The Toronto Marlies concluded their seven-game road trip and came home last week. Nothing changed, and the Marlies continued their role as wrecking ball with the rest of the American Hockey League standing in as the tottering skyscraper.
Toronto Marlies @ Rochester Americans: 1-0 Marlies (OT)
For the third straight game, the Toronto Marlies played to a regulation tie, and for the second game in a row, the Marlies emerged victorious in overtime.
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As close as the final score was Wednesday night in Rochester, the shot clock indicates this game was dominated by the Marlies, who couldn’t find a way to beat Americans goaltender Andrey Makarov despite piling up 36 shots through 60 minutes.
Brendan Leipsic broke the deadlock on the power play in the extra frame, converting on a cross-crease pass from William Nylander. Leipsic’s effort in this game was notable on the highlights, as he made numerous dangerous rushes into the offensive zone throughout the night.
Garret Sparks continued his strong play of late with a 23-save shutout.
Rochester Americans @ Toronto Marlies: 5-1 Marlies
The Toronto Marlies returned home as heroes, and didn’t give their fans any reason to stop cheering as they routed the visiting Americans.
This game featured five different Marlies goal-scorers as they continue to boast their versatile offensive attack. T.J. Brennan, William Nylander, Richard Panik, Matt Frattin and Rinat Valiev all found the scoresheet for the Baby Leafs.
The Marlies piled up 36 shots through regulation for the second game in a row, and Garret Sparks continued his dominance with 31 saves for the win. Brendan Leipsic had two assists while Brennan, Panik and Valiev all chipped in with assists to go with their goals.
Binghamton Senators @ Toronto Marlies: 6-4 Marlies
The Binghamton Senators came into Toronto for a Sunday afternoon showdown and gave the Marlies their toughest test of the weekend. However, that wasn’t enough to stop the Marlies from winning their eighth game in their last nine and fourth in a row.
Kasperi Kapanen had the standout performance of the night with a goal and two assists, while William Nylander had a goal and an assist and Zach Hyman added a pair of assists.
Antoine Bibeau made the rare start on the back-to-back, and didn’t make a very strong case for the starting role as he allowed four goals on 35 shots.
Three Stars of the Week
3. William Nylander (3 games played, 2 goals, 2 assists, 6 shots on goal)
For the first time in three weeks Nylander doesn’t grab first-star honours, but that has more to do with strong support from his teammates than any drop in his own play. After another better-than-point-per-game week, Nylander jumped to number-one in AHL scoring with 23 points in 17 games.
2. Garret Sparks (2 games started, 54 shots against, 1 goal against, .982 save percentage)
Sparks is now firmly entrenched as the Marlies’ number-one goalie with a .952 save percentage in his last seven games and a .938 overall. The team in front of him may be dominating right now, but Sparks is certainly living up to his end of the bargain.
1. Brendan Leipsic (3 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 12 SOG)
Leipsic hasn’t been scoring at the rate as some of his teammates, but he grabbed headlines with a big week. The energetic 21-year-old proved his possession skills and offensive savvy with four points and a mammoth 12 shots on goal.
For Your Reading Pleasure
- Another player that has flown under the radar a little bit is Kasperi Kapanen, who broke out with a big three-point game last night. The 19-year-old Finn spoke with Ken McKenna of Hockey’s Future about the Phil Kessel trade, his fit in head coach Sheldon Keefe’s system and the international success of Finland at the under-20 level.
- Speaking of Kapanen and under-20 international hockey, The LeafsNation hosted a roundtable discussing whether or not he and William Nylander should be allowed to play in the World Junior Hockey Championships in late December. My take? As long as they’re contributing and getting ice time at the AHL level, they don’t need to drop down to play lesser competition for a few weeks.
- When can we expect to see Nylander in a Toronto Maple Leafs uniform again? ESPN’s Corey Pronman shared a possible answer:
Less than two months away, Leafs fans! That is, if they decide to give him more than nine games and burn a year toward restricted free agency. And the debate rages on.
Looking Ahead
The Marlies are off until Friday night when they hit the road again to face the Syracuse Crunch and begin another one of the AHL’s infamous three-games-in-three-days stretches. They’re back home again for a pair of afternoon games with the St. John’s IceCaps over the weekend.