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Toronto Maple Leafs: Marlies draw first blood in AHL’s Eastern Conference Final

By Austin Owens

TORONTO, ON - JANUARY 12: Kasimir Kaskisuo #50 of the Toronto Maple Leafs warms up prior to play against the Boston Bruins in an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on January 12, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Bruins defeated the Maple Leafs 3-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - JANUARY 12: Kasimir Kaskisuo #50 of the Toronto Maple Leafs warms up prior to play against the Boston Bruins in an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on January 12, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Bruins defeated the Maple Leafs 3-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs farm team kept their unbeaten streak in the playoffs alive as the Toronto Marlies took Game 1 of the AHL Eastern Conference Final against the Charlotte Checkers.

The Toronto Marlies went into Bojangles’ Coliseum and took care of business in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Final series against the Charlotte Checkers on Friday night, winning 2-1 in enemy territory.

With the Carolina Hurricanes being eliminated by the Boston Bruins in the NHL Eastern Conference Finals on Thursday, the Checkers got a big boost to their lineup. Haydn Fleury, Jake Bean, and captain Patrick Brown were all assigned to Charlotte ahead of the opening game of the series.

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Both teams traded chances in the first period but neither could find the back of the net. Heading into the first intermission, it was the hosts that held a 13-8 advantage in shots.

Charlotte found itself in penalty trouble in the second period. Julien Gauthier would take a tripping minor 4:22 into the frame. That initial infraction was compounded when Brown took a delay of game penalty after his clearing attempt cleared the glass behind the Marlies’ net.

It would take just 31 seconds for the Marlies to capitalize on their two-man advantage, as Jeremy Bracco would lay a pass off for Dmytro Timashov, who would promptly rip the puck past Checkers starter Alex Nedeljkovic.

The Marlies would get an odd-man rush seven minutes later, but Michael Carcone’s cross-crease pass was knocked away. On the counter-attack, Fleury would carry the puck up and snap a wrister through the legs of Marlies tender Kasimir Kaskisuo to knot the game up.

Toronto would jump ahead for good just 57 seconds into the final frame. Timothy Liljegren would corral the puck at the point and fire a shot on net that would be deflected home by Mason Marchment.

Charlotte would make a push late, but they couldn’t find the goal to send the game to overtime.

Kaskisuo was excellent again for the Marlies. The 25-year-old was given the second star of the game after making 26 saves. He’s now up to a 1.49 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage. He also tied the team record for consecutive wins in the playoffs with eight, according to Leafs Nation Network’s Todd Crocker. The record was initially set by Drew MacIntyre in 2014.

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There’s no rest for these two teams, as Game 2 takes place on Saturday night. Charlotte will be looking to tie up the series while Toronto is aiming to stay undefeated in the postseason.

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