Toronto Marlies: Recent Struggles Not a Major Concern
After a strong start to the season, the Toronto Marlies are going through a rough patch, but it could benefit the young group as they go along.
As seen with the Toronto Maple Leafs this season, a young lineup is going to have growing pains. The Toronto Marlies have noticed the same thing recently.
With only two wins in their last nine games and a 3-6-1 record in their last 10, the Marlies find themselves 12th in the league standings with 22 points. They also rank 15th in goals scored (57), and 11th in goals against (52).
It was tough to expect the Marlies to have a repeat of the dominant performance from last season, which is why these struggles should not come as a big surprise. However, the team still has skilled offensive talent including Brendan Leipsic, who is second in league scoring with 24 points behind Brad Hunt, who has played two more games.
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Kasperi Kapanen leads the team in goals with 10 and is second on the team with 18 points. Andrew Nielsen leads rookie defencemen with five goals and is tied for second in overall points with 14.
A player that seems to have hit a wall is Dmytro Timashov, who has only two points in 14 games, but has missed time and is likely still adjusting to the move to professional hockey. With William Nylander, Connor Brown, Zach Hyman, and Nikita Soshnikov with the Leafs, the Marlies need players like Timashov, Andreas Johnsson, Tobias Lindberg, Milan Michalek, Colin Smith and others to pick up the pace offensively if they want to turn things around.
Defensively, the Marlies have not been bad, but they have had their ups and downs – especially their goaltending. Antoine Bibeau got off to a hot start this season, but a recent string of tough starts has pushed his GAA to 2.54 and his save percentage to .907, to go along with a 6-5-2 record in 13 games.
Garret Sparks has only played five games while serving a suspension. However, in those starts he has a 2.23 GAA and a .914 save percentage.
Veteran Jeff Glass has also played twice, going 1-1 while recording a 2.05 GAA and a .917 save percentage. Sparks could start to see more playing time moving forward and if Bibeau can bounce back, the Marlies should be in better shape.
What has hurt the Marlies has been falling behind in games, with the offence at times forced to come back from two or three-goal deficits. Their penalty kill ranks 24th in the league at 78.1 percent, which is certainly not good enough, especially for a team that intends on competing for a playoff spot.
The team has also been without Travis Dermott and Frederik Gauthier, which does not help. The other disappointing thing to look at has been the play of veterans such as Michalek, Smith and Brooks Laich. While the Marlies have been content to let their youngsters lead the way, the team’s veterans should step up and pick up the play when needed.
The Marlies have 10 games left in December including six on the road, where they have so far struggled this season, with a 3-5-1 record. This is a crucial stretch, with the Marlies currently sitting four points behind division leaders, the Syracuse Crunch.
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Fortunately for this young group there is still time to turn things around and once they get things rolling, they will be in good shape. This is a team that has not yet hit their stride – once they do, they should be tough to stop.