The Toronto Marlies appeared to be in good shape with a 2-0 lead late in the second period of Game 7 of the Western Conference Final, but the hometown Texas Stars rallied to tie the game before the middle frame ended and scored four third period goals in a 6-2 victory that eliminated Toronto and advanced the Dallas Stars affiliate to the Calder Cup Final.
Toronto took the lead in the first(as they did in every one of their 14 post-season games) with offense from the unexpected source. Frazer McLaren, who had no goals in 39 regular season and playoff games for the Leafs and Marlies scored off an offensive zone faceoff win just 2:19 into the game, but that early tally did not deter the Stars, who outshot the Marlies 13-5 in the opening 20 minutes.
Peter Holland extended Toronto’s lead 23 seconds into the middle frame with his club-leading seventh goal of the playoffs, deflecting a Carter Ashton centering pass past Stars netminder Cristopher Nilstorp, but Texas continued to dominate puck possession and the majority of the scoring chances, pelting Marlies goalie Drew MacIntyre with 20 shots.
The line of Mike Hedden, Justin Dowling and Brett Ritchie was central to the Texas comeback, as they were part of four of the six Stars goals late in the game. Hedden finally pierced the armor of MacIntyre to narrow the Toronto lead to 2-1 and assisted on Dustin Jeffrey’s tying power play goal just 53 seconds later.
Texas took the lead for good with a pair of markers in the third, as Ritchie scored on an odd-man break and Matej Stransky beat MacIntyre on a wraparound just 17 seconds later. Dowling registered his third point of the game with an insurance marker later in the third and Jeffrey added an empty netter for his second of the game.
Although the loss in Game 7 prevents a second Marlies appearance in the Calder Cup Final in the last three seasons, the playoff success this season under rookie AHL coach Steve Spott is perhaps more encouraging to the health of the organization than their deep run under Dallas Eakins in 2012.
The core group of the 2012 club was essentially made up of AHL veterans like Mike Zigomanis, Ryan Hamilton, Greg Scott and Philippe Dupuis, who did not have a realistic chance of helping the big club, with youngsters Nazem Kadri, Jake Gardiner and Joe Colborne mixed in.
The majority of the 2014 core group; Peter Holland, Jerry D’Amigo, Spencer Abbott, TJ Brennan(UFA), Carter Ashton, Sam Carrick, Josh Leivo, Stuart Percy and Petter Granberg are under the age of 25 and will either make the Leafs out of training camp or be available as quality depth throughout next season.
Holland lead the team with seven goals in just 11 games and will be a factor in the decision making process of whether to re-sign veteran center Dave Bolland or trade Nazem Kadri. D'Amigo appears to be penciled in as a possible replacement for Nikolai Kulemin in a checking line role, Ashton, Carrick and Leivo all had varying degrees of success through the regular and post-seasons. While Ashton and Carrick appear to be good fits as third or fourth liners, Leivo played more of an offensive role with the Marlies and may need another season in the AHL to round out his game.
Former first round pick Percy is maturing and may be ready to challenge for a job sometime next season, while Granberg's stock as a stay-at-home defenseman continues to rise. The big Swede played one game in Ottawa at the end of the season and could challenge for a bottom-pairing role with the Leafs at training camp, depending on how many changes and departures are implemented.
Goalie Drew MacIntyre was a rock for the young Marlies club throughout playoffs, finishing with a 10-4 record, 2.08 GAA and .941 save percentage and may have earned enough confidence with his performance to be a potential backup candidate for the Leafs when James Reimer is moved elsewhere over the summer.
The 30-year-old has the resume to be a fine NHL backup and is hopeful to stay in Toronto, which would make him amenable to a one-way league minimum contract, as opposed to going out in free agency and signing an aging Evgeni Nabokov or Tim Thomas for anywhere from $1 Million to $2 Million per season.
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