TORONTO — The North Division Final has lived up to the hype and that’s what hockey fans and the American Hockey League desire.

The second round matchup between the Albany Devils and Toronto Marlies requires a Game 7, which will be played Monday at Ricoh Coliseum. In case you need a refresher, the Devils and Marlies had the two best records in the Eastern Conference. Toronto won the regular season title, while the Devils finished third overall.

Albany won Games 1, 3 and 6, while Toronto took Games 2, 4 and 5.

“They came into our building and did a good job in Games 4 and 5,” said Head Coach Rick Kowalsky. “For us to respond the way we did, certainly, kind of evened the table here. We knew it was going to set up for a good series. Game 7 is going to indicate that.”

Monday’s game will be the first Game 7 in Devils’ history and the third Game 7 in Albany’s AHL history. The Devils hope to ride the momentum from their 4-1, Game 6 win.

“I think there is a lot of pressure around the game for both teams,” said Reid Boucher. “You come out and go for a win. I think we just have to stick to our game plan. Especially last game, we played very well and we have to carry that into Game 7.”

Lineup Changes

The Devils continued to keep their practices light between games. Only a small group skated Sunday at Ricoh Coliseum. Jim O’Brien and Pavel Zacha, who have not played since Game 1, were among the group.

Brian O’Neill and Mike Sislo did not skate. O’Neill missed Game 6 and Sislo sat out Games 5 and 6.

Kowalsky ruled Zacha out for Monday. As for the other three: “we’ll just have to wait and see in the morning.”