“We made a few mistakes which ended up biting us. We’ll clean a few things up, but it’s all about wins right now. I thought we did a lot of good things, had some opportunistic scoring, and obviously our goaltender was pretty big when he needed to be. I expect us to be even better on Sunday.”
– John Gruden
As has so often been the case in this 2026 playoff run, the Toronto Marlies weren’t at their best in Game 1 of the Calder Cup Final but found a way to dig out a hard-fought victory. Their playoff calling card of timely goals, secondary scoring, and excellent goaltending again got the job done.
First Period
Two defensive giveaways inside the opening 75 seconds weren’t the way John Gruden envisioned his team starting the series, but Artur Akhtyamov stood tall to turn aside Skyler Brind’Amour and Noel Gunler, averting a disastrous beginning.
Toronto’s netminder made another outstanding save at the four-minute mark with his team down a skater. Bradley Nadeau was stopped from close range in an otherwise solid two-minute penalty kill. The Marlies almost struck while shorthanded when Ryan Tverberg broke free, but he was unable to corral the puck.
Toronto built off the penalty kill with a dominant five-on-five shift that generated shooting opportunities for Marshall Rifai and Alex Nylander. Amir Miftakhov was fortunate to escape after allowing a huge rebound on the initial save against Rifai.
The Marlies drew a penalty shortly after, but the subsequent power play was almost a disaster. They had no answers for an aggressive Chicago penalty kill and leaned on Akhtyamov to rob Brind’Amour on a breakaway.
The Wolves then broke the deadlock at the 11-minute mark. Ben Danford, jumping up into the rush, got out over his skis a little bit with an attempted blind behind-the-back pass to Easton Cowan high in the offensive zone, leading to a Chicago attack in transition. The Marlies got numbers back but never regained their defensive structure. Ryan Suzuki fired a shot as the trailer on the play, and Nadeau seized on the rebound from Akhtyamov’s right-pad save, tapping the puck home from close range.
The Marlies were not fazed by conceding the opening goal and finished the period strongly.
Vinni Lettieri wasn’t able to convert on a Grade-A chance, but he played a huge role in the tying goal when it arrived.
Danford prevented Chicago from changing lines by collecting a clearance in the neutral zone and sending the puck around the boards into the Wolves’ end. Lettieri beat his opponent along the left wall to recover possession before initiating a quick give-and-go with Bo Groulx. He then pulled off a heads-up backhand pass to find his rookie teammate with space at the top of the opposite circle, where Danford steadied himself before snapping a wrist shot past Miftakhov.
Second Period
The Marlies began the middle frame with purpose and had Miftakhov floundering in the crease during the opening minute. They were unable to make the pressure count, though, and nearly allowed a goal in transition when Suzuki sped away and blasted a shot off the crossbar.
The Marlies had to kill another early penalty but did so with relative ease despite Chicago spending a large chunk of the two minutes inside the offensive zone.
In a period with few high-danger scoring chances, the best fell to Marc Johnstone in the slot just past the midway mark. He couldn’t convert, but Toronto continued to press and looked the likelier team to score next until they gifted the Wolves the lead for a second time.
Rifai pinched in along the left wall with Giroux providing cover, but when the Wolves recovered the puck, Charles-Alexis Legault chipped a pass forward that caught Toronto flat-footed, with a dog-tired Groulx unable to get on his horse to prevent a 2-on-1. Gunler delivered a cross-slot feed to the dangerous Brind’Amour, who beat Akhtyamov with a quality backhand finish.
The Marlies drew a penalty thanks to a reckless play by Nikita Pavlychev, but they couldn’t make the Wolves pay. They generated no sustained pressure, and only a couple of efforts from Lettieri forced Miftakhov into any work.
The definition of timely scoring came when Toronto tied the game with 50 seconds remaining in the period. In another well-worked goal, Borya Valis delivered a brilliant one-touch redirect just outside the blue line to gain entry and find Tverberg on the right side. Tverberg then delivered a slick spin pass to send Cédric Paré in alone on goal. An infrequent goal scorer at the best of times, the big centerman produced a tidy finish when his team needed him most to make it 2-2 through 40 minutes.
Third Period
“Bend but not break” has been a phrase used often by John Gruden this season. The Marlies embodied that mentality in the opening four minutes of the final frame as Chicago laid siege to the Toronto net. Some stellar penalty-killing work kept Chicago mostly to the perimeter, while Akhtyamov turned aside Suzuki, Nadeau, and Gunler when the Wolves breached the wall.
Cal Foote came closest for Chicago in the shift after the penalty expired, ringing a shot off the crossbar. After surviving the minor onslaught, Toronto settled back into the game.
The game winner was a credit to the Marlies’ leadership group and their attention to detail. After helping snuff out a pass from behind the goal line into the slot, Lettieri carried the puck clear of danger through the left circle. With two checkers on his tail and Foote standing at the blue line, Lettieri banked the puck off the wall through the neutral zone with the perfect weight to retrieve it himself. Now one-on-one with the covering Noah Philp, Lettieri outwitted the Wolves centreman, cut inside, drove across the crease, and scored with a shot back against the grain. Whether it’s becoming a father for the first time during these playoffs or something else, Lettieri once again produced a moment of sheer inspiration for the Marlies.
Chicago struggled to muster a response and instead took a too-many-men penalty, much to the head coach’s frustration. The Marlies thought they scored an insurance marker when Tverberg forced a loose puck over the goal line, but the officials waved it off, ruling that Tverberg interfered despite the goaltender never gaining full control.
The Wolves pulled the netminder with two minutes remaining but recorded only one shot. To a man, Toronto blocked shots and threw bodies in front of pucks before Lettieri sealed the deal with an empty-net tally, sending Chicago fans to the exits.
In a 2-3-2 format, the Marlies have stolen back home-ice advantage with three of the next four games at home, laying down a marker for the series. They’ve also now won five consecutive road games.
Post-Game Notes
– With a three-point game (2G, 1A), Vinni Lettieri has now tied Matt Frattin (2012) and Andreas Johnsson (2018) for the most goals (10) in a single post-season in Marlies history. He leads the AHL in playoff scoring with 20 points through 19 games.
– Two key plays from Borya Valis resulted in a pair of helpers. The second was a nice defensive play that allowed Lettieri to escape and score the game-winner. Valis’ playing style suits playoff hockey, and he has blossomed since he seized an opportunity to re-enter the lineup.
– William Villeneuve is now tied with Andreas Johnsson for the Marlies’ single post-season assist record (14).
– Artur Akhtyamov! Need I say any more at this point? He has allowed two or fewer goals in eight of his last 10 games.
– Rookies are going to make mistakes. It’s the nature of the beast. It’s not the first time Ben Danford has made one this post-season, but I have yet to see it eat away at him or affect his performance in any way. What a response to score his first professional goal.
“For a young player like that to think like a quarterback who just threw a pick-six… If you are going to play hockey at this level and the next level, you need a short memory. He definitely had it. For him to come out in that same period — for some people, you don’t see them again for the rest; you just hope their mistakes aren’t catastrophic. For him to come out and score the goal is pretty impressive. It was huge. I am sure it did a lot for his confidence throughout the game.”
— John Gruden on Ben Danford
Whether it’s Cowan bouncing back in a big way from his mistake in the last series or Danford’s response in Game 1 of this final, it’s hugely positive that the Leafs‘ next generation of young players are learning to navigate the highs and lows of playoff hockey.
– One final note: As noted frequently in this space, the officiating in the playoffs has been wretched at times. It was nice to see some consistency in the decisions last night, and I hope it continues throughout the series. Props to the four-person crew.
– Game 1 lineup:
Forwards
Groulx – Shaw – Lettieri
Cowan – Haymes – Tverberg
Valis – Paré – Nylander
Sim – Johnstone – Pezzetta
Defensemen
Thrun – Benning
Mermis – Villeneuve
Rifai – Danford
Goalies
Akhtyamov
Hildeby
