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The Toronto Marlies got back to winning ways with a hard-fought win against a fast and physical Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins outfit on Tuesday night.

The Marlies were second best for a sizable chunk of the first 40 minutes of this game but found a way to stick with it — despite forfeiting 2-0 and 3-2 leads — in what was one of the stiffer tests they’ll face down the stretch in advance of playoff time.

“They’re a team that gets all of their offense by shutting you down on the forecheck and through the neutral zone,” said Sheldon Keefe after the game. “If you don’t break out well through the neutral zone, you give the game to them. You get away with it a lot of nights and on a lot of nights, it’s not as difficult. But it’s going to be difficult for us when it matters most.”

“We haven’t played enough of those games. You look at the standings and our schedule — we play 30 games against three teams at the bottom of the Conference in the standings. That takes a toll on a team in terms of losing perspective on what it takes to play these types of games. We need to take these lessons going forward and I believe we will.”

First Period

The Penguins nearly marched out to an early lead when the speedy Thomas DiPauli escaped down the left wing and was met by a sharp glove save from the returning Garret Sparks.

The kid line of Adam Brooks, Jeremy Bracco and Mason Marchment responded for the Marlies with a positive shift at the five-minute mark, but Marchment was unable to find on the net on a couple of scoring opportunities.

Back-to-back power plays for Toronto resulted in nothing other than one excellent shorthanded chance for DiPauli before the Marlies opened the scoring back at even strength. Colin Greening and Kyle Baun got in hard on the forecheck, resulting in a broken play and scramble in front, and Baun was able to lift the puck up over the pads of Tristan Jarry right at the midway point of the period.

Sparks prevented an immediate Wilkes-Barre response with a fantastic save on a one-time effort in the slot before Toronto headed to the penalty kill for the first time at the 12-minute mark. A redirected shot hit the post for WBS and the Marlies survived the penalty kill, and upon exiting the box, rookie newcomer Josh Kestner’s endeavour saw him draw a penalty that led to the Marlies‘ second goal of the game.

The third time was the charm for the Marlies power play as Andrew Nielsen received the puck just inside the blue line before shifting to the middle of the ice and firing a well-placed shot through a plethora of traffic in front to double the Marlies’ lead.

The Penguins really did not deserve to trail by two and Toronto ensured they didn’t by gift-wrapping a goal via a mistake from Martin Marincin. The defenseman originally did well to win a puck race against Garrett Wilson but he tried to do too much and was stripped of the puck in front of his own net by Daniel Sprong, who halved the Toronto lead.

That goal turned the momentum late in the period and the Penguins nearly tied the game up right away, but Sparks pulled off a top-notch save to rob DiPauli on a redirected shot from the point.

Second Period

In a middle frame largely dominated by WBS, the tying goal arrived less than two minutes into the period when Wilson tipped a point shot from Jarred Tinordi in front, giving Sparks no chance.

Toronto’s PK kept them in the game in the middle frame, especially when Sparks’ attempted clearance sent the puck over the glass and put the team down by two players for 20 seconds.

Hanging tough eventually pad dividends for Toronto; after generating very little offensively throughout the majority of the second period, the Marlies finished the final five minutes with a bang.

Andreas Borgman won a puck battle on the left wall before Trevor Moore walked out of the corner and threaded a perfect pass to Calle Rosen waiting at the backdoor, where the Swedish defenseman made no mistake for his second of the season.

It was almost immediately 4-2 Marlies, but Marchment whistled his shot millimetres past the post, with Sheldon Keefe entrusting his kid line from the restart.

Marchment came close again shortly after before Brooks had the best and final chance of the period alone in front, but Jarry robbed Brooks — who was back at center in this game after a brief spell on the wing — of a sure goal to ensure the Penguins only trailed by one heading into the third period.

Third Period

The impressive DiPauli should have tied the game up following a turnover three minutes into the final frame but whiffed on his shot attempts. Yet again, however, the Penguins struck early as Ethan Prow’s shot through traffic gave Sparks no chance.

Both teams had chances to win the game in regulation as Marlies finally started to find their feet in what felt like a playoff game in tempo and atmosphere.

DiPauli went on a breakaway with three minutes left on the clock, but Sparks came to his team’s rescue following a poor change and a cheap turnover.

In the final 20 seconds, a beautiful passing movement from the Marlies resulted in a backdoor setup from Timashov to Rosen, but the defenseman was unable to fully corral the pass and sent his shot wide of the target.

Overtime has been a stranger to the Marlies this season (just the third time this season), but they won the game on the third shot of the extra time period. Ben Smith was the architect, eluding DiPauli deep inside the Toronto end before leading a 2v2 rush down the right side. Brooks outhustled his man, drove to the net and was on hand to tap home into the yawning cage thanks to a perfect feed from the Marlies’ captain.


Post Game Notes

– This was the 1000th game in Toronto Marlies history. Their all-time franchise record is 547-346-107.

– The Marlies’ penalty kill was a perfect 4-4, marking the 42nd occasion this season it has not allowed a goal. Special teams were the difference in this game, as Toronto struck once on three power-play opportunities.

Kyle Baun scored his first goal for the Marlies, recording his fourth point in five games.

Garret Sparks posted 37 saves for his 25th win of the season. This was one of his best performances this year, and it’s notable he was able to perform really well following a period of sitting on the bench in the NHL. Sparks has struggled in the past when his starts are irregular, so this represents another test passed for him.

– Depth scoring was the story for the Marlies as Andrew Nielsen and Calle Rosen scored their fourth and second goals of the season respectively, while Adam Brooks netted for the first time since January 6. The goal was his second game-winner and 10th point (4-6-10) of the season.

“Our young guys have come along here and they’ve been playing more and getting more opportunity of late as we’ve lost some people,” said Keefe. “We need those guys to step up. We were in the middle of a line change there and Bracco was going to be the next guy coming over the boards, and then Marchment would’ve followed. We’re going to give those guys more chances like we’ve been doing here and we’re going to need them to come through here. We’ve lost talent — up front, especially — and we need those guys to make progress. They’ve been doing that. I’m thrilled for Brooksy to get rewarded”

– Tuesday’s lines:

Forwards
Moore – Aaltonen – Kestner
Timashov – Mueller – Smith
Greening – Gauthier – Baun
Marchment – Brooks – Bracco

Defensemen
Borgman – Marincin
Rosen – Liljegren
Nielsen – LoVerde

Goaltenders
Sparks
Pickard


Game Highlights


Post-Game: Sheldon Keefe