The Toronto Maple Leafs split their weekend of back-to-back games with a 4-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Friday and a 5-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
The Toronto Maple Leafs AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, split their weekend series against the Bakersfield Condors, the AHL affiliate for the Edmonton Oilers. Both games were close, with the Marlies winning 6-5 in game one and losing 3-2 in game two.
During game one, the Condors took an early 3-0 lead into the first intermission. Leafs prospect Nikita Grebenkin scored 48 seconds into the second to make it a 3-1 game. However, the Condors would respond with two more goals to take a 5-1 lead.
Alex Nylander, who assisted on the Marlies first goal, sparked the comeback with his ninth goal of the season. He would finish the game with three goals and two assists for a five-point night. His third goal completed the hat trick and the comeback. Alex Steeves (14th) and Joseph Blandisi (4th) scored the other two Marlies goals. William Villeneuve registered four points in the game.
(Player stats from eliteprospects.com)
Toronto Marlies lose game two
Game two started the same way as game one, with the Condors scoring first with a goal from Matvey Petrov. The Marlies responded later in the first period with a goal by Nick Abruzzese. It was his seventh goal of the season. The two teams went into the first intermission tied 1-1.
Seth Griffith scored his eighth goal of the season in the second period to give the Condors a 2-1 lead. It was the only goal scored in the second period. The Condors took a 3-1 lead when Lane Pederson scored his second goal of the season while the Condors were on the power play.
Robert Mastrosimone tried to spark another Marlies comeback with his goal in the third period for his fourth of the season. However, the Marlies were unable to score. They made a valiant effort, with the goaltender pulling for the extra attacker, but just couldn't find the back of the net.
The Marlies will play their next game on Wednesday, December 18th, against the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, the AHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Marlies are 13-9 overall, but have a much better record thanks to five OT/Shootout losses. As such, they are only four points off the division lead at the time of this writing.