March 4, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Red Wings left wing Jan Mursak (39) skates with the puck against the Chicago Blackhawks at Joe Louis Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

It wasn’t quite as bad as the Toronto Maple Leafs’ meltdown last week against the Boston Bruins in Game 7, but the Toronto Marlies exited the post-season in heartbreaking fashion themselves tonight. The Marlies will not be making a return to the Calder Cup Finals this year after losing their series to the Grand Rapids Griffins 4-2.

Toronto held a 3-1 lead on Tuesday night with under 10 minutes to play before Grand Rapids scored three unanswered goals to pull out a 4-3 victory in regulation. Where have we seen this before? Jan Mursak led the way with a goal and an assist for the Griffins in the third period to complete the comeback.

Despite the loss, the Marlies deserve plenty of credit this year for still having a strong campaign, even though many of the players they relied on in 2011-12 were in the Maple Leafs lineup in 2013. Dallas Eakins has done a great job with that group and developing young talent in general, so it won’t be long before he lands an NHL coaching gig somewhere.

May 12, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Joe Colborne (32) controls the puck against the Boston Bruins during game six of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs at the Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Bruins 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Marlies will attempt to tie their series at 2-2 when they take on the Griffins tonight in Grand Rapids. The Marlies dropped a close 5-4 decision on Wednesday night to fall behind in the series. The next two games will be played in Grand Rapids, so if the Marlies want to send the series back to Toronto they have to win at least one of those.

The Marlies had some additional help for Game 3 as Joe Colborne and Ryan Hamilton returned from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Colborne was held off the score sheet, but Hamilton was able to find the back of the net in a losing cause. Spencer Abbott also returned from an injury he suffered in the opening round. He chipped in with a goal and an assist.

The rest of the series could very well come down to special teams and in that area the Marlies would seem to have the edge. As we have been accustomed to seeing under coach Dallas Eakins, Toronto’s penalty kill leads the AHL in the post-season with a rate of over 90%. The Griffins on the other hand are operating with a power play at just 16.2%. If the Marlies can exploit this matchup, look for them to get back in the series.