LAVAL ROCKET (21-15-3-0 – 45 Points) vs.
TORONTO MARLIES (23-13-3-1 – 50 Points)
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2022
| 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | FINAL | |
| LAVAL | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | 2 |
| TORONTO | 4 | 1 | 1 | – | 6 |
GAME SUMMARY | GAME SHEET | PHOTOS | SCRUMS
SCORING SUMMARY
Laval: R. Harvey-Pinard (7) PP (Unassisted), L. Belpedio (7) (C. Hillis, R. Harvey-Pinard)
Goaltender: M. McNiven (4/16) L, C. Primeau (19/21)
Toronto: J. Anderson (16) PP (B. McMann, A. Steeves), J. Anderson (17) SH (B. Seney), A. Suomela (10) (B. Seney, J. Anderson), J. Blandisi (7) (J. Kopacka, C. Douglas), J. Duszak (4) (J. Blandisi, J. Kopacka), K. Clifford (2) (A. Steeves, C. Douglas)
Goaltender: M. Hutchinson (25/27) W
ON THE SCORESHEET
- Joey Anderson opened the scoring on the power play at 5:36 of the first period and added a shorthanded goal at 7:43 of the first period. He also had the secondary assist on Suomela’s first period goal. This was his third shorthanded goal of the season and his fifth as a Marlie which places him tied for fifth in franchise history. With his first goal of the game, he set a career-high (17) this season
- Antti Suomela scored at 18:48 of the first period. He has nine points (5 goals, 4 assists) in seven of his last eight games.
- Joseph Blandisi scored at 19:47 of the first period and later added the primary assist on Duszak’s second period goal. This was his fifth multipoint game in 17 games this season.
- Joseph Duszak scored at 2:46 of the second period. He has 30 points (4 goals, 26 assists) in 30 games this season.
- Kyle Clifford scored at 9:00 of the third period. This is his second goal with the Marlies.
- Bobby McMann recorded the primary assist on Anderson’s power play goal in the first period. He has 17 points (11 goals, 6 assists) in 31 games this season.
- Alex Steeves registered the secondary assist on Anderson’s power play goal in the first period and the primary assist on Clifford’s third period goal. He has 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists) in 29 games with the Marlies.
- Brett Seney had the primary assists on Anderson’s shorthanded goal and Suomela’s goal, both in the first period. This was his 11th multipoint game in 35 games this season.
- Jack Kopacka picked up the primary assist on Blandisi’s first period goal and the secondary assist on Duszak’s second period goal. He has 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) in 31 games with the Marlies.
- Curtis Douglas recorded the secondary assists on Blandisi’ first period goal and Clifford’s third period goal. He has 17 points (4 goals, 13 assists) in 37 games this season.
- Michael Hutchinson stopped 25 of 27 shots he faced.
OF NOTE
- Toronto has recorded four more goals in 24 games (20-1-2-1) this season.
- The Marlies are 15-15-1-0 at Scotiabank Arena.
- Toronto went 2-for-3 on the penalty kill and 1-for-4 on the power play. Toronto is 17-8-1-0 when scoring on the power play and 12-7-2-1 when allowing a goal on the penalty kill.
- Toronto had a 37-27 edge in shots in all situations. Joey Anderson led the Marlies with five shots on goal. Toronto is 8-3-1-0 when outshooting their opponents.
- The Marlies are 13-8-2-1 against North Division opponents and 1-2-0-1 against the Rocket. Toronto has been outscored by Laval 18-12 through four games.
| RECORD WHEN Scoring first 17-1-1-1 Leading after 1 12-1-2-1 Leading after 2 17-1-2-1 At home 12-5-2-1 February 4-1-1-0 Monday 4-0-0-0 | MARLIES LEADERS *Amongst active players Goals 17 (J. Anderson) Assists 26 (J. Duszak) Points 37 (B. Seney) PPG 6 (J. Anderson) Shots 94 (B. Seney) +/- +16 (B. Seney) PIMS 57 (R. Clune) |
POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH GREG MOORE
On today’s game:
This is a team that’s played us hard this year. Wanting to do well against a top opponent, a rival opponent in our division, a game where we get our fans back and feel their support, that gave us a big lift of energy today, and then in a special building as well.
On special teams:
They did a really good job. Establishing the shot there, it’s hard to get pucks down inside and Joey Anderson did a great job, as he always does, in that area of the rink, and penalty kill did a great job, obviously that short-handed goal. Special teams made a difference today.
On Michael Hutchinson:
I thought he did a really good job, and exactly what you said calm, gave the team confidence in front of him. At times there were a little bit of stretches where there weren’t a lot of shots and that can be a tough time for goalies to stay in it and stay engaged and he was ready for every opportunity.
JOEY ANDERSON (2 GOALS, 1 ASSIST)
On today’s game:
We know that they’re a team that’s never going to go away and they came out in that third period really hot and made a push and I think we responded well for the most part, especially after that timeout we settled down and got back to the things that had been giving us success. It’s just about finding that for as much of a 60 as we can and tonight, we did a lot of good things for a long portion of that game.
On his line with Brett Seney and Antti Suomela:
You guys can see, we all think the game very similar. We enjoy playing with each other too. That’s the thing you can see it out there when one of us scores, we’re just genuinely excited for each other. It just makes coming to the rink that much better and like I said, the style of play is very similar, everyone works hard, we’re in the right spots. Reading off each other is really nice and easy and Antti has fit right in there really well with us.
JOSEPH BLANDISI (1 GOAL, 1 ASSIST)
On his line with Curtis Douglas and Jack Kopacka:
Our line was great all-night creating chances. The puck squirted out and it was a great net drive by Dougie. Jack threw it off the pads and it kicked out to me and I was able to pull it and find the corner which was good.
On Michael Hutchinson’s performance:
It’s every day with him. He comes in ready to work every day. He’s dialled in. His details are amazing and just having that calm presence back there, same with (Källgren), Woll. All the guys we have are calm back there and it gives the team an extra oomph when you need it. When they’re a rock, they can keep pucks out of the net and build momentum for the team.
UPCOMING GAMES:
*All times Eastern Standard Time
February 23 vs. Laval – 7:00 p.m.
February 26 at Rochester – 2:35 p.m.
February 27 vs. Rochester – 4:00 p.m.
March 2 vs. Abbotsford – 7:00 p.m.
March 5 at Cleveland – 7:00 p.m.
The view from left field 