Recap

Looking to rebound from a close game in Hartford, the Toronto Marlies were able to bounce back in Providence and defeat the Bruins by a 3-2 final on Saturday night.

For the first time this season, the Marlies opened the scoring as Andreas Johnsson drove hard to the net and found the top corner with a quick release just under the seven minute mark of the first period.

Midway through the second period, Kasperi Kapanen threw a puck on net that deflected off of a Bruins defender as he put the Marlies ahead 2-0 with a power play marker.

Good things happen when you throw the puck on net and Kasperi Kapanen has his second goal in as many nights.#MarliesLive pic.twitter.com/qkwLj1197U — Toronto Marlies (@TorontoMarlies) October 15, 2017

The Bruins refused to go quietly, though, and came out firing on all cylinders in the third, recording sixteen shots in the final frame alone. Kenny Agostino scored an unassisted marker with just over twelve minutes showing on the clock.

Ben Smith reinstated the two-goal lead with a hard slapshot from the point that fooled Bruins goaltender Zane McIntyre with just 6:07 remaining in the third.

Smith fires a laser to make it 3-1.#MarliesLive pic.twitter.com/rrgy8V5sLr — Toronto Marlies (@TorontoMarlies) October 15, 2017

The Bruins would capitalize on a late power play opportunity, as Tommy Cross found the back of the net with six seconds on the clock, but it wasn’t enough as the Marlies skated to a 3-2 final in the second night of their three-in-three this weekend.

Johnsson, Kapanen and Smith all earned their second goals of the season, while Nikita Soshnikov, Vincent LoVerde, Timothy Liljegren and Miro Aaltonen picked up assists in the win.

In his first start as a Marlie, Calvin Pickard shined as he stopped 33 shots and was named the game’s first star.

For the Bruins, McIntyre made 16 saves on 19 shots.

The win is the Marlies first road victory in the young season and moves them to 3-1-0-0. Tonight’s loss is the Bruins’ first, as they fall to 2-1-0-0.

The Marlies return to action tomorrow afternoon for a matinee matchup against the Springfield Thunderbirds. Puck drop is scheduled for 3:05 on AHL Live and Marlies Radio.

Game Notes

GAME SUMMARY GAME SHEET

SCORING SUMMARY

Toronto: A. Johnsson (2) (N. Soshnikov, V. LoVerde), K. Kapanen (2) PP (T. Liljegren, M. Aaltonen), B. Smith (2) (unassisted)

Goaltender: C. Pickard (33/35)

Providence: K. Agostino (2) (unassisted), T. Cross (2) PP (J. Karlsson, K. Agostino)

Goaltender: Z. McIntyre (16/19)

FROM THE SCORESHEET

Andreas Johnsson opened the scoring with his second of the season at 6:52 of the first period. Johnsson has four points through the first four games of the season.

Kasperi Kapanen gave the Marlies a 2-0 lead with his second goal of the season at 10:04 of the second period. Kapanen has now scored in consecutive games.

Ben Smith put the Marlies up 3-1 with his second of the season. Smith has four points through the first four games of the season.

Nikita Soshnikov picked up his second assist of the season with the primary assist on Johnsson’s opening goal. Soshnikov has three points (1 goal, 2 assists) in the first four games of the season.

Vincent LoVerde collected his first assist of the season and now has points in consecutive games (1 goal, 1 assist).

Timothy Liljegren extended his point streak to three games (1 goal, 2 assists) with an assist on Kapanen’s second period goal.

Miro Aaltonen registered his second assist of the season and first powerplay point with the secondary assist on Kapanen’s second period goal.

Calvin Pickard stopped 33 of 35 shots in his first game with the Toronto Marlies. Pickard is now 1-0-0-0 on the season with a .943 Save Percentage and a 2.01 Goals Against Average.

NOTABLES

Toronto went 4-for-5 on the penalty kill and 1-for-6 on the powerplay.

Hartford had a 35-19 edge in shots in all situations.

Miro Aaltonen led the Marlies with four shots on goal.

The Marlies are 1-1-0-0 against Atlantic Division opponents this season.

TEAM LEADERS

Goals: A. Johnsson (2), K. Kapanen (2), K. Rychel (2), B. Smith (2)

Assists: M. Aaltonen (2), A. Johnsson (2), T. Lilljegren (2), A. Nielsen (2), B. Smith (2), N. Soshnikov (2)

Points: A. Johnsson (4), B. Smith (4)

PPG: K. Rychel (2)

Shots: N. Soshnikov (14)

+/-: B. Smith (+3)

PIMS: T. Dermott (10)

POSTGAME QUOTES

Overall thoughts: I thought we did a lot of good things in the game actually. there were parts in the game that were the best we’ve played to this point. They showed they’re a good team. Anytime we let the foot off the gas or anytime there was an opening, they took advantage of it (and) made us pay for it. We gave up way too many chances and didn’t generate enough on our own. We led for the whole game essentially so that’s a win for our team. A win on the road against a good hockey team playing on back-to-back so we’ll take it and look to finish off the weekend tomorrow.

On improvement from last night: Different opponent here today, different type of game, but I think there was definitely improvement. With that said, we gave up way too much, way too much on that powerplay so our special teams still continue to have a real long way to go. If we can get that in order than I think it can help fuel the rest of our game, so that’s a work in progress clearly but we have another opportunity to get after it tomorrow.

– Sheldon Keefe, Toronto Marlies Head Coach

NEXT GAME:

October 15 at Springfield – 3:05 p.m. ET

October 21 vs Charlotte – 4:00 p.m. ET

October 22 vs Charlotte – 4:00 p.m. ET

October 27 at Syracuse – 7:00 p.m. ET

October 28 vs Laval – 4:00 p.m. ET

Game Preview

Following a hard-fought loss in Hartford, the Toronto Marlies are looking to rebound in Saturday night’s contest against the Providence Bruins.

The Marlies (2-1-0-0) launched a late rally in last night’s game against Hartford, with both Kasperi Kapanen and Vincent LoVerde scoring quick goals, but the Wolf Pack were able to hold on and add a pair of empty net goals as the Marlies picked up their first loss of the season.

In the loss, Timothy Liljegren notched his second point of the young campaign, while Martin Marincin had an assist in his first game as a Marlie.

Andreas Johnsson and Ben Smith lead the Marlies in points with three apiece, while Kerby Rychel’s two goals puts him first in scoring.

Providence (2-0-0-0) defeated the Springfield Thunderbirds on Friday night, a 3-2 result that kept them undefeated at home early this season.

The Bruins are led offensively by Peter Cehlarik and Kenny Agostino, who each have five points in just two games this season. Agostino was named the American Hockey League’s Most Valuable Player last season, after scoring 83 points with the Chicago Wolves.

One area the Marlies will look to improve on is the power play, after going 0-for-6 in Friday’s game. Following the contest, Sheldon Keefe spoke about getting the man advantage organized.

“We have to get more organized obviously on that, and do a better job with it. We’re confident that we’ll get that sorted out, it’s just going to take a little bit of time here,” Keefe said. “We have people playing in different spots than they’re used to and haven’t had a lot of game action with it, but we’ll get there. We just have to continue to work at it.”

Providence’s power play is currently top in the Atlantic Division, with two goals on six power play opportunities this season.

The two teams split the season series last year, with the Marlies winning 4-3 at home and the Bruins taking the rematch 5-3 in Providence.

Puck drop for tonight’s game is scheduled at 7:05. Fans can watch the action on AHL Live or tune in to Marlies Radio for Todd Crocker’s radio call.