Somewhat surprisingly, Sheldon Keefe iced the same lineup that let him down Saturday evening in the Sunday matinee rematch in St. John’s.

The only change came in net, where Garret Sparks finally returned from an unspecified injury to make his first start since October 21.

First Period

The first period fluctuated in momentum so much that it would have been no surprise if either side held a three or four-goal advantage after 20 minutes.

Josh Leivo, looking to rebound after a costly double-minor penalty on Saturday, put goaltender Charlie Lindgren to the test inside 30 seconds. After a penalty taken by Frederik Gauthier shortly after sent the Icecaps on the offensive, Sparks was forced into making two good saves, including a fine pad stop on Chris Terry.

Toronto killed off the penalty and could easily have taken the lead on three occasions. An error from Brett Lernout handed possession to Colin Greening, who promptly fed his namesake Smith in front, but Lindgren pulled off a wonderful save. On the following faceoff, a hard shot from Viktor Loov was blocked by Lindgren, who then scrambled for the rebound as Andreas Johnsson went digging in the crease.

Next up, Josh Leivo and Kasperi Kapanen’s strong efforts on the end boards created a chance out in front for Gauthier, who was unfortunate to be denied by a flailing IceCaps stick in the crease.

All the momentum was then zapped for the visitors after two mistakes led to the Icecaps scoring the opening goal. Brooks Laich’s turnover inside his own zone started the play, but there looked to be no immediate danger as Stefan Matteau was over in the half-wall area. With little else on, the left winger threw the puck on net and watched in delight as Sparks made a complete mess of it, trickling through his pads and in.

The IceCaps took control of the game after the 1-0 goal and easily could have built themselves a significant lead. Turnovers were rampant for the Marlies, and Rinat Valiev’s found the stick of IceCaps leading scorer Charles Hudon. Sparks redeemed himself somewhat by turning Hudon’s effort aside before making another fine save less than a minute later. After another turnover led to an odd-man rush, Max Friberg’s excellent pass found Terry at the back door but Toronto’s goaltender flung himself across his net to make the stop.

With Byron Froese then hauled off for slashing, it was all hands to the pump for the Marlies penalty kill. They stood firm for the second time inside nine minutes.

A spark was needed for the Marlies to get back on track and it came via Kasperi Kapanen, who picked up the puck inside his own zone and sped through the neutral zone. The IceCaps backed off and Kapanen danced through two defensemen in the slot before firing over the shoulder of Lindgren to tie the game at ones. It was a magnificent piece of skill and finish after a burst of blistering speed — a real showcase of the Finnish forward’s skill set.

The momentum fully swung back in favour of the Marlies as they set about dominating the IceCaps. Andrew Campbell fully tested Lindgren with two long-range efforts and Justin Holl’s attempt was only just tipped wide by Byron Froese.

An unnecessary and nasty boarding by Jacob de la Rose on Colin Smith set up Toronto on the powerplay late in the period. It took almost half of the man advantage for the Marlies to set up in the offensive zone, but a fantastic one-timer from Brendan Leipsic in the right circle found the net.

Having taken another penalty just before Leipsic’s goal, the IceCaps were made to pay the price again 23 seconds later. On a feed from Andrew Nielsen, Kapanen ripped a shot while skating backward at the top of the left circle. His perfect shot gave Lindgren no chance and put the Marlies up 3-1 with 17 seconds remaining in the first period.

Second Period

The middle frame featured seven penalties, many of which were debatable and somehow just the one goal was scored after the penalty minutes were through.

The first five and a half minutes were all Toronto Marlies; they almost exclusively owned possession, hemming St. John’s in their own end. Froese was close to tipping home another effort from Holl while Nielsen and Johnsson were guilty of shooting wide from promising positions. Kerby Rychel continues to play well with no luck — his fine backhand wraparound attempt was well saved and the rebound somehow eluded both his teammates waiting in the crease for the rebound.

The officials began to hand out the penalties from the eight-minute mark on, halting the flow of the game. Toronto was handed a two-man advantage for a brief spell but they were only able to create a single, albeit grade-A, opportunity for Kapanen before Leipsic headed to the box.

The Marlies continued to control proceedings during four-on-four play. Kapanen’s coast-to-coast rush down the left wing saw him cut to the middle past three Icecaps players. His hat-trick attempt was only denied by yet another top-drawer save from Lindgren.

Mere seconds later, Milan Michalek came close, hitting the crossbar with Lindgren beaten.

Back at even strength, Rychel also struck iron as the winger’s run of terrible puck luck continues.

The game almost turned on its head thanks to three straight questionable penalties called on Toronto. With Tobias Lindberg in the box, Chris Terry halved the deficit with a booming slapshot from the right circle.

After Brooks Laich was incredulous over a cross-checking call, the mood on the Marlies bench didn’t improve 42 seconds later. After Charles Hudon skated by Andrew Campbell with minimal contact at best, Montreal’s young prospect threw himself to the ice, clutching his head in a clear piece of play acting. Campbell joined Laich in the box — roughing was the call — but Toronto responded well by killing off the two-man deficit.

It appeared as though St. John’s tied the game with just the one extra man when Sven Andrighetto’s initial shot was batted out of the air and in over the shoulder of Sparks. After a review, the officials got the most crucial decision of the period correct, waving the goal off for a high stick.

There was still time left on the penalty for Kapanen to create havoc and almost score twice while shorthanded. Lindgren came up with a couple of big saves as St. John’s had no answer to the speed or skill of Toronto’s 20-year-old winger.

Sparks gave up a huge rebound on the last save required on the penalty kill, thankful to his teammates for promptly clearing the danger. Toronto headed to the third with a 3-2 lead.

Third Period

As they had in the second period, the Marlies controlled the opening five minutes of the final frame. The road team’s control was halted after their best opportunity, however.

Michalek drove to the net but saw his initial effort saved before Laich was unable to jam home the rebound. All hell broke loose after the whistle, with fists flying after Michalek received two cheap shots. Somehow the officials deemed Michalek worthy of two roughing penalties and Bobby Farnham just a single infraction.

St. John’s best chance on the resulting powerplay came from a scramble in front of Sparks. The netminder did just enough to deny McCarron, who looked like scoring for the second consecutive game.

Leipsic was unable to find the perfect pass to Lindberg crashing the net before the latter was robbed with eight minutes to play. Froese eluded the IceCaps defense, twisting and turning behind the home team’s net before finding Lindberg again in front. A certain goal was denied by a tremendous glove from Lindgren.

After dodging the bullet, St. John’s slowly but surely ramped up the pressure and Toronto were left hanging on for dear life as time wound down. The final two minutes were spent almost entirely in the Marlies zone, with Lindgren seated on the home team’s bench. Afte Sparks was called on to make three saves inside the final 60 seconds, Toronto stood firm to secure their second road win of the season.

Post Game Notes

– Kasperi Kapanen was dominant in every facet of the game and was far and away the best player on either team. He fired a career-high eight shots on net, scored two goals and could easily have helped himself to a hat-trick or more.

– Sheldon Keefe on Kapanen’s performance: “He just had a lot of speed. He had a lot of confidence today — even strength, penalty kill, powerplay, it didn’t matter. I thought he was really determined to make a difference in the game. He gets the goal early with a lot of speed. It was a powerplay goal. He was rolling. A lot of confidence, and when he has that, he’s a handful. He’s the type of guy that energizes your team. He plays so fast. He energizes the building. I think, even if you’re fans of the other team, you probably get a little excited when you see a guy playing with that level of pace. He has the ability to set the tone of the group and the game. I think it backs off the opposition, too. When he is engaged like that, it really helps our cause for sure.”

– Garret Sparks made 28 saves but looked shaky after a long layoff.

– Brendan Leipsic’s goal was his fourth of the season but his first on the powerplay. He now has 15 points in total for the season, eight of which have come on the powerplay.

– Rinat Valiev managed to stay out of the box during this game, and despite one terrible turnover, produced a better game at both ends of the ice. A pair of primary assists gives him six on the year.

– Andrew Nielsen’s assist was his seventh powerplay point of the season. Nine points in ten games put him ninth in rookie scoring overall and in the joint-lead among rookie defencemen.

– The powerplay was two for six, while the penalty kill was excellent in allowing just one goal on seven attempts.

– Toronto’s road record improves to 2-2-0-1 for the season.

Game Highlights

Sheldon Keefe Post Game

Marlies 3 vs. IceCaps 2 – Game Sheet