The first two games of the Devils-Marlies series could be described as a tale of two teams…on both sides. A shutout followed by a blowout, and we’re all tied at 1 as the series heads north.
With a 2-3 format and a Chainsmokers concert taking over the Times Union Center on Friday, the series would get underway with a rare Thursday night matchup. Mackenzie Blackwood, coming off his third shutout to close out the regular season the weekend before, drew the start, while Toronto countered with Garret Sparks. It was a rather quiet first period…until Ben Thomson would put the hosts on the board with 3:38 to go in the opening period for a 1-0 lead. Midway through the second, the Devils would find themselves in a 1:09 5 on 3 situation thanks to questionable calls on Blake Coleman and Brian Gibbons. But not only would Albany kill a majority of that off–a penalty on Toronto’s Andrew Nielsen would negate the last 23 seconds–on the ensuing power play, John Quenneville would connect for a goal to double the Albany lead. Brian Gibbons would finish it off with an empty net goal late in the third, starting the rematch in the Devils favor. Blackwood was magnificent, stopping all 27 Marlies shots. Nick Lappin and Seth Helgeson would each have one assist.
Fun fact: This was only the second time all season a team shut the Marlies out. Former Devil Yann Danis shut out Toronto 3-0 on March 5th.
Lines:
Carter Camper-Joe Blandisi-Ben Sexton
Blake Coleman-John Quenneville-Nick Lappin
Brian Gibbons-Kevin Rooney-Miles Wood
Ben Thomson-Rod Pelley-Blake Pietila
Defense:
Steve Santini/Seth Helgeson
Karl Stollery/Vojtech Mozik
Jacob MacDonald/Josh Jacobs
Mackenzie Blackwood/Ken Appleby
Scratches: Andrew MacWilliam, Max Novak, Jan Mandat, Luke Gazdic, Ryan Kujawinski, Shane Harper, Scott Wedgewood, Blake Speers, Petr Straka, Yohann Auvitu, Brandon Gignac, Evan Cormier, Colton White, Austin Cangelosi, Viktor Loov
Power Play: 1 for 5. Penalty Kill: 0 for 4. Penalty Minutes: 10. Shots on Goal: 23. Shots Allowed: 27.
3 Stars: 1. Mackenzie Blackwood; 2. Ben Thomson; 3. John Quenneville.
Highlight Reel:
Less than 48 hours, the teams reconvened for Game 2. Only change for the Devils was Viktor Loov in, Jacob MacDonald out. Mackenzie Blackwood and Garret Sparks remained in net. But something was different compared to Thursday night…Toronto found their offense, grabbing an early 1-0 lead on a power play goal by Kerby Rychel 2:56 into the contest. Kevin Rooney would tie things up late in the period with his first postseason goal, only to have former Devil Sergey Kalinin give Toronto a 2-1 lead eleven seconds later. In the second, the Marlies would take over the contest, as goals by Frederik Gauthier and Colin Greening 2:23 apart would put the visitors ahead 4-1, chasing Blackwood out of the net in favor of Ken Appleby. The goalie switch seemed to wake the Devils up somewhat…John Quenneville would score for the second straight game to cut the deficit to 4-2. But a late power play goal by Andreas Johnsson would restore the 3 goal advantage for Toronto. Albany had a golden opportunity to get back in the game with a 1:48 5 on 3 chance, but could not take advantage. To finish off the rout, Trevor Moore would score 4:35 into the third, giving the Marlies the win and a split heading into Canada next week. Blackwood stopped 9 of 13 shots in 26:38, while Appleby stopped 8 of 10 in 33:12. Three Devils would add one assist each.
Lines:
Joe Blandisi-Carter Camper-Ben Sexton
John Quenneville-Blake Coleman-Nick Lappin
Miles Wood-Kevin Rooney-Brian Gibbons
Ben Thomson-Rod Pelley-Blake Pietila
Defense:
Steve Santini/Seth Helgeson
Vojtech Mozik/Karl Stollery
Viktor Loov/Josh Jacobs
Mackenzie Blackwood/Ken Appleby
Scratches: Andrew MacWilliam, Max Novak, Jan Mandat, Luke Gazdic, Ryan Kujawinski, Shane Harper, Blake Speers, Petr Straka, Yohann Auvitu, Brandon Gignac, Austin Cangelosi, Colton White, Scott Wedgewood, Evan Cormier
Power Play: 0 for 5. Penalty Kill: 5 for 7. Penalty Minutes: 28. Shots on Goal: 21. Shots Allowed: 23.
3 Stars: 1. Frederik Gauthier; 2. Justin Holl; 3. Kerby Rychel.
Highlight Reel:
Around the Playoffs:
Let’s check in on the other AHL first round series:
In the other North Division matchup, Syracuse and St. John’s split their first two games in Newfoundland, with the Crunch winning in double overtime on Saturday. The series moves to Syracuse for Game 3 on Wednesday and Game 4 on Friday, with Game 5 if needed on Saturday.
Lehigh Valley finds themselves in a 2-0 hole to Hershey after the Bears took the first two games with a 1-0 overtime win on Friday, followed by a comeback 5-4 win on Saturday (the Bears were down 4-2 entering the third). Hershey’s first chance to wrap up the series comes Wednesday at home, with Game 4 scheduled for Saturday if needed.
Providence is up 1-0 on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after a 2-1 win at home on Friday night. Game 2 is Sunday afternoon in Rhode Island before the series moves to northeast Pennsylvania for Game 3 on Thursday.
Moving to the West, Chicago and Charlotte split their first two games in North Carolina, with the Checkers picking up a 4-0 shut out win on Thursday before the Wolves picked up a 3-2 win on Friday. Game 3 is in Illinois Sunday afternoon, with Game 4 on Tuesday and Game 5 if needed Wednesday.
Grand Rapids is up 1-0 on Milwaukee after a 4-3 overtime win on Friday. Game 2 is this afternoon in Michigan, before the series moves to Milwaukee for Game 3 on Wednesday.
San Jose is up 1-0 against Stockton after they shut the Heat out 4-0 on Friday. Game 2 is Sunday afternoon in San Jose, then the series goes to Stockton for Game 3 on Friday.
Finally, San Diego and Ontario are tied at 1 in their series after the Reign took Game 1 3-2 on Friday and the Gulls won 2-1 on Saturday. In the ever popular 1-1-1-1-1 series set up, Game 3 is on Friday in San Diego, with Game 4 in Ontario on Monday, May 1st.
Up North with the Thunder:
Adirondack, as mentioned last week, is in a unique situation in their first round series with Manchester: due to the circus coming in to the SNHU Arena, the Thunder gets the next 5 games of the 7 game series on home ice. In Game 3 on Tuesday, the Thunder cut the series lead to 2-1 with a 3-1 win over the Monarchs on Tuesday. Three different Thunder players would score, James Henry would add two assists, while J.P. Anderson stopped 26 of 27 shots. Manchester would take a 3-1 lead in Game 4 on Thursday night, a 2-1 win, despite only putting 16 shots on goal. Cullen Bradshaw had the lone Thunder goal, while Anderson stopped 14 of 16. Adirondack would stave off elimination in Game 5 on Saturday with a 2-1 win. Peter MacArthur and Dennis Kravchenko would each have a goal, and Anderson stopped 25 of 26. The Thunder will again attempt to keep their season alive in Game 6 on Tuesday, with Game 7 scheduled for Wednesday if necessary.
This Week’s Schedule:
The series shifts to Toronto for Games 3-5. We know for sure that Game 3 will be Wednesday and Game 4 is on Friday night. Will Game 5 on Saturday be needed? We shall see.
But the Devils have a daunting task of taking 2 out of 3 in Toronto in order to stave off extinction.
Thoughts Inside The Box 