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EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS GAME 1 PREVIEW: PHANTOMS @ MARLIES
Calder Cup Playoffs: Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Toronto Marlies is on Saturday. Game time at the Ricoh Coliseum is 4:00 p.m. EDT. The game will be televised in Canada on TSN2, streamed on AHL Live and the free radio broadcast with Phantoms broadcaster Bob Rotruck on the call is available here.
The Phantoms had the AHL's second-best record during the regular season. They won their best-of-five first-round series against the Providence Bruins, three games to one, and then defeated the Charlotte Checkers in the second round, three games to one. Game 4 of the series saw the Phantoms prevail, 2-1, in five overtimes to set a new AHL record for the longest game in league history.
The Marlies enjoyed the AHL's best record during the regular season. They needed the full five games to defeat the Utica Comets in the first round but ended the series with a 4-0 shutout win. In the second round, the Marlies swept the Syracuse Crunch in four straight games. Game 2 of the series was a 2-1 Marlies win in double overtime. Thereafter, the Marlies won in a 7-1 rout and then a 2-1 victory in which the Marlies built an early 2-0 lead and then held on in the third period.
As it so often is in the playoffs, goaltending has been vital to the Phantoms and Marlies reaching the conference finals. Alex Lyon enters the series with a 6-1 playoff record, 1.49 GAA and .959 save percentage. Garrett Sparks comes in at 6-2, with a 2.22 GAA, .920 save percentage and one shutout, while teammate Calvin Pickard is 1-0 in two appearances, stopping 35 of the 37 shots he faced. Phantoms veteran Dustin Tokarski made one start apiece in the first and second rounds, faring well in his outing against Providence (31 saves on 32 shots in a Game 3 win) and poorly in his second against Charlotte (11 saves on 17 shots in an ugly Game 2 loss).
Chris Conner leads the Phantoms in scoring through two playoff rounds, posting eight points (four goals, four assists) in nine games. Rookie left winger Oskar Lindblom has posted seven points (four goals, three assists) in seven games. Danick Martel (4G,3A) and Greg Carey (3G, 4A) also have seven points to date, while Mike Vecchione (3G, 3A) has six. On the blueline, rookie Philippe Myers (2G, 3A, 5 PTS, -1) has logged massive ice time, especially in absences of Travis Sanheim (left MCL strain) and Samuel Morin (right knee injury).
Morin, who missed most of the regular season with an unrelated recurring nagging injury, is done for the playoffs. He will undergo knee surgery after the swelling goes down in his knee.
The news is better on Sanheim. He has resumed practicing with the team and may be ready to go for Game 1. In the meantime, 2017-18 AHL MVP winner Phil Varone has been out with injury since Game 3 of the first round. He missed the entire second round. Varone is believed to be close to returning at some point of the series against Toronto but was in a non-contact jersey mid-week.
Veteran offensive defenseman T.J. Brennan, a former Toronto Marlie and Maple Leaf, has five points (1G, 4A) in the playoffs to date. Assuming Sanheim is able to return and will be placed back with regular partner Myers, the rest of the Phantoms starting blueline will consist of rookie Mark Friedman (a Toronto area native), second-year pro Reece Willcox (plus-eight in the playoffs) and Maxim Lamarche.
Veteran defenseman Will O'Neill has been a healthy scratch throughout the playoffs and for much of the stretch drive. Frustrations boiled over this week in an on-ice physical altercation with head coach Scott Gordon. O'Neill has made the trip to Toronto with the team but is unlikely to play barring additional injuries on the blueline. Rookie defenseman Frank Hora is also available.
Trevor Moore (3G, 9A) leads the Marlies in scoring through two playoff rounds. He is followed by Andreas Johansson (3G, 5A) with eight points. Five different Marlies have posted seven points to date --left winger Dmytro Timashov (5G, 2A), rookie winger Pierre Engvall (3G, 4A0, center Chris Mueller (2G, 5A), center Frederik Gauthier (1G, 6A), and right winger Ben Smith (1G, 6 A). Rookie winger Carl Grundström has six points (4G, 2A).
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QUICK HITS: MAY 19, 2018
1) Over on the Flyers' official website, there is a profile of Mike Vecchione's rookie season with the Phantoms, including his playoff run to date: click here.
2) Memorial Cup: The tournament host Regina Pats (Western Hockey League) upended the Ontario Hockey League champion Hamilton Bulldogs, 3-2, on Friday night in the opening game of the round robin portion of the 2018 Memorial Cup. Flyers 2017 fourth-round pick Matthew Strome registered an assist on a Robert Thomas goal that opened the scoring in the first period. The game was tied 2-2 late in the third period and seemed to be headed for overtime when Regina's Nick Henry scored with 33 seconds left in regulation to win the game for Regina.
On Saturday, German Rubtsov and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan take on the WHL champion Swift Current Broncos, and then turn around on Sunday to play Regina.
3) May 19 marks the 44th anniversary of the Flyers' first Stanley Cup championship. On this date in 1974, Conn Smythe Trophy winner Bernie Parent made a first period Rick MacLeish deflection power play goal stand up the rest of the game as the host Flyers defeated the Boston Bruins in Game 6, 1-0, to become the first NHL expansion team to win the Cup.
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