There's really no question the Toronto Marlies are Canada's best active professional hockey team.

Active, of course, being the key word.

They're pretty much the only hockey team left going in the country.

They have a chance tonight to finish off the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the first round of their Calder Cup playoffs.

Coach Sheldon Keefe hopes the Ricoh Coliseum will be rocking, comparable to the "family and friends" atmosphere for the first two games in Bridgeport on the weekend.

"It really didn't really have much of a feel of playoff hockey, and frankly the break that we've had between games hasn't helped," said Keefe. "We hoped that it's a nice, loud, excited building and our guys can feed off that.

"Whether you're at home or on the road, you want to have full buildings, you want it to be loud, you want it to feel like it's important."

The Ricoh -- which can hold 8,000 including standing room -- should be fairly packed. About 6,500 have already been sold.

Given what's happened in the Stanley Cup playoffs -- the lack of Canadian teams, Original Six teams and traditional markets -- it's not a stretch to suggest more hockey fans locally care about the fate of the Marlies than who wins the Stanley Cup.

"I don't know if that's true," said Keefe. "But I certainly hope we can have 8,000 or so people that feel that way when they come to the rink, and as we get going people realize what's happening around here and there's reason to come to the rink, and a reason to be excited.

"Obviously, a lot of the players who are here have played at the Air Canada Centre for the Maple Leafs and certainly will again. It's a chance to catch those people early in a really competitive environment."

Tickets are available in the $20-to-$40 range -- remember, to watch William Nylander and Co. in person come October will cost 10 times that.

GOT A QUESTION? Email me at askkevinmcgran@gmail.com and I'll answer it in Friday's mailbag. And I've already got the weekly "Shouldn't Mitch Marner play in Europe next season?" question. So hold off on that.

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