March 29, 2012; Toronto, ON, CANADA; Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jussi Rynnas (40) makes a glove save before the game against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Marlies dropped a 2-1 decision on Tuesday night to the Hamilton Bulldogs. Considering Toronto sits in first place in the Western Conference while Hamilton occupies last position, the Marlies effort was anything but stellar. The Marlies saw their consecutive games streak of recording at least one point snapped at ten. Here are a few things that stood out from the contest.

Power Outage

The Marlies went 0-for-7 with the man advantage, and have now recorded just one goal in their last 13 power play attempts. Toronto has plenty of offensive firepower so there is no need to panic, but coach Dallas Eakins has the right to be slightly concerned. If you consider that the Marlies may be losing a few offensive weapons to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the near future, the power play needs to be clicking in order to help manufacture offense for the team down the stretch.

Solid Defensive Effort

Toronto was outshot 38-24 in this one by Hamilton, but that stat could be a little misleading. The Marlies actually didn’t play that poorly from a defensive standpoint. The Bulldogs didn’t have a ton of quality scoring chances, as the defense of the Marlies did an excellent job of keeping shooters to the outside and giving goaltender Jussi Rynnas good looks at shots. Rynnas was really able to settle in and made three pretty routine glove saves in the first period, after his defense forced the Bulldogs to try their luck from distance.

Poor Finish To Periods

Both Bulldog goals came in the final minute of periods. At 19:59 of the second, Patrick Holland capitalized on a scramble that the Marlies just couldn’t clear, and at 19:12 of the final frame Gabriel Dumont was the benefactor of a fortunate bounce for the game winner. His shot, which was more of a pass from a bad angle, deflected off a few people in front of Rynnas before sliding in. I thought Ben Scrivens could only be the victim of such a bad bounce, but apparently not. Coaches typically can’t stand giving up goals late in periods, and I’m sure Eakins is no different.

Ranger Continues To Impress

In a game where the Marlies didn’t play particularly well, Paul Ranger was arguably the best player in the ice. Although he was a minus-1, Ranger led Toronto with seven shots on goal and continues to make his case to get a look from the Maple Leafs. Ranger is starting to become hard to ignore.

November 22, 2011; Tampa FL, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs center Joe Colborne (32) is congratulated by left wing Matt Frattin (39) after he scored a goal during the second period against the Tampa Bay Lightning at St. Pete Times Forum. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Marlies defeated the Hamilton Bulldogs 6-0 Wednesday night at the Ricoh Coliseum. It was their 11^th victory in their past 14 contests. Here a few things that stood out from the game.

Joe Colborne Heating Up

After starting off very slowly this season, Joe Colborne has played much better as of late. He chipped in with a goal and two assists against the Bulldogs, and after going 18 games without scoring, Colborne now has two goals in his last four. Not only that, but the big man is starting to use his size to his advantage. Both on Keith Aucoin’s goal where he recorded an assist, and his tally on the power play, Colborne drove the net and made his presence felt to make a play.

Great Scott!

Greg Scott had a solid game and really seemed to provide the Marlies with a spark. He had a gorgeous assist on the opening shorthanded goal by Jerry D’Amigo. He also seemed to click really well with Mike Zigomanis on the penalty kill, creating chances while a man short.

Bulldogs Drought

Hamilton hasn’t found the back of the net in over 160 straight minutes of action now. Ben Scrivens was strong in recording the shutout, but not conceding a goal had more to do with the Bulldogs offensive futility. Hamilton sits in last place in the league.

Team Effort

The Marlies now lead the Western Conference with 43 points and sit just two points back of the Syracuse Crunch for first overall in the entire AHL. Last night five different Marlies scored and nine players recorded at least one point, all while missing two of their stronger skaters in Nazem Kadri and Jake Gardiner. Scrivens was solid between the pipes, Jesse Blacker was blocking shots, and Toronto’s special teams were excellent. With continuing inspired play like this, Calder Cup aspirations won’t be that farfetched.