The Toronto Marlies and Texas Stars face off in Game 2 of the Calder Cup Western Conference Final at Cedar Park Center near Austin, TX on Monday night.
Toronto showed signs of rust in a 5-1 victory in Game 1 Friday, after being out of action for seven days, but won due to a balanced scoring attack with five different players scoring goals and the stellar netminding of Drew MacIntyre.
The 30-year-old veteran AHLer withstood steady offensive pressure from the Stars, making 49 saves on the evening, including a 21-shot third period barrage, but allowed only a late goal by Chris Mueller.
Brandon Kozun, TJ Brennan, Peter Holland, Sam Carrick and Jerred Smithson scored for the Marlies, who registered their eighth straight playoff win and fifth postseason victory on the road.
Marlies coach Steve Spott indicated following the game that he was not pleased with his club’s effort in their eighth straight playoff victory.
“At times, the ice was tilted.… Spott said. “Of the eight games we’ve played in the playoffs, this is probably the one where our structure wasn’t where it needed to be.…
Texas coach Willie Desjardins resorted to unusual tactics to get his team on the scoreboard Friday, as he pulled goalie Cristopher Nilstorp with nearly half the third period remaining to give his club a two-man advantage on their power play chances.
Toronto has not trailed in any of their eight victories and should expect a maximum effort from Texas, who led the AHL with 106 points during the regular season and were unbeaten at home during the post-season until Friday.
Similar to the trailts of the parent Maple Leafs, the Marlies have been outshot in all but one of their post-season games but are averaging a league-high 4.38 goals per game.
Tonight's game will be shown on Leafs TV at 8:30pm EST.
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