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GAME 3: MARLIES SMOKE PHANTOMS, 5-0
Returning home to the PPL Center after dropping a pair of one-goal games, including an overtime decision, to start the Eastern Conference Finals, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms needed a strong effort against the Toronto Marlies in Game 3 on Wednesday to climb back into the series. It didn't happen.
The Marlies dominated Game 3 from start to finish, blanking the Phantoms by a 5-0 count. Toronto outshot Lehigh Valley by a 34-16 margin (11-3, 11-6, 12-7). Sometimes shot totals can be a bit deceptive, but that was not the case in Game 3 except for portions of the early second period.
The Phantoms lost most of the puck battles at even strength.' They were soft on coverages in their own end. They lost on special teams (0-for-2 on the power play, both in the first period, and 3-for-5 on penalty kill). As the game went along, they also lost their composure.
In the third period, goaltender Alex Lyon received a match penalty for "kicking" (more accurately, nudging) Toronto forward Mason Marchment after the opposing player slid into the crease in front of the Phantoms. The penalty caused Lyon to be kicked out of the game and the Marlies to go on a five-minute power play. Toronto's Ben Smith scored twice against Dustin Tokarski (six saves on eight shots) to expand the lead from 3-0 to 5-0.
For much of the opening 24 minutes of the game, Lyon (23 saves on 26 shots) had been all that was keeping the Phantoms close. He limited the early damage to a Carl Grundström goal scored after a Travis Sanheim turnover down low in the defensive zone. Andreas Johnsson earned his 9th assist of the postseason on Grundström's 6th goal.
The Phantoms had their best pressure of the game early in the second period. Danick Martel intercepted a pass and seemed to have a shooting lane open but his shot was blocked by the shinpad of Toronto defenseman Timothy Liljegren. Mikhail Vorobyev had a near tap-in chance off a feed from T.J. Brennan but the Russian rookie missed the mark. Sanheim was denied by Toronto goalie Garret Sparks (16-save shutout) in the attack zone.
Perhaps the most pivotal sequence of the game happened four-plus minutes into the second period. Moments after the Phantoms nearly tied the game, Toronto's Johansson (4th of the playoffs) scored a fluky goal at the other end of the ice. An attempted pass by Johnsson deflected off the skate of Phantoms forward Cole Bardreau and slipped between Lyon's skate to put the Marlies ahead, 2-0, at 4:50.
The second Toronto goal torpedoed any momentum the Phantoms had been building. Shots on goal midway through regulation were a whopping 17-6 through 30 minutes of play, including a 6-3 margin in the Marlies' favor up to that point of the second period.
At 12:32 of the second period, the Marlies put a 3-0 stranglehold on a game they already had firmly under control. Marchment scored his third of the playoffs, assisted by Adam Brooks and Trevor Moore.
The Phantoms were about to go on their third power play of the game at 16:34 of the second period with Dmytro Timashov heading to the box for cross-checking. Instead, an overzealous Mark Friedman took a roughing penalty in the ensuing scrum to even up the calls and create a 4-on-4. Then, with 5 seconds left in the second period, a Toronto too many men on the ice penalty canceled out with a Vorobyev slashing minor.
With the game long since out of reach, following the Lyon match penalty at 9:41 of the third period and the two Smith power play goals against Smith, Vorobyev was the next Phantom whose night came to an early end. At the 13:36 mark of the third period, Vorobyev (who still speaks much less-than-fluent English) got a 10-minute misconduct for verbal abuse of an official.
The Phantoms top line trio of AHL MVP winner Phil Varone (one shot on goal), Oskar Lindblom (zero shots on goal) and Chris Conner (zero shots) was a complete non-factor in the game. Neither Lindblom nor Varone has registered a point in the series to date. Defenseman Sanheim especially in the first period, also had a rough night.
Albeit a modest distinction, the best Phantoms forwards in Game 3 were veterans Corban Knight and Colin McDonald. The former, skating on a line with Mike Vecchione and Greg Carey, had three of his team's 16 shots and turned in his usual diligent overall work. Team captain McDonald got to the net, won more pucks than he lost along the walls and created a power play opportunity.
Game 4 is in on Friday night at the PPL Center. The Phantoms need a win to avoid elimination and force a Game 5 on Saturday evening in Allentown.
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QUICK HITS: MAY 24, 2018
* The Western Hockey League champion Swift Current Broncos were knocked out of the 2018 Memorial Cup on Wednesday night, as they dropped a 6-5 decision to the tournament host Regina Pats. Glenn Gawdin's second goal of the game, scored in the final minute of regulation, lifted John Paddock's side to victory. The Broncos raised their tourney record to 2-1-0 while the winless Broncos finished at 0-2-1.
After an off-night on Thursday, Regina will play the Ontario Hockey League champion Hamilton Bulldogs (Matthew Strome). The winner will face off on Saturday with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan (German Rubtsov).
All three of the remaining teams in the tourney went 2-1-0 in the preliminary round. The Titan (14 GF- 12 GA) earned a semifinal bye via tiebreaker over Hamilton (7 GF - 6 GA) and Regina (15 GF- 15 GA).
* Today in Flyers History: May 24, 2010. The Flyers closed out the Eastern Conference Final with a 4-2 win at the Wells Fargo Center in Game 5 against the Montreal Canadiens. With the victory, the Flyers advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the eighth time in franchise history.
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