Round 2, Game 7: Toronto vs. Albany
By Sherry Jean, Posted on May 16, 2016
Game 7 of the Round 2 series between the Toronto Marlies and Albany Devils is set for tonight at 7pm at Ricoh Coliseum. Catch all of the action on RogersTV and TSN1050. The Albany Devils defeated the Toronto Marlies in Game 6 to even up the series 3-3 on Saturday afternoon in Toronto.
Game 6 Summary:
Kasperi Kapanen recorded his second goal of the post season, 10:45 into the second period.
Stuart Percy assisted on the Kapanen tally, his second assist of the post season.
Viktor Loov collected the secondary assist on the Kapanen goal, his third point of the playoffs.
Puck drop is at 7:30pm on RogersTV and TSN1050. Don’t forget to follow the Marlies on Twitter and tune in to our #MarliesLive chat.
Marlies look to bounce back in Game 7 against Albany
By Lance Hornby, Toronto Sun
First posted: Sunday, May 15, 2016 11:12 PM EDT | Updated: Sunday, May 15, 2016 11:15 PM EDT
Bitter memories
For a few Marlies, incentive to win goes back a lot further than Game 6.
Defenceman Stu Percy and centre Sam Carrick were on the teams that lost a deciding Game 5 opening round series in Grand Rapids last year and Game 7 to the Texas Stars in 2014 that would have meant a Calder Cup final berth.
“Both of those games were on the road,†noted Percy. “It’s great to have this at home. I’m sure the building will be rocking. If you told us all we had to do was win one at the beginning of this series, I’m sure we’d take that.â€
Monday will be Carrick’s 34th playoff game for the Marlies, leading all active teammates.
“Finishing first, there are always expectations to go far. But we’re not trying to think of that right now. We’re playing (a series) that could very well be the final in any other league, one and two (in the conference). This is the series we have to get through if we want to win anything.
“It’s games like this you find out what kind of player you are and what kind of team you have.
Hard choices
Keefe said four Marlies were game-time decisions on Saturday and with only one extra allowed to skate in the warm-up, it complicates the final call. Nikita Soshnikov was one of those scratches at Sunday’s optional skate and with four goals in five games and some dogged defence, he’d be a welcome addition at wing on Monday. Soshnikov is believed to have an upper-body issue. Frederik Gauthier and Tobias Lindstrom are in reserve at forward.
“When you get to this point in a series, some decisions are made for you,†Keefe said. “We have a number of (nagging injuries) with our team. We continue to sort through that and (Albany) is doing the same thing. They came at us yesterday with some healthy fresh legs.
“You never put a guy in the lineup who can hurt himself or hurt the team. If they’re feeling good, you put them in the deck.â€
Welcome Matt?
Keefe agreed the Matt Frattin case is “uniqueâ€.
As property of the Ottawa Senators via the Dion Phaneuf trade, the winger was a healthy scratch in the three games in Albany after a late season injury. He returned in Game 6 when Soshnikov was ailing, when the optics might have favoured giving the playing time to a Leafs prospect.
“It’s a delicate situation no doubt,†Keefe said. “But he’s also a guy who played a lot for the Marlies this year, more than most of the guys who’ve played every day (in playoffs). So he’s part of our team, our leadership group (an alternate captain) and an available resource.â€
Nylander on the spot
With Kasperi Kapanen having some scoring success the past couple of games, it might be a good sign for fellow first rounder and centreman William Nylander.
The Marlies’ most dynamic forward when he gets time and space, Nylander has been bottled up much of this series and twice Keefe called him out to raise his battle readiness.
“Willy will come through, I know he will,†Kapanen said. “He’s an outstanding player who thrives under pressure, just like me. We just have to make our line work. I got my role, Willy’s got his and Zach (Hyman) has got his. We’ve been playing well. Everyone has to step up our game.â€
Ice Chips
Frattin would like to have a role in Game 7 after being in the loss to Grand Rapids last May, missing the Game 7 breakaway in Boston that might have iced the Maple Leafs win over the Bruins in 2013 ... Devils coach Rick Kowalsky said the advantages of his team being older, bigger and more physical than the Marlies might have been true at the start of the AHL playoffs, but no longer. “We’re missing Dan Kelly, Jim O’Brien and (maybe) Mike Sislo and Brian O’Neill. But they have Fattin, Rich Clune and Brennan, guys who’ve been through situations†... When facing elimination games in the Ricoh era, the Marlies are 7-7.
Tobias Lindberg is not Andreas Johnson. 
