The Toronto Marlies missed an opportunity to put away the Grand Rapids Griffins in the Calder Cup Western Conference Quarterfinal, as the Detroit Red Wings AHL affiliate earned a 5-2 victory in Game 3 at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, MI on Wednesday and narrowed the Marlies lead to 2-1 in the best-of-five series.
Teemu Pulkkinen had a pair of goals, Andy Miele, Andreas Athanasiou and Tyler Bertuzzi also scored for Grand Rapids, while Troy Bodie and Brendan Mikkelson tallied for Toronto.
Bodie, who was named Marlies team captain in mid-February, returned to the lineup after missing nearly a month with a hand injury and scored the opening goal just over six minutes into the first period, but Miele replied just over a minute later with the tying goal.
Athanasiou gave the Griffins the lead with a power play goal in the middle frame and the home club had the best chance to extend their lead as Pulkkinen drew a penalty shot after being hooked by defenseman TJ Brennan, but the Grand Rapids winger was thwarted by Marlies goalie Christopher Gibson.
Grand Rapids broke the game wide open with a pair of goals from Bertuzzi and Pulkkinen in the span of 38 seconds midway through the third.
Game 4 will be at Van Andel Arena on Saturday night and it is possible that the Griffins will be getting reinforcements from the parent Red Wings, who were eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of their first round series on Wednesday.
According to reporter Kyle Cicerella, goalie Petr Mrazek, forwards Landon Ferraro, Tomas Jurco and defenseman Alexey Marchenko are all eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Mrazek shined for Detroit during the seven game series vs Tampa and could swing the series towards Grand Rapids, who went with Tom McCollum in goal for Game 3(winning his first AHL post-season game) after starting Jared Coreau in Game 2.
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Toronto Marlies 2 at Grand Rapids Griffins 5 - Status: Final Wednesday, April 29, 2015 - Van Andel Arena
Toronto 1 0 1 - 2 Grand Rapids 1 1 3 - 5
1st Period-1, Toronto, Bodie 1 (Carrick, Leipsic), 6:33. 2, Grand Rapids, Miele 2 (Bertuzzi, Paetsch), 7:51. Penalties-No Penalties
2nd Period-3, Grand Rapids, Athanasiou 2 (Nosek, Tvrdon), 7:18 (PP). Penalties-Granberg Tor (elbowing), 5:43; Pulkkinen Gr (boarding), 11:52; Nosek Gr (cross-checking), 13:13; Granberg Tor (boarding), 18:31.
3rd Period-4, Grand Rapids, Bertuzzi 1 (Jensen, Zengerle), 9:11. 5, Grand Rapids, Pulkkinen 4 (Hoggan, Nosek), 9:49. 6, Toronto, Mikkelson 1 (Frattin, Leivo), 12:32 (PP). 7, Grand Rapids, Pulkkinen 5 (Ouellet), 16:07 (EN). Penalties-served by Leivo Tor (bench minor - too many men), 6:24; Ouellet Gr (roughing), 10:53; Pulkkinen Gr (high-sticking), 12:44; Brennan Tor (tripping, misconduct - unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:17; McKegg Tor (misconduct - unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:17; Hoggan Gr (misconduct - unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:17.
Shots on Goal-Toronto 9-6-12-27. Grand Rapids 9-15-6-30. Power Play Opportunities-Toronto 1 / 4; Grand Rapids 1 / 4. Goalies-Toronto, Gibson 2-1-0 (29 shots-25 saves). Grand Rapids, McCollum 1-1-0 (27 shots-25 saves). A-6,737
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The Red Wings exit from the post-season will undoubtedly ramp up the chatter about the future of head coach Mike Babcock. Speculation continues that the Stanley Cup and Olympic winning bench boss will at least look around at what jobs are available and see what interest there is from other NHL clubs.
The Maple Leafs are expected to be one of the clubs willing to make Babcock the highest paid coach in the NHL and perhaps give him some input into player personnel decisions, but Toronto’s status as a club just entering the teardown phase of a rebuild does not appear to be a good fit for a big name coach who will want to go to a team that can win right away.
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First Round Prediction Results
6-2 – Winners : Tampa Bay, New York, Washington, Minnesota, Chicago, Calgary / Losers : Ottawa, Winnipeg
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