The Eastern Conference Finals resume with Game 4 tonight (7 ET, 
) at the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto.
The Marlies are still up two games to one, but Wilkes-Barre/Scranton climbed back into the series with a 5-3 win in Game 3 on Monday. It was the 10th game in a row between the visiting teams, dating back to the 2022-23 season.
Accommodation in Koivunen (4-4-8) made it 2-2 with 12:12 left in the third period, and the Penguins’ line Aidan McDonough (1g, 2a), Bill Zonnon (1g, 1a) and Atley Calvert (1g, 1a) combined with seven night points. Sergei Murashov (7-5, 1.93, .936) finished with 36 saves.
Luke Haymes (2-7-9) led the Marlies in goals and assists, too Vinnie Lettieri (7-8-15) and Marc Johnstone (1-3-4) scored again. For Johnstone, it was his first goal since March 14, ending a 24-game scoring drought.
Toronto was without a rookie forward Easton Cowan (5-4-9) for the second straight game. Landon Sim came in and got an assist for his first point of the postseason.
“You never know what will happen when players are battling injuries, so you have to be ready,” said Sim, his father. John won the Calder Cup championship with the Philadelphia Phantoms in 2005. “Manage [practice] like a game so when you log in, you’re ready. Every guy needs to play a role and help the team in some way.”
In the blue line are the Penguins, Owen Pickering (1-2-3) was back in the lineup Monday after missing the past three games; Alex Alexeyev (1-4-5) and Finn Harding (0-2-2) both were out of Game 3.
Captain of the Marlies Logan Shaw lost in the ECHL championship series as a rookie in 2014, and helped the Anaheim Ducks reach the NHL’s Western Conference Finals in 2017. But this is the deepest Calder Cup Playoff game of his 13-year career.
“It’s so much fun to play this time of year,” Shaw said. “It doesn’t happen often… It’s a lot harder to get here than you think. I want to make sure that these guys know that it’s not going to happen every year. We want to be proud of where we are, but we also want to make sure that we put in the work to keep moving forward.”
Quick Highlights:
- Game 3 was the first time in this postseason that Toronto lost a game after scoring the first goal (5-1). It was also the first game this season that the Marlies lost after leading at any time.
- Aidan McDonough’s power-play goal in the first period of Game 3 was the Penguins’ first of the series (1-for-7). The Marlies are 2-for-7 on the power play.
- Toronto recorded 39 shots in Game 2, and again in Game 3. They averaged 23.6 shots per game in their first 14 playoff contests.
- William Villeneuve (2-12-14) set the Marlies team record for assists by a defenseman in a single postseason.
Colorado and Chicago go back to back tonight (8 ET, ) and Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals after the Eagles’ 3-2 win last night gave them a 2-1 lead.
Ivan Ivan (3-10-13) scored the game-winning goal with 50.3 seconds left in regulation, saving Game 3 after the Eagles blew a two-goal lead in the third period. Ivan tied for a team-leading 13 points this back-to-back season, and his plus-11 average is the highest in the entire league.
Chase Bradley (4-4-8) and Tye Felhaber (3-3-6) also beat Colorado, once Trent Miner (10-3, 1.51, .936) made 28 saves in his league-best 10th win in the playoffs.
Colorado outshot Chicago 18-4 in the first half, and 39-30 in the game. Cayden Primeau (7-5, 2.40, .924) stopped 36 shots for the Wolves.
“We have to keep the last 40 minutes in our minds… Domenick Fensore (3-1-4), his shorthanded goal got Chicago on the board 31 seconds into the third period last night. “A few mistakes and it could have been our game. We have to keep that mentality, keep competing and good things will happen.”
Fensore was making his first appearance in the series, but Wolves were without him up front Felix Unger Sörum (3-6-9) in game 3.
Quick Highlights:
- Colorado was 17-10-2-1 in the second half of back-to-back games during the regular season; Chicago was 9-10-4-5.
- The Eagles improved to 7-0 this season after scoring the first goal of the game.
- Last night marked just the third time in 13 playoff games that Colorado gave up a goal in the third period. Coachella Valley scored four times in the third period of Game 2 of the divisional finals, while Henderson scored one third-period goal in Game 2 of the divisional semifinals.
- Wolves are looking to avoid losing their first three games in a row as they dropped four in a row from March 17th to March 22nd.
