The Toronto Marlies won their season opener against the Utica Comets with the help of a strong power play and great goaltending from Garrett Sparks.
Saturday’s game was the team’s season opener, and the first of a back-to-back match-up against the Comets, whom are the affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks.
I am not going to focus too much on a recap of the game events here. The Marlies won, and it wasn’t too hard for them.
Four of their five goals were on the power play against Comets’ goalie Richard Bachman. He is a 29-year-old veteran of the AHL who has moved around a lot in recent years. Last season with the Comets his save % was 0.900, and then 0.860 in the first round of the playoffs, where the Comets were eliminated.
His team had quite a weak penalty kill of which the Marlies power play took full advantage.
The Comets took six penalties in the game, one of which was a double minor, and it was followed quickly by another minor leaving the Marlies at 5-on-3.
This is also still a part of the AHL season where teams are testing out new line combinations, defence pairings, and adjusting to new rosters. All in all, I am not sure this particular game is a great one on which to judge the players’ performance.
That being said, there is still a lot worth talking about. First, here are the highlights of the game, courtesy of the Marlies.
This seasons’ Marlies team looks a little different from the one many followed closely in last year’s Calder Cup run. Promoted to the Maple Leafs were William Nylander, Connor Carrick, Connor Brown, and Zach Hyman. Josh Leivo is also nominally there too, though he is injured with a less than clear status.
Lost to other teams are Ben Smith (Avalanche), T.J. Brennan (Flyers), and Matt Frattin, who was already traded to the Senators organization last season but was loaned back temporarily to the Marlies for their playoff run.
Lost to a whole other league is Mark Arcobello, one of the top point earners last season in the entire AHL. This summer he was a free agent and opted to sign in the Swiss league. He presently plays for Bern SC, and is tied as league leader in points. Bern SC were last seasons’ champions.
Some new faces are Trevor Moore, who was signed to a three year entry level contract out of the NCAA, and Kerby Rychel, acquired via trade.
Also somewhat new to Leafs and Marlies fans is Andreas Johnsson (yep, it’s officially now spelled with two s.) He made quite a big impression last night, scoring two power play goals. His shot was great, and some credit has to got to Andrew Nielsen, who was often setting up the plays from the blue line.
Watch here as Johnsson sends it back to Nielsen at the blue line, who forwards it off to Leipsic. Johnsson sees he has an opening, and that Comet’s captain Carter Bancks has stopped watching him, so he smacks his stick down to get Leipsic’s attention and request the pass. He receives it perfectly on his stick and...
But wait, there's more! #MarliesLive https://t.co/VZuOWlg3SE
— Toronto Marlies (@TorontoMarlies) October 15, 2016
Dmytro Timashov impressed with some great scoring chances late in the game. He was one of the few highlights of the third period.
Nikita Soshnikov looked fantastic, scoring the second power play goal of the game. Look at the speed and his reaction time here to seeing the puck pop out and just go for it and get it in the net.
Nikita Soshnikov finds the back of the net. #MarliesLive https://t.co/UXurBSwL4W
— Toronto Marlies (@TorontoMarlies) October 15, 2016
Brendan Leipsic had a banner night with one goal and two assists, including the one above. I thought he looked good, but Katya advises she’s not quite ready to buy in. “I won't buy Leipsic as an NHL player until I see him succeed against defensively tough AHL teams.” She wants to wait until they face the big guns to pass judgement. “Let's see how he does this year when they play Albany or the Bears or Bruins.” Katya notes his shooting % dropped by half in the Marlies post-season. That is consistent with comments from coach Sheldon Keefe toward the end of last year’s season he was concerned the Marlies were not playing like a “playoff team” because of having had too much easy competition.
I asked Sheldon Keefe his thoughts on who was his No. 1 goaltender and he said nothing has yet been decided.
“Bibeau is going to start tomorrow. Much like last year these two guys are both going to get time in the net and establish themselves as they will. We'll see how that plays out.”
As for Kasimir Kaskisuo, where he will play is also on hold a little longer. The Solar Bears have not yet started their season, so he is still here working with goalie coach Piero Greco.
While we have heard much talk about the role of veterans in the Marlies locker room, some did not make it out to the ice last night. Brooks Laich and Rich Clune were scratches. This could be because Keefe wants to see all the rookies in a real game situation. They will likely draw back in soon.
I did not watch the Comets’ players very closely, but I did notice Jordan Subban make several good plays. He had four shots on goal and some more I noted were missed/blocked. Watch out for him in today’s game.
The Marlies finish their back-to-back series vs. the Comets today. The game starts at 5:00 p.m. EDT.
After today’s game, the Marlies will have a four-day break until they kick off a grueling three games in three days series, staring with a trip to Rochester to play the Americans, and then back home here to Toronto to host the Manitoba Moose on Saturday and Sunday. Following those games they start their annual long road trip while Ricoh Coliseum is occupied by the Royal Winter Fair.
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