“We know what playoff hockey is all about. We’ve done a really good job of putting ourselves in this position. We’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. We know how we need to play moving forward, like we did in the second and third period.”
– John Gruden
Five straight playoff victories have catapulted the Toronto Marlies to a 3-0 lead in the Calder Cup Final. The unthinkable a few months ago is now so close they can almost taste it, as the Marlies are on the verge of claiming a second championship in franchise history.
The offense supported Artur Akhtyamov in Game 2. The goaltender responded on home ice by “dialling in” to ensure one goal was enough to put his team on the brink of a Calder Cup trophy.
First Period
Chicago will look back at the opening frame as a missed opportunity. Aside from a chance for Bo Groulx in the right circle, the Marlies were dreadful through the opening 20 minutes. Puck management was casual at best, and the opening frame had too much of a “loosey-goosey” feel to it from the Toronto perspective. Chicago seized on that and spent chunks of time camped in the offensive zone.
Artur Akhtyamov was the hero for the Marlies in the opening period. He turned aside four Grade-A scoring chances inside six minutes, denying Noel Gunler, Ronan Seeley, Noah Philp, and Nikita Pavlychev.
Landon Sim did what he does best by drawing a penalty to relieve some pressure, but it was for nothing as Chicago’s speed and aggressive penalty kill were too much for Toronto to handle.
Chicago’s final high-danger scoring chance of the period fell to Juuso Välimäki, who was also robbed by Akhtyamov. The netminder stopped 13 shots through 20 minutes.
The home crowd was not only frustrated by its team’s flat performance; a clear hold on Logan Shaw went unpunished to the fans’ chagrin, only for the officials to call an equally obvious trip on Luke Haymes late in the period.
Second Period
The Marlies flipped the switch in the middle frame, starting with a dominant performance from the penalty-killing units. Toronto generated two high-danger scoring chances while down a skater. Marc Johnstone used his speed to get on the end of a stretch pass to create a partial breakaway; his finish was easily dealt with by Cayden Primeau, but the hard-working fourth liner wasn’t done. On the same shift, his effort generated a clean breakaway for himself, only for Primeau to produce an even better save.
That momentum rolled over to five-on-five, where Toronto took the lead inside three minutes. Vinni Lettieri worked a zone entry on the left side before dishing off to Dakota Mermis, who was poised with the puck and spotted a seam, sending a cross-ice pass to Easton Cowan. The rookie found some space in the right circle, took a stride, and fired a shot that Primeau got some of, but not enough. The puck trickled behind the goalie and across the goal line.
It was the beginning of a dominant second-period performance by the Marlies. Chicago was limited to four shots and only one high-danger chance for Viktor Neuchev, which Akhtyamov handled.
Cowan’s line was particularly inspired in the middle frame, and Chicago had no answer for him, Jacob Quillan, or Ryan Tverberg. Some brilliant saves from Primeau and a lack of puck luck prevented the Marlies from padding their lead; Toronto recorded 17 shots in the second period, generated a handful of Grade-A opportunities, and deserved more than a 1-0 lead. They had to settle for the lone goal and relied on a save from someone other than Akhtyamov inside the final five minutes.
Toronto gave up an odd-man rush, and as Ryan Suzuki pulled the trigger from the right circle, he looked set to score with Akhtyamov attempting to slide across his crease. Matt Benning had other ideas and threw himself in the way of the shot, deflecting the puck high into the netting — a key, “doesn’t show on the scoresheet” type play that was noted by his teammates in the locker room after the game.
Third Period
The Marlies’ offensive push in the middle frame disappeared in the third period.
Toronto looked comfortable for the first six minutes before Chicago mounted a pushback. The Wolves generated two high-danger chances for Ivan Ryabkin and Gunler, but Akhtyamov made the required saves. Given how little work he faced in the previous 25 minutes, it was a testament to how dialled in the netminder was in this game.
The Marlies responded by drawing a penalty at the midway mark, only for it to be cancelled out by a laughable call. Lettieri was called for interference, but the Chicago player only fell to the ice because he collided with the official. Thankfully, Toronto killed off the abbreviated Chicago power play, so no controversy was forthcoming.
The game was ultimately decided in 90 seconds of madness with six minutes remaining. Puck management reminiscent of the first period by Toronto resulted in a 2v1 rush chance for Chicago, and Philp batted the puck out of the air, but Akhtyamov produced his best save of the game.
The incident that followed was an absolute disgrace.
Henry Thrun cleared the puck from below his own goal line and ended up on the receiving end of an elbow to the head, a calculated, intent-to-injure act by Pavlychev that left Thrun crumpled on the ice. After a lengthy discussion, the officials assessed the Chicago forward a five-minute major and a game misconduct.
There has been no supplemental discipline at the time of writing, which is disappointing if not unsurprising, given the spinning wheel of justice in the AHL. What are we doing here if we’re not protecting the players from targeted head shots?
With 4:34 remaining, Toronto went to a five-minute power play with a 1-0 lead. The Marlies went with two defensemen, wary of Chicago’s aggressive penalty kill. The Wolves were able to generate one further Grade-A chance despite playing down a man — Felix Unger Sörum had the puck on his stick in the slot — but you know the rest. Akhtyamov produced his 24th and final save of the game to ensure victory.
Post-Game Notes
– With the secondary assist on Cowan’s second-period goal, Vinni Lettieri tied the Marlies’ single-postseason record with 24 points. It would be fitting if he scored a game-winner to break the record. He has nine goals and 15 assists in 21 postseason games.
– When Easton Cowan is on his game, he’s a joy to watch and clearly above this level of competition. He took over the second period and dominated virtually every shift. He and his linemates could easily have buried the game given the chances they generated. His eighth postseason goal takes him to 14 points in 20 games.
“We were a completely different team when we came out in the second [period]. Cowan, and a bunch of other players included, were outstanding coming out for the second. You could see the confidence grow after he scored that goal, and how much better he played detail-wise — 200-foot game, and he was making all of the right plays and skating. He was creating. That is when he is at his best — not trying to do it himself.”
— John Gruden on Easton Cowan’s Game 3 performance
– The Marlies held Jacob Quillan out until he was as close to fully healthy as possible (I’m told he could have featured in Game 2). It proved to be the correct decision, as Quillan, alongside Cowan and Tverberg, could not be contained by the Wolves. Whatever was ailing him has healed, and he looked like a completely different player from the one seen before his forced rest.
– “MVP, MVP, MVP” was the chant from a sold-out crowd for Artur Akhtyamov, who is undoubtedly the Marlies’ MVP, and his second goose egg of the playoffs could not have come at a better time. The Russian netminder has posted a .928 save percentage and two shutouts this postseason. During his current five-game winning streak, Akhtyamov owns a remarkable .950 save percentage. We’ve run out of superlatives.
– Game 3 lineup:
Forwards
Groulx – Shaw – Lettieri
Cowan – Quillan – Tverberg
Paré – Haymes – Nylander
Sim – Johnstone – Pezzetta
Defensemen
Thrun – Benning
Mermis – Villeneuve
Rifai – Danford
Goalies
Akhtyamov
Hildeby
