“We did a much better job of slowing down [Chicago] through the neutral zone. You’re not going to contain them for 60 minutes, but we slowed them down enough to be able to defend with numbers and get pucks stopped. We did a lot of good things.”
– John Gruden
“As prospects, they continue to grow, along with other guys. They are playing good minutes, in all situations, and they’re taking advantage of it. Once the confidence starts to grow, you can see it in their play. Definitely, they are game breakers right now, and it’s good to see for their confidence moving forward.”
– Gruden on Jacob Quillan & Luke Haymes
John Gruden asked his Toronto Marlies team for a better performance after Saturday’s shootout defeat and the loss of a crucial point to Chicago. On Sunday, the players delivered an excellent response, starting in goal with Dennis Hildeby, who was supported by balanced scoring throughout the lineup in this 5-2 victory over the Wolves.
First Period
The Marlies started strong and drew a penalty inside two minutes, but the power play couldn’t step up as Chicago’s penalty kill continued to hold the upper hand from the previous game. At five-on-five, Toronto generated three Grade-A scoring chances in the following four minutes; Amir Miftakhov turned aside Jacob Quillan, Luke Haymes, and Marc Johnstone.
At the other end, Dennis Hildeby matched his counterpart after a couple of defensive breakdowns five minutes apart. The big Swede denied Juuso Välimäki from the slot and produced a stunning, sprawling double save on Skyler Brind’Amour.
The Marlies broke the deadlock with a little under five minutes remaining when Johnstone tipped a William Villenueve point shot by Miftakhov. Matthew Barbolini and Johnstone almost immediately doubled the lead after excellent work from Michael Pezetta.
The Marlies then slipped into an old, bad habit by allowing Chicago to respond within two minutes of the tying goal. Late reactions at the net front defensively allowed Dominik Badinka to finish the rebound from Justin Robidas’ initial shot.
The officials apparently decided they were bored late in the period and handed out one of the weakest penalties I’ve seen assessed to a netminder. Standing in the blue paint, Hildeby gave the slightest of nudges to Givani Smith, who deliberately skated into the netminder’s space while Toronto possessed the puck below the goal line. It was the sort of nothing play you see a million times a season. Smith retaliated by slashing Hildeby’s stick out of his hands, which could have sparked a line brawl. The officials sent Smith to the box, but they also tabbed Hildeby for “interference,” laughably.
Second Period
Another bright start by the Marlies should have seen them double the lead inside a minute. An incisive pass by Bo Groulx set a 2v0 in motion for his two linemates, but Logan Shaw slid his effort wide of the post on a feed from Vinni Lettieiri.
After two minutes of dominating play, the Marlies gifted a high-danger chance to Viktor Neuchev, but Hildeby bailed them out. That save appeared to be a big moment in the game when Toronto retook the lead 55 seconds later.
On a perfectly-weighted area pass down the left wing by Johnstone, Groulx escaped in behind the Chicago defense on a partial breakaway. Toronto’s leading scorer early-released a deft five-hole finish — the quality of finish befitting a confident player in the best form of his career.
Groulx turned provider with a brilliant feed to find Dakota Mermis charging through the middle of the ice. Mermis held off the attention of the last defender long enough to force a good glove save from the Wolves’ netminder, drawing a penalty in the process.
The Marlies’ ailing power play finally connected. There was a helping hand from the Wolves’ weak clearing attempt; Henry Thrun easily corralled it on the right side of the blue line and sent a pass over to Lettieiri atop the left circle. Lettieri ripped a pass to the far post, where Quillan applied the finishing touch.
A fight from the restart of play between Pezzetta and Smith was won on points by the Toronto forward, although Chicago appeared to gain more momentum from the tilt. The Wolves recorded three shots without reply, including a high-danger opportunity, before drawing a penalty.
Hildeby made a stunning save on Bradley Nadeua to stave off the penalty, but it was all in vain. Eight seconds after Cade Webber exited the box, Groulx attempted a cross-ice pass in the defensive zone when a clearance up the wall would have been the percentage play. Brind’Amour blocked the pass and dished off to Josiah Slavin, who scored from the hashmarks with an elevated backhand shot against the grain.
The teams then exchanged chances off the rush. Groulx was stopped on a nice individual effort before Hildeby stepped up to deny Slavin a quick second goal.
Chicago’s speed makes them a potent threat at four-on-four, but the Marlies turned the tables to score an important fourth goal and insurance marker. After a sharp defensive play and a quick outlet pass by Matt Benning created a 3v2 opportunity, Borya Valis drove down the middle of the ice across the blue line. Valis faked to his right before sending a reverse pass to Haymes. With one defender laying a hit on Valis and the other buying the fake, Haymes had the space available to measure a powerful release off the short-side post and in.
The Marlies killed a second Cade Webber penalty late in the frame to keep their two-goal advantage intact.
Third Period
The Marlies played a respectable final frame with the lead, limiting the Wolves to seven shots thanks to their commitment to defending and blocking shots. Välimäki had the lone chance of note through the first 12 minutes as Toronto slowly drained the life out of Chicago.
The Wolves pulled the netminder with four minutes remaining and set up camp in the offensive zone. It was a bend-don’t-break mentality from the Marlies, including two important saves from Hildeby on Slavin and Robidas before Benning secured the win. The veteran defenseman’s clearance from deep in the defensive zone took a funky bounce off the glass and into the empty net. Benning got a kick out of it, capping off a redemptive performance after some costly mistakes the game before.
Post Game Notes
– A pair of assists for Matthew Barbolini extended his points streak (1G/3A) to three games. The forward has 20 points this season (6G/14A) and has become something of a plug-and-play contributor up and down the lineup.
– Bo Groulx reached the 25-goal plateau and is the first Marlies player not named Logan Shaw to accomplish the feat since Joey Anderson. Groulx is riding a six-game point streak (3G/3A) and must be liking his odds of getting into an NHL game if Leafs management makes substractions at the trade deadline.
– Rightly named the first star of the game, Dennis Hildeby stepped up with another outstanding performance. He’s allowed five goals in his last three starts (2-0-1) with a .929 save percentage.
“[Hildeby] is a big goalie, and he is tough enough to beat for that reason alone,” said Gruden. “But when you’re athletic like him, he can make those saves that are like, ‘Wow, where did that come from?’ Those are big momentum-shift moments for our group.”
– Jacob Quillan has a point in each of his last four games (3G/1A). His 33 points in 38 games this season (12G/21A) are just four shy of last season’s total accrued in 67 games.
– When you’re hot, you’re hot. Luke Haymes scored an important insurance marker for his eighth goal in his last 10 games.
“[Haymes] is not easy to play against right now,” said Gruden. “He is always in the right position. He has been on the plus side of a lot of plus-minuses. He continues to grow. He makes plays, too, and sees the ice extremely well. His shot has really stood out to us. He has been able to find ways to put pucks in the net with his pure skill and shot, but he also makes plays. He can find guys and make plays in tight areas. He’s still a work in progress, but he is definitely trending in the right direction.”
– Secondary scoring is something the Marlies could use a little more of, so it was nice to see both Matt Benning and Marc Johnstone register multi-point games (1G/1A) in the victory.
– Sunday’s lineup:
Forwards
Groulx – Shaw – Lettieri
Paré – Quillan – Tverberg
Nylander- Haymes – Valis
Pezzetta – Johnstone – Barbolini
Defensemen
Mermis – Thrun
Chadwick – Benning
Webber – Villenueve
Goaltenders
Hildeby
Akhtyamov
