puck from William Wallinder and generated a breakaway for himself. In alone on Cossa, Nylander made a pretty move, showing tons of patience before scoring in behind the netminder.
As good teams often do, Grand Rapids generated a response with a goal from an innocuous play. With 47 seconds left on the clock, Gabriel Seger won an offensive-zone faceoff back to Erik Gustafsson at the left point. Eduards Tralmaks’ redirect on Gustafsson’s shot found the roof of the net, giving Peksa no chance.
Second Period
The middle frame was almost a carbon copy of the first, with a sprinkling of better scoring chances for Grand Rapids.
A cross-checking penalty by John Prokop proved costly at the eight-minute mark. The Marlies‘ PK was easily cut apart, leaving Sheldon Dries with a tap-in on a feed from Ondrej Becher.
Outside of a couple of looks for Logan Shaw and Nylander, Toronto struggled to trouble Cossa. Meanwhile, Peksa needed to be on his mettle late in the frame as Toronto collapsed twice in the span of 60 seconds. He robbed Tyler Angle’s five-hole attempt before producing an equally brilliant stop on Nolan Moyle.
Toronto’s captain attempted to get his team back on level terms with some nice work to generate a scoring chance. At the end of a flowing move, Noah Chadwick couldn’t beat Cossa.
The Marlies kept plugging away and were rewarded with a tying goal with 37 seconds remaining. The fourth line delivered a big, timely shift, and Marc Johnstone finished off a bouncing puck from point-blank range on the second attempt.
Third Period
The Marlies created a handful of chances to score a third goal and take something from this game. Frustratingly, none dropped for them, while the Griffins enjoyed a big dollop of puck luck at the other end.
Toronto should have gone ahead 90 seconds into the final frame. Bo Groulx split the Griffins’ defense with a surging drive down the left wing. He teed up Shaw, who couldn’t bury a chance from the slot, but Toronto recovered possession. Vinni Letteiri turned provider, and Shaw couldn’t find the target on another high-danger chance.
Prokop returned to the penalty box after a delay-of-the-game infraction, although this one didn’t prove costly. In fact, Toronto almost snatched a shorthanded goal when Reese Johnson chased down a dump-in from Johnstone and hit the post from the right circle.
In hindsight, the sign that it wasn’t the Marlies’ night arrived at the eight-minute mark. From behind his net, Cossa attempted a pass that Paré easily intercepted and sent out front to a teammate. Matthew Barbolini was alone at the hash marks and seemingly only needed to hit the net to score, but Cossa dove back across his crease to make a remarkable glove save.
90 seconds later, the Griffins scored what turned out to be the game-winner. A weak point shot by Justin Holl hit the skate of Johnstone, sending the puck into the air and into the wheelhouse of Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, who batted the puck past Peksa. After making three sharp saves in the opening three minutes of the frame, Peksa was otherwise untested, and this losing goal felt like rough justice.
The Marlies huffed and puffed but couldn’t breach Grand Rapids’ defense to force overtime. Luke Haymes went close on a power play, and there were additional chances for Shaw and Jacob Quillan. But Toronto was unable to exert sustained pressure against a highly experienced and confident foe.
This was a frustrating defeat for the Marlies, for sure, but this process against many other teams in the league would lead to positive results more often than not.
Post Game Notes
– Vyacheslav Peksa did his best to seize the opportunity, but he couldn’t get his team over the line. He’s 1-2-0 this season with a .910 save percentage and a 2.89 GAA. Those aren’t amazing-looking statistics, but he is looking to start to look more confident and composed as he gains more reps in the net.
– John Prokop will look back at his cross-checking penalty with some regret. It wasn’t his best performance overall, and while the delay-of-game penalty added salt in the wound, it’s how he responds to this type of game that’s more important than one bad day at the office.
– It was a second goal in as many games for Marc Johnstone. The Marlies’ fourth line was again highly effective, just as it was against Belleville.
“[Johnstone] does a lot of good things,” said Gruden. “He moves pucks. He is a good hockey player. You can trust him. He does everything right and is a great leader. He doesn’t expect to score, but it is always nice to see him get rewarded. He is playing extremely well.”
– Alex Nylander snapped a 10-game goal drought and four-game pointless slump. I thought the second line, including Luke Haymes and Jacob Quillan, showed some promising chemistry and is worth another look. Nylander led all skaters with five shots on goal.
– Saturday’s lineup:
Forwards
Groulx – Shaw – Lettieri
Haymes – Quillan – Nylander
Barbolini – Paré – Tverberg
Pezzetta – Johnstone – Johnson
Defensemen
Webber – Benning
Prokop – Thrun
Smith – Chadwick
Goaltenders
Peksa
Appleby
