Now it's time...! Leafs and Marlies fans must all come together for this one...!!
Marlies’ Resurgent Power Play Key To Closing Out Devils
Even more hard work is ahead for the Toronto Marlies in the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup playoffs.
They rallied from a 2-1 series deficit in their second-round series against the Albany Devils this week, taking games four and five by a combined 12-3 score. Game 6 goes Saturday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum with the Marlies ahead 3-2 in the series.
In taking that series lead, Toronto managed 12 goals against a defence that had finished the regular season having allowed 2.20 goals per game, second-best in the AHL. Although the Marlies managed to dent Devils goaltender Scott Wedgewood for five goals in Game 2, he had assembled a respectable .913 save percentage through the first three games of the series.
Albany limited Toronto’s power play to one goal on 16 chances in the first three games. The Devils killed off 29 of 30 through the first seven games of the postseason, including shutting down the Marlies on each of their eight chances in Game 3.
The Albany penalty kill, which finished third overall in the regular season, also showed an ability to burn the Toronto power play. After notching nine shorthanded goals in the regular season, the Devils exploded for four shorthanded strikes in those first seven games. Two of those goals on the penalty kill came in Game 3 when rookie Nick Lappin tied the game with 21 seconds to go and then proceeded to win it in overtime.
Game 4 started ominously enough for Toronto which allowed Blake Pietila’s goal 2:10 into the game. That Marlies offence that propelled them to a league-best 3.87 goals per game in the regular season finally exploded. Albany defenceman Damon Severson’s high-sticking double-minor in the first period opened the door a crack, and the Marlies barged through.
Sniper Mark Arcobello, who tied for the team lead with 25 regular-season goals, tied the game on the power play with Severson watching. Another Albany penalty followed and Kasperi Kapanen put the Marlies ahead 2-1. Severson took another high-sticking penalty, T.J. Brennan needed all of 23 seconds to make it 3-1, and the Devils found themselves in big trouble.
The Marlies had three power-play strikes in a 7:58 span. After Albany blue-liner Dan Kelly drew a match penalty for a hit to the head of Marlies forward Andreas Johnson, Brendan Leipsic made the Devils pay again.
A pair of Nikita Soshnikov goals ripped the game open, turned it into an eventual 7-2 rout, and the Marlies have not looked back since. Toronto followed with a 5-1 Game 4 victory, scoring twice on five man-advantage opportunities.
After that 1-for-16 start on the power play against Albany in games one through three, the Marlies have gone 6-for-14. After a modest 10th-place finish on the power play in the regular season, the Marlies are third in the playoffs at 24.3 percent (10-for-41).
Hits to the Albany lineup have piled up lately. The AHL suspended Kelly 10 games for his Game 4 hit, costing the Devils his experience and defensively responsible play. Forward Mike Sislo, whose 27 goals placed him fifth in the AHL during the regular season, missed Game 5 with what the Devils said was a lower-body injury. Those two absences accompanied the loss of forwards Jim O’Brien and Pavel Zacha from earlier in the series.
“We’re down some very key players,†Devils head coach Rick Kowalsky told the Albany website. “We haven’t had our full lineup since the first shift of Game 1. Nobody’s feeling sorry for us. We have to find a way to win a hockey game.â€
Perhaps even more troubling for the Devils is that several members of a well-balanced collection of forwards have gone cold against the Marlies. Reid Boucher, who went 3-3-6 in the first round against the Utica Comets, has one assist in five second-round games. Pietila went 2-2-4 in his only first-round game, but has been held to the one goal in Game 4. Joseph Blandisi does not have a point against Toronto. Lappin had 23 shots in the first three games of the series and has four shots since.
Some holes have started to appear lately in Wedgewood’s game as well. He was lifted after two periods in Game 4 and has allowed nine goals on 39 shots in his past two outings for a .769 save percentage.
But now the Marlies have to put away the Devils once and for all. The Devils had a 102-point regular season, emerged as the top threat to the Marlies’ dominance in the Eastern Conference, and they will be anything but an easy out.
Albany lost more than two consecutive games in a row just once in the regular season and that was a mid-December stumble that included a long trip to St. John’s. Kowalsky won the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL’s top coach this season and is an excellent motivator that will have his team composed and ready to go in Game 6.
Albany has at least one more chance to extend its season. The Marlies do not want to risk giving them a second.
Elsewhere
Anything can happen when young, rambunctious prospects and playoff hockey mix.
That happened in Game 4 of the Grand Rapids Griffins-Lake Erie Monsters series this past Tuesday. Comfortably ahead 4-1 late in the second period, and with a chance to finish a series sweep, Lake Erie slipped. Grand Rapids came screaming back with four unanswered goals to take a 5-4 decision. Lake Erie will have another opportunity to end the series at home Saturday.
The Ontario Reign and San Diego Gulls continue their series Friday. After a five-day break between Game 2 and 3, the Gulls will host tonight and try to avoid falling behind 3-1 in the series.
A third-round date with the Marlies could await the Hershey Bears if each team can close out its series. Hershey leads its series with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 3-2, heading into Friday’s Game 6 on Penguins ice.
---- http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/marlies-resurgent-power-play-key-closing-devils/
Last Game Against Albany:
Marlies Highlights: Toronto @ Albany: Game 5 - May 12, 2016
Marlies’ Resurgent Power Play Key To Closing Out Devils
Even more hard work is ahead for the Toronto Marlies in the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup playoffs.
They rallied from a 2-1 series deficit in their second-round series against the Albany Devils this week, taking games four and five by a combined 12-3 score. Game 6 goes Saturday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum with the Marlies ahead 3-2 in the series.
In taking that series lead, Toronto managed 12 goals against a defence that had finished the regular season having allowed 2.20 goals per game, second-best in the AHL. Although the Marlies managed to dent Devils goaltender Scott Wedgewood for five goals in Game 2, he had assembled a respectable .913 save percentage through the first three games of the series.
Albany limited Toronto’s power play to one goal on 16 chances in the first three games. The Devils killed off 29 of 30 through the first seven games of the postseason, including shutting down the Marlies on each of their eight chances in Game 3.
The Albany penalty kill, which finished third overall in the regular season, also showed an ability to burn the Toronto power play. After notching nine shorthanded goals in the regular season, the Devils exploded for four shorthanded strikes in those first seven games. Two of those goals on the penalty kill came in Game 3 when rookie Nick Lappin tied the game with 21 seconds to go and then proceeded to win it in overtime.
Game 4 started ominously enough for Toronto which allowed Blake Pietila’s goal 2:10 into the game. That Marlies offence that propelled them to a league-best 3.87 goals per game in the regular season finally exploded. Albany defenceman Damon Severson’s high-sticking double-minor in the first period opened the door a crack, and the Marlies barged through.
Sniper Mark Arcobello, who tied for the team lead with 25 regular-season goals, tied the game on the power play with Severson watching. Another Albany penalty followed and Kasperi Kapanen put the Marlies ahead 2-1. Severson took another high-sticking penalty, T.J. Brennan needed all of 23 seconds to make it 3-1, and the Devils found themselves in big trouble.
The Marlies had three power-play strikes in a 7:58 span. After Albany blue-liner Dan Kelly drew a match penalty for a hit to the head of Marlies forward Andreas Johnson, Brendan Leipsic made the Devils pay again.
A pair of Nikita Soshnikov goals ripped the game open, turned it into an eventual 7-2 rout, and the Marlies have not looked back since. Toronto followed with a 5-1 Game 4 victory, scoring twice on five man-advantage opportunities.
After that 1-for-16 start on the power play against Albany in games one through three, the Marlies have gone 6-for-14. After a modest 10th-place finish on the power play in the regular season, the Marlies are third in the playoffs at 24.3 percent (10-for-41).
Hits to the Albany lineup have piled up lately. The AHL suspended Kelly 10 games for his Game 4 hit, costing the Devils his experience and defensively responsible play. Forward Mike Sislo, whose 27 goals placed him fifth in the AHL during the regular season, missed Game 5 with what the Devils said was a lower-body injury. Those two absences accompanied the loss of forwards Jim O’Brien and Pavel Zacha from earlier in the series.
“We’re down some very key players,†Devils head coach Rick Kowalsky told the Albany website. “We haven’t had our full lineup since the first shift of Game 1. Nobody’s feeling sorry for us. We have to find a way to win a hockey game.â€
Perhaps even more troubling for the Devils is that several members of a well-balanced collection of forwards have gone cold against the Marlies. Reid Boucher, who went 3-3-6 in the first round against the Utica Comets, has one assist in five second-round games. Pietila went 2-2-4 in his only first-round game, but has been held to the one goal in Game 4. Joseph Blandisi does not have a point against Toronto. Lappin had 23 shots in the first three games of the series and has four shots since.
Some holes have started to appear lately in Wedgewood’s game as well. He was lifted after two periods in Game 4 and has allowed nine goals on 39 shots in his past two outings for a .769 save percentage.
But now the Marlies have to put away the Devils once and for all. The Devils had a 102-point regular season, emerged as the top threat to the Marlies’ dominance in the Eastern Conference, and they will be anything but an easy out.
Albany lost more than two consecutive games in a row just once in the regular season and that was a mid-December stumble that included a long trip to St. John’s. Kowalsky won the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL’s top coach this season and is an excellent motivator that will have his team composed and ready to go in Game 6.
Albany has at least one more chance to extend its season. The Marlies do not want to risk giving them a second.
Elsewhere
Anything can happen when young, rambunctious prospects and playoff hockey mix.
That happened in Game 4 of the Grand Rapids Griffins-Lake Erie Monsters series this past Tuesday. Comfortably ahead 4-1 late in the second period, and with a chance to finish a series sweep, Lake Erie slipped. Grand Rapids came screaming back with four unanswered goals to take a 5-4 decision. Lake Erie will have another opportunity to end the series at home Saturday.
The Ontario Reign and San Diego Gulls continue their series Friday. After a five-day break between Game 2 and 3, the Gulls will host tonight and try to avoid falling behind 3-1 in the series.
A third-round date with the Marlies could await the Hershey Bears if each team can close out its series. Hershey leads its series with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 3-2, heading into Friday’s Game 6 on Penguins ice.
---- http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/marlies-resurgent-power-play-key-closing-devils/
Last Game Against Albany:
Marlies Highlights: Toronto @ Albany: Game 5 - May 12, 2016
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