Third period four-goal blast lifts Marlies over Penguins

The comeback kids have done it again: The Toronto Marlies pulled off yet another come-from-behind win in the battle between the top two teams in the AHL on Friday night.

Back in December, Toronto trailed 3-0 early in the third period against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins before scoring three shorthanded goals to tie the game and win in a shootout.

While the Marlies were horribly outplayed in that game, this encounter was a whole different story.

Matt Murray, arguably the best goaltending prospect in the AHL right now, stole the show in the opening period. He had to be sharp 45 seconds in as Brendan Leipsic showcased his stickhandling and speed to create a chance cutting from right to left across the goal.

Toronto were guilty of a few giveaways, with David Kolomatis the first guilty party, but Antoine Bibeau came to his rescue with a smart save as WBS players swarmed the net.

The Marlies were looking to fire as much rubber as Murray as possible, but he was more than up to the task of denying Stuart Percy and Nikita Soshnikov on the juicy rebound.

The line of Leipsic, Findlay and Brown were causing problems for the WBS defense, missing out on a pair of chances after fine set-up work from Leipsic.

A turnover from Jeremy Morin allowed Pens captain Tom Kostopoulos some time and space down the left wing but Antoine Bibeau made a fine double save with his left pad and then his blocker on the rebound.

The errors continued for Toronto, who were thankful to Andrew Campbell and Justin Holl for their sliding defensive plays to cut out odd man rushes against.

The only powerplay of the period went the Marlies‘ way, but Murray wasn’t for beating. Frattin and Lindberg’s efforts were both denied, while William Nylander smacked his stick on the ice in frustration after watching Murray glove aside his attempt at goal.

As the clock would down, one last drive from Soshnikov created a loose puck in the crease but nobody in white and blue was on hand to finish it off.

After a 19-save performance from Matt Murray in the first, his teammates repaid his effort early in the middle frame, taking a lead after an early penalty put Toronto on the back foot 15 seconds into the period. The WBS powerplay drove to the net and banged away at a loose puck in front, finally able to sneak it past the right leg of Antoine Bibeau with Anton Zlobin credited for the final touch.

In a flash the visitors doubled their advantage. Campbell was guilty of a misplaced pass inside his own zone and Karl Mouillierat made him pay, rifling home past Bibeau’s glove.

Down 2-0 with not even two minutes on the clock, Toronto failed to really get their legs underneath them for the rest of the period.

A powerplay went to waste as they tried to be a little too cute before Murray denied their best opportunity to that point. The Findlay line again came to the fore, with Leipsic making a drop pass to the trailer on the play in Andrew Campbell, but Murray swallowed up the shot from the top of the blue paint.

Wilkes-Barre may look back ruefully at a couple of missed chances to extend their lead to three. Jarrett Burton was denied by a fine glove save from Bibeau after a nice play that started behind Toronto’s net.

With five minutes to play, Toronto were guilty of yet another cheap turnover. With hindsight, the huge glove save by Bibeau to rob Mouillierat proved a turning point.

Toronto were looking for a spark early in the final frame and it came from an obvious source just 34 seconds in. T.J Brennan brought his team within one with an accurate shot that seemed to deceive Murray through traffic. It may not have been his trademark blast, but they all count the same.

The officials then contrived to send Toronto to the penalty kill, making a call which drew the ire of Sheldon Keefe. The PK stood tall, with the Marlies gaining some momentum as they embarked on finding the tying goal.

Another fine pass from Leipsic, this time a reverse feed to Findlay, allowed the latter to make a nice move into the slot, but Murray stayed with the play and denied the effort.

The shots were raining on Murray once again. Blueliners Percy and Kolomatis released bombs from the point but Toronto weren’t able to capitalize on second opportunities despite scrambles in front. Nylander would remain a frustrated figure after firing high from in tight, but a following powerplay broke the Pens’ resolve.

Murray turned aside hard shots from Frattin and Brown before a third effort from Percy produced a rebound that flew up into the air. Tobias Lindberg settled the puck down expertly, dishing off to Leipsic, who produced a wonderful cross-crease feed to Brown.

Falling backwards and on one knee, Brown managed to bang the puck past Murray to tie the game at two with ten minutes remaining.

Toronto penalty kill had to come to the rescue to keep the game tied. 30 seconds later at even strength, the Marlies used the momentum to take the lead.

Hyman carried the play through the neutral zone but lost possession near the opposition bench as WBS went for a change. Hyman didn’t give up on the play, winning the battle for the loose puck and chipping it forward to Nylander. The Swedish forward had lots of help around him, but called his own number and sniped home shortside, in off the bar.

Toronto cemented the comeback win with a fourth straight goal with a little under four minutes remaining. A turnover allowed Rinat Valiev to find Hyman at the red line. With four WBS players the wrong side of the puck, Hyman sped quickly toward the net. Hyman dished him an impeccable pass to Brett Findlay at the perfect moment for the easiest of tap-ins to secure the victory.

It could easily have been 5-2 but for the brilliance of Murray, who stonewalled Connor Brown looking for his second of the game.

Pittsburgh’s affiliate never looked like mounting a comeback. WBS weren’t even able to pull Murray for the extra attacker, such was the Marlies dominance.

Post Games Notes

– The comeback kids did it once again and now own a record of 5-5-1-0 when trailing after two periods. The first-place Marlies have now opened up an incredible 14-point gap in the AHL standings.

– Tobias Lindberg recorded his first point in a Marlie uniform, assisting on Toronto’s tying goal.

– Brett Findlay tallied his third goal in two games as his line proved the most effective offensive threat throughout the game.

– For the second time in his career, T.J Brennan has hit the 20-goal mark. A truly remarkable achievement. He’s now only one point shy of 50 for the year.

– William Nylander went pointless in the recent trip to St. John’s — just his second time without a point in consecutive games, and first since early October — but he bagged a goal and an assist in this game.

– Zach Hyman has proved himself enough to end up on Toronto’s top line. For the second time this season, he notched three assists and all were primary helpers. He pushes his point total to 31 and moves to 12th in rookie scoring.

– With his sixth goal of the season, Connor Brown continues to produce at a point per game since returning from injury (9GP-6g-3a).

– Antoine Bibeau won’t receive the plaudits for his 28-save performance, overshadowed by Murray’s brilliance. However, some excellent stops, especially in the second period, ensured the game was still within reach and set the stage for the comeback.

Game Highlights

Sheldon Keefe Post Game

Marlies Player Stats — Toronto 4 vs. WBS 2

Player Position G A +/- SH PIM Campbell, Andrew D 0 0 -1 3 0 Brennan, T.J. D 1 0 2 3 0 Morin, Jeremy LW 0 0 0 1 0 Percy, Stuart D 0 1 0 5 0 Hyman, Zach RW 0 3 3 2 2 Schwartz, Rylan C 0 0 0 0 0 Leipsic, Brendan LW 0 1 0 3 0 Lindberg, Tobias RW 0 1 0 3 0 Gauthier, Frederik C 0 0 0 0 0 Kolomatis, David D 0 0 0 1 0 Brown, Connor RW 1 0 -1 7 2 Findlay, Brett LW 1 0 0 3 0 Frattin, Matt RW 0 0 0 0 0 Holl, Justin D 0 0 2 0 2 Kapanen, Kasperi RW 0 0 2 1 0 Valiev, Rinat D 0 1 1 0 0 Nylander, William C 1 1 2 4 0 Soshnikov, Nikita LW 0 0 0 4 0