Marlies Let 2-0 Series Lead Slip Away; Now Face Defining Game 5 – Hockey Writers – Toronto Marlies

After watching a 2-0 series slip away, the American Hockey League (AHL) Toronto Marlies find themselves at a critical juncture. What once looked like a comfortable path forward has turned into a best-of-three series against a dynamic Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins team. The good news? The Marlies have shown throughout this series that they can beat the Penguins, and with the series tied at 2-2, a win in Game 5 would put them one win away from advancing.

The question now is whether Toronto can respond to the pressure and regain control of a series that feels very different from what it did last week.

Marlies Lose Two In A Row On Home Ice

The Marlies blew a 2-0 lead in Game 4 and lost 4-3 to the Penguins, evening the series at two games. If the Marlies end up losing this series, this could be the game Toronto and its fans look back on as the one that got away.

It’s not just that they conceded three goals in a row in the second half. Toronto went into the middle frame with a 2-0 lead and completely dominated the first nine minutes. The Marlies produced three clear breakaways and the odd man-up rush, but they couldn’t solve Penguins goaltender Sergei Murashov.

Meanwhile, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton got two lucky goals with shots that deflected before reaching Marlies goaltender Artur Akhtyamov. The first came at 3:14 of the period and the second at nine minutes.

The Penguins got a lot of momentum from that second goal, held the momentum, and controlled play for most of the rest of the period. They finally scored a goal with 51 seconds left to take a 3-2 lead.

Toronto regained control of the third period and finally tied the game at 13:04 with a goal on a net-forward collision. Initially, the goal was disallowed because Murashov appeared to be thrown up and could not play the puck.

However, after a long discussion between the four officials, it was discovered that Murashov had been knocked down by his defender, and the goal was awarded.

Sergey Murashov is Changing the Game

The Marlies continued to press for the go-ahead goal, but once again Murashov stood tall. Toronto could have easily put the game away when they played early in the second half. Instead, Murashov denied every chance that came his way and gave the Penguins a chance to climb back into the game.

By the time the final horn sounded, what looked like it might be a comfortable victory for the Marlies turned into a Penguins victory, with Murashov playing a major role in the conversion.

Easton Cowan’s Glamorous Night Ends in Heartbreak

I’m going to take a short detour here to talk about Easton Cowan. It was Cowan’s goal with 17 seconds left in the decisive Game 5 against the Cleveland Monsters that sent the Marlies to the Eastern Conference finals. This was his first game back from an upper back injury in the series opener, a game in which he also scored.

Earlier in Game 4, it was Cowan’s perfect tape-to-tape pass that set up Vinni Lettieri’s goal and gave Toronto a 2-0 lead. Up until that point, Cowan was having an outstanding game. The reason for that deviation is simple: credit must be given where it is due before discussing the play that decided the game.

It was a mistake by Cowan that led directly to the winning goal for the Penguins. His pass down the ice inside his own blue line was intercepted by Rutger McGroarty, who came in alone on Akhtyamov and scored the game-winner.

To Cowan’s credit, he didn’t shirk responsibility afterward and willingly faced the media. That says something about his character. Throughout his young career, Cowan has earned a reputation for delivering in the big moments and elevating his game when it matters most. He showed that again with his amazing goal against Cleveland.

It will be interesting to see how he responds after this setback.

Road Teams Continue to Dominate Eastern Conference Finals

The series is now a best-of-three, with Game 5 set for Toronto before the teams return to Wilkes-Barre for Games 6 and 7 if necessary.

One unusual trend continues: all four games in the series have been won by the road team. If so, the Marlies will be in good shape. If not, Friday night’s game could be the key contest of the series.

Setting the record straight with Michael Pezzetta’s overtime win

Before we wrap up, we want to correct something we wrote in a previous post about Michael Pezzetta’s overtime winner in Game 3. We said the officials reviewed the play and determined there was no goaltender interference. After looking at the AHL replay rules, that was wrong.

Unlike the NHL, the AHL’s video review rule states that replays may be used at the referee’s discretion to “determine whether the puck legally crossed the goal line.” Those are vague words. The use of the word “legal” suggests that the officials may be able to review factors such as whether the puck was gloved over the net or hit with a high stick before crossing the line, but I’m not entirely sure.

What is clear is that goaltender interference is not reviewable under AHL replay rules. So, whatever officials reviewed Pezzetta’s goal, it was not goal interference.

Can the Marlies bounce back in Game 5?

Game 5 is tonight in Toronto. The Marlies have shown resilience throughout these contests, repeatedly responding to adversity and finding ways to win tough games. They will have to do it again if they hope to regain control of the series.

[Note: I want to thank long-time Maple Leafs’ fan Stan Smith for collaborating with me on this post. Stan’s Facebook profile can be found here.]