“Even though we were down 1-0 [after 20 minutes], we did a really good job of dictating a lot of the play. Credit to our guys to understand [the need for a better start], recognizing it, and then going out and executing.”
– John Gruden
“I thought [Luke Haymes] was great. I thought he did a good job of using that break for a recharge and a reset. For those college kids, sometimes, these breaks are really huge for them, after going from playing 30 games a year to 70.”
– Gruden on Luke Haymes
In front of a decent 13,000+ crowd at Scotiabank Arena (given the weather conditions), the Toronto Marlies delivered a performance to take pride in on Boxing Day. The energy and execution from Toronto were excellent from the start. With better finishing, the Marlies could have built a healthy lead.
After giving up the first goal and a sticky start to the second frame, the Marlies stayed positive. They stuck to the game plan and deservedly came out on top in what was a must-win game, even at this stage of the season.
First Period
After a humbling 8-4 loss in Belleville, a four-day Christmas break with no practice was just what the doctor ordered. Toronto came flying out of the gates with the new-look second line feeling it in terms of chemistry. Alex Nylander and Jacob Quillan combined to tee up Ryan Tverberg from the slot; Hunter Shepard made the stop but gave up a huge rebound, which didn’t fall kindly for Toronto.
A questionable interference call on Jacob Quillan handed Belleville a chance to counter the fast start. The penalty kill stood firm until one breakdown, in which Lassi Thomson was allowed the freedom of the slot. Up stepped the smiling assassin, otherwise known as Artur Akhtyamov, to bail his team out with an outstanding early, confidence-building save.
After returning to even strength, Toronto resumed carrying the play. Luke Haymes picked off an errant pass in the Belleville zone but wired his low shot wide of the target from the hash marks. A nice interchange between Quillan and Blake Smith resulted in a similar chance for the big defenseman, but he also missed the target.
Toronto’s incessant pressure resulted in consecutive penalties, sending the new-look power play to work. On the first attempt, Haymes couldn’t bury a chance after excellent build-up play from Tverberg and Valis. Toronto also lost the services of Alex Nylander after a cross-check sent him spiralling to the ice, forcing him to seek treatment down the tunnel.
Cameron Crotty denied the first unit with two huge shot blocks on the second power play, but the second unit continued to threaten. Tverberg and Quillan were the architects, but neither Haymes nor Valis could apply the finishing touch from close range.
Akhtyamov produced another good save on Xavier Bourgault after the Marlies gave up a shorthanded odd-man rush late in the second penalty.
Bo Groulx was the recipient of a great backdoor feed after a fluent transition play by the top line, but his finish didn’t match the buildup as another chance went begging.
There had to be a level of frustration when Belleville capitalized on a Toronto mistake to break the deadlock. The Marlies won a defensive-zone draw back to Matt Benning, who mishandled the puck before stumbling. Wyatt Bongiovanni seized on the opportunity, rounding the net before picking out Garrett Pilon between the circles, where Pilon buried it with the Marlies scrambling.
Second Period
The return of Nylander did little to inspire Toronto in the early going of the middle frame. After twice icing the puck in the opening 100 seconds, the Marlies needed some brilliance from their netminder. Akhtyamov robbed Hayden Hodgson on a 2v1 situation with a huge diving save to his left.
John Gruden has spoken about winning the key moments, and if that save was one, a second was a tying goal out of nothing just 45 seconds later. Logan Shaw led the play in a 3v3 situation and dropped the puck back to Vinni Lettieri, who sniped past Shepard from just above the hash marks.
Akhtyamov continued to shine with two more brilliant saves on high-danger chances for Thomson and Mark Duarte.
Following an efficient penalty kill, Toronto took the lead with 8:32 remaining. After Lettieiri couldn’t finish on an easier chance than his goal, Matt Benning thumped a shot from the point through traffic and behind Shepard. Originally credited with the final touch, Valis did an excellent job of providing the screen.
The Marlies took control of the game from that point. Quillan was obstructed while attempting to score on a partial breakaway, as Toronto drew consecutive penalties once again.
The Marlies created some good looks with the extra skater without turning it into anything significant. The best chance fell to Haymes on a partial breakaway, but he couldn’t lift his backhand attempt high enough over a sprawling netminder.
Akhtyamov had to make four key saves in the final minute to keep the lead intact. The Russian netminder turned aside Daoust (x2), Artur Kaliyev, and Thomson as Belleville conjured a late offensive flurry.
Third Period
Toronto’s game management was of the highest order until Groulx took a bad holding penalty in the offensive zone at the eight-minute mark. Akhtyamov stepped up with a solid shoulder save on Kaliyev and had to peer his way through a bunch of traffic to turn aside a low shot from Bongiovanni.
Toronto earned a fifth opportunity with the man advantage, but it proved the worst attempt of the bunch. It didn’t have a detrimental effect on the Marlies, who started to dominate at five-on-five, similar to the first period.
Nylander and Quillan couldn’t finish a bouncing puck in the paint after more good initial work by Tveberg, but an insurance marker wasn’t far away.
Valis produced another impactful shift, making one final fantastic play with both teams in the process of a line change. A big hit at the blue line by the Belleville bench separated Scott Harrington from the puck, and after Jorian Donovan attempted to close Valis down, he chipped the puck by him to send Haymes away. While Valis headed to his bench, Haymes cut across the ice to the hashmarks before finishing into the top shelf back against the grain.
It turned out to be a big goal after Belleville scored a 6v5 goal with 56 seconds remaining. It was a jumbled play that Toronto should have handled better, but those types of things tend to happen to teams struggling to win. The Marlies shut the Senators down after the restart of play, hanging on for a richly deserved regulation victory.
Post Game Notes
– The power play went 0-5 but generated plenty of scoring chances with some new combinations. It was a positive start (post-Steve Sullivan) despite the lack of an end product, and to the eye, the players appeared more confident.
– A 30-save performance from Artur Akhtyamov earned him his ninth win of the campaign (9-6-0).
– The short break was a positive for many players who delivered better performances than in recent games. Borya Valis (1A) and Luke Haymes (1G/1A) were the two standouts in that regard. Valis kept going to the dirty areas and created a bunch of high-danger chances that way. Haymes showed his hockey sense when finding the open space that Valis and Matthew Barbolini (1A) helped create.
– I’m a fan of Ryan Tverberg‘s game and was delighted to see him back in the lineup/elevated to the second line. He rewarded the faith with a tremendous performance chock-full of endeavour off the puck, and skill and vision with the puck. He, Alex Nylander and Jacob Quillan gelled immediately, and that trio should receive another game together to see if they can build on this performance.
– Matt Benning’s contributions deserve effusive praise. He continues to be a positive influence on a young Marlies blue line and is adding invaluable offense in the process. A two-point haul (1G/1A) extended his streak to three games (2G/2A).
“What makes [Benning] so special is that he keeps everything at that even keel, regardless of what kind of shift he has,” said Gruden. “He has all of those great pro traits a defenseman has. He settles things down. When he can sense we are getting a little squirrely or are trying to do too much on the backend, you can see that he hits a reset. He is an extension of [the coaches], which helps us immensely.”
– Friday’s lineup:
Forwards
Groulx – Shaw – Lettieri
Nylander – Quillan – Tverberg
Barbolini – Haymes – Valis
Paré – Johnstone – Pezzetta
Defensemen
Smith – Benning
Chadwick – Sharpe
Villeneuve – Parsons
Goaltenders
Akhtyamov
Peksa
