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The divisional matchups are coming thick and fast right now for the Toronto Marlies, with each game taking on more relevance as the league enters the final third of the schedule.

After playing Albany and Utica twice, Toronto left with a 2-1-1-0 record this past week. A points haul of five could have easily have been more if not for blown leads. Wednesday’s loss to Utica broke a five-game points streak for the Marlies — a run of form that has seen Toronto climb into third place in the North Division and significantly improve their post-season odds.

Special teams played a pivotal role in every game, with the numbers looking fantastic until both units went haywire in the last game in Utica. Both the powerplay and the penalty kill went to work on 20 occasions and Toronto finished a plus-one (five goals for, four against) overall. There were also four shorthanded goals this past week, with the Marlies scoring three of them.

The majority of Toronto’s success has been achieved when outshooting opponents (18-11-1-0) — a feat they failed to manage in any of the last four games. A respectable 120 shots were recorded by the Marlies during regulation but they also allowed 145 against — an average of over 36 per game.

Toronto faced the Albany Devils for the last time in the regular season, with New Jersey moving their affiliation to Binghamton for 2017-18. The Devils edged the season series 10-8 in points. As things currently stand, these two teams could yet meet again in the first round of the playoffs.


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Byron Froese led the way this week with six points (3G/3A), placing him atop the AHL’s goal-scoring charts. His 23 tallies are tied for league best with Chicago’s Wade Megan.

Frank Corrado has proven an excellent addition to the Marlies blue line, providing an offensive boost from the backend with five assists and his first goal for Toronto this past week. He’s up to nine points in 12 games overall.

Andreas Johnsson is enjoying his best run of scoring form this season, helping himself to four goals and an assist in his last five. He is now sixth in scoring on the team with 29 points through 50 games.

Colin Smith might be struggling to find the net of late but he assisted on four goals this week and in the process registered his 100th career AHL assist.

Justin Holl scored his first goal of the season back on October 23. It’s taken him until this past weekend to find the net again but he broke through on three occasions, including a highlight-reel shorthanded tally. He has the skill set to be a far more consistent producer offensively. Hopefully a four-point week is a much-needed confidence boost for him going forward.

Andrew Campbell is another defenseman who has found offense harder to come by this season, but he notched three helpers this week and easily could have potted a couple of goals with a little luck. He joined Colin Smith in also registering his 100th career AHL assist.

– It wasn’t going to last forever, but Seth Griffith saw his points streak halted in his 11th game as a Marlie. He’s pointless in his last two outings.

– Rookie Trevor Moore’s three-point haul took his season total to 20 points in his first 33 AHL games.

– Goals in consecutive games for Travis Dermott included a first ever powerplay marker for the rookie defenseman.

Dmytro Timashov has started to find the scoresheet with regularity in the last couple of weeks — three points in his last four games and eight in his last nine, including four goals.

– A few milestones for Andrew Nielsen, who scored his tenth goal and registered his 30th point of the season at the same time. That broke a six-game pointless streak for the rookie defenseman.

Brooks Laich made his return from injury, playing for the first time since December 17.

– With injuries on the blue line, Toronto added Alex Gudbranson on load from Minnesota. In the final year of his entry-level contract, Gudbranson has been playing in the ECHL for Quad City Mallards. The defenseman made an inauspicious debut for the Marlies in the loss to Utica.

Willie Corrin has been reassigned to the Brampton Beast (ECHL).


Toronto Marlies Player Stats – February 17

PlayerPosGPGAPTS+/-PIMPPSHGSOGSH%
Brendan LeipsicLW34112738-324419811.2
Byron FroeseC472314377188213317.3
Kasperi KapanenRW33161733-314909716.5
Kerby RychelLW48112132-1685901298.5
Andrew NielsenD48102030-345409710.3
Andreas JohnssonLW50141529434809914.1
Colin SmithC4861925-32200976.2
Trevor MooreLW3371320212203917.9
Travis DermottD373141721811614.9
Dmytro TimashovLW438715-42630879.2
Colin GreeningC467815029116910.1
Seth GriffithRW1231215214002711.1
Tobias LindbergLW35591453220568.9
Andrew CampbellD501121384000691.4
Justin HollD484610-52401814.9
Richard CluneLW30369-268002015
Rinat ValievD3427917011573.5
Frank CorradoD1218951200303.3
Brett FindlayC14448-54101723.5
Tony CameranesiF193366400358.6
Viktor LoovD4124614300414.9
Brooks LaichC1915641200156.7
Milan MichalekLW16235-12000258
Frederik GauthierC2414551200313.2
William WrennD2413421200234.3
Nikita SoshnikovÊ(X)RW61231610119.1
Eric FailleRW91230000137.7
Marc-Andre ClicheC16123-1600185.6
Daniel MaggioÊ(X)RW41121900520
Nikolas BrouillardD1000-100030
Alex GudbransonD1000100000
Ty StantonD3000100010
Willie CorrinÊ(X)D4000-220020
Josh LeivoÊ(X)LW50001600110
Mason MarchmentÊ(X)LW6000-340070

Toronto Marlies Goalie Stats – February 17

GoaliesGPWLSOLSOGAGAASVSSV%
Jeff Glass2110042.05440.917
Garret Sparks2013703462.325270.92
Antoine Bibeau2281013632.885640.9
Jhonas Enroth3210093.03850.904
Karri Ramo30300113.8810.88