Toronto Maple Leafs: Trevor Moore to the Marlies’ Rescue

The Toronto Maple Leafs will have a number of difficult decisions to make in training camp come September.

An extended playoff run from the Toronto Marlies has only added fuel to that fire. In fact, the one man responsible for continually increasing the difficulty of those decisions has been none other than Trevor Moore.

To say that Moore has impressed during this postseason would be a gross understatement.

Through a combination of sheer work ethic and two-way ability, the undrafted winger has secured the attention of even his team’s most casual viewers. Following a season filled with “I can’t believe he didn’t bury that” opportunities, the puck has mercifully begun cooperating with the 22-year-old at just the right time.

Prior to Game One, Moore’s 13 points put him second on the Marlies in scoring, one behind superstar teammate Andreas Johnsson. League-wide, he placed fifth.

Game One put Moore front and centre on his league’s biggest stage. As the entirety of the Leafs brass watched from above, he did not disappoint.

In arguably the most chaotic game of their season, the Marlies managed to barely squeak out a 6-5 victory over the surprisingly dominant Texas Stars. In spite of this, the 1-0 series lead they now carry into Sunday’s Game Two simply would not exist without the herculean effort put forth by Moore.

Out of Sync

The Marlies managed to put 6 pucks past Stars goaltender, Mike McKenna on Saturday. And, precisely zero of them came from their top line.

Putting it mildly, the trio of Johnsson, Carl Grundstrom and Miro Aaltonen did not exactly have a banner game. In fact, they chose arguably the worst possible moment to put forth a rare game to forget.

As Texas jumped to an early 2-1 first-period lead, their markers were the direct result of a pair of neutral zone penalties committed by Johnsson and Grundstrom. For Johnsson, it was a tripping call at his own blue line. In Grundstrom’s case, he was caught playing the puck with a broken stick.

For large stretches of the game, the Marlies looked completely out of sync. A once-dominant penalty kill sat in shambles. Surrendering quality chances to seemingly anyone who wanted one, the Stars took these lapses and ran with them.

First, it was leaving a streaking Travis Morin completely alone in the slot for the 1-0 goal.

Next, it was allowing a barrelling Curtis McKenzie to sneak by for the rare power-play breakaway.

Perhaps this lack of cohesion could be attributed to the Marlies’ lengthy layoff between series. Perhaps it’s a byproduct of facing a completely unfamiliar opponent.

Regardless of the answer, the Marlies entered both the first intermission trailing for the first time since game two of the second round.

Depth

On a night when their top guns all jammed simultaneously, it was the Marlies uncontested depth which carried them to victory.

“We’re playing in this series for a reason,” Sheldon Keefe told reporters at this post-game press conference. “And it’s because of our depth.” 

“We have many people that have contributed to this point at different times. So, that’s what we need. I think, obviously, there’s a lot of chunks of this game here today that weren’t very good for us. But, the fact that we survived that to find a way to come out with a win here, not unlike the last two series where we’ve had to chase the game a bit.” 

And chase they did. Each time the Marlies scored to pull themselves back from the brink, the Stars immediately came right back the other way to re-establish the lead.

In Keefe’s words:

“It was ugly for sure. But, we’re up one and we’re going to take it.” 

It’s a testament to the balance this Marlies lineup displays that they could emerge from a shootout of such magnitude victorious. In particular, the “checking line” of Frederik Gauthier, Colin Greening and Pierre Engvall stood out.

Dogged on the forecheck all night, the trio dominated possession at every opportunity. Their hard work was rewarded in the second period, with Gauthier muscling his way to the slot to tie the game at 2.

Perhaps the biggest knock on Gauthier during his turbulent tenure in Toronto is a seemingly repeated refusal to utilize his 6’5, 232-pound frame to the fullest extent. Yet, as the former-first rounder’s production has come along this postseason, his willingness to throw the body has followed.

Keefe seems to agree.

“Especially as the game went on, the Gauthier line was one that, every time we put them on the ice, it seemed like good things really happened for us. I felt that when they were out there, it was when we could see Texas wearing down a little bit.” 

Moore’s Winner

Still, when it mattered most, it was Moore who righted a sinking ship.

When the Marlies continually failed to establish possession in the offensive zone, it was Moore who pushed play deep and generated a cycle. As the Marlies struggled to complete effective zone exits, Moore took it upon himself to rush the puck up ice.

He was everywhere all at once, operating as a constant headache for a stringent Stars D corps.

On a powerplay and mired in a 5-5 third-period deadlock, Moore rose to the occasion.

His stick shattering, Moore immediately bolted to the bench in order to grab a new one as the Marlies maintained offensive zone possession. Bee-lining back, he slipped in underneath the Stars penalty kill and into the slot, where Chris Mueller found him.

The goal not only stood as the game’s winning tally. It was the culmination of a game-saving performance.

After dodging a series-altering bullet in game one, the Marlies must turnaround and climb that hill again a mere 24 hours later. Only this time, they’ll start their journey a quarter way up.

And they have no one other than Trevor Moore to thank for that.

Next: How Kyle Dubas Pushed the Marlies to Greatness

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