The Marlies had back-to-back games this weekend and did they ever have some hard work to do, with Saturday's game against the Utica Comets going to a 12-round shootout, and Sunday's game against the Rochester Americans going to overtime.

For both games the Marlies continued the arrangement of 11 forwards and 7 defenceman as they deal with Alex Steeves being up with the Maple Leafs while Auston Matthews and now Ryan Reaves are both out. The shift of Nylander to the second line with Grebenkin and Minten is like a glimpse into the future of the Leafs, however Ryan Tverberg replacing Nylander on the line with Shaw and Abruzzese has also played out nicely.

You can also see some of the recent moves in the organisation from Sunday's lines with Matt Benning added to the team and Philippe Myers too on a conditioning loan.

Saturday
Marlies lose 4-3 in a 12-round shootout to the Senators

This game was at Scotiabank Arena in the afternoon (so you could avoid the Swift traffic), and it had an excellent comeback by the Marlies, even if it didn't work out in the end. They were down 3-0 after the second period and came all the way back scoring three in the third, including by some guys we know you all love.

Fraser Minten got it all started with his second goal in four games.

And I know you all love GREB!, so check out this snipe of the game. It was his fourth goal of the season in 12 games; he's played in all games so far.

The real star of the game though was the 12-rounds! That's how long Dennis Hildeby held out in the shootout before one went through, essentially at that point a coin toss between him and Senators' goalie Malcolm Subban.

I asked him if he would prefer a shootout that lasts 12-rounds over what he had to do at the AHL All-Star Classic skills competition last February, where they basically torture goalies with ridiculous tests and he said it was definitely the shootout, laughing "I think the shootout is probably the best option. Definitely not the 3-on-0 we did there, that was even worse!"

Also credit to Philippe Myers who had a good laugh noting that at that 12th round he realised he might have had to go out next and said "I think that's the closest I've ever been to going. I don't even know what I would have tried to do, honestly."

Sunday
Marlies win 2-1 in overtime against the Americans

The Amerks are actually pretty good on paper. They have Isak Rosén who was the Sabres first round draft pick in 2021 at #14 overall, and for the record is not related to Calle Rosén, and they also have Konsta Helenius, who was their first-round draft pick from this year's draft, coincidentally also at #14 overall. I'm sure the Leafs will be seeing both on the Sabres together soon.

But in this game they couldn't put it together, and notably their power play especially fell flat while the Marlies penalty kill was excellent, even pinning the Amerks in their own zone for some extended time while they were short-handed. Logan Shaw said the penalty kill they are using is still essentially the same one devised by Rich Clune last season (who left the team and is now an assistant coach for the Anaheim Ducks).

Artur Akhtyamov was in net for his sixth start this season and notched his fifth win. Marlies Coach John Gruden praised his work ethic, skill and athleticism. "He reminded me a lot of [Ilya] Sorokin when I had him on the Islanders, just very quick side-to-side, athletic and quick," he noted he's progressing very well in his development with the team, adding "it's always an adjustment coming over here and playing a North American game where there's a little bit more traffic, but he seems like he's handling that really well, and good again for him as we wouldn't have won that game without him."

Unfortunately, there's no quotes from Akhtyamov as he's still working on learning English and I am told "there's still a lot of Google Translate involved," which based on my experience using it to translate Russian to English (also Finnish to English), it must produce some... interesting results.

But the man of the day was Alex Nylander, who looked ready to win right from the warmup (also great beats from the DJ).

But there's no highlight better than this one for the weekend in the overtime.

You could see Nylander snatching away the puck and going straight for it, and there was that screaming buzz in the crowd where everyone there knew he was going to score. And he did.

Ephemera

Here are the current Eastern Conference standings.

The Utica Comets have still not won a single game. Their head coach Kevin Dineen was fired two weeks ago. If that name is familiar, you're probably thinking of his brother Gord, who was once an assistant coach of the Marlies and then head coach for one season until Kyle Dubas hired Sheldon Keefe to replace him who now is coincidentally the head of the Comets' affiliates in New Jersey.

Utica Comets Head Coach Kevin Dineen Fired By Devils Amid Winless Start - FloHockey
The New Jersey Devils announced Kevin Dineen was relieved of his duties with the Utica Comets. Assistant coach Ryan Parent will take over as interim coach.
FloSportsPatrick Williams
Toronto Marlies