Can the Marlies Win Game 2 Tonight in Cleveland?

The Toronto Marlies keep surprising us. In Game 1 of the North Division Final in Cleveland, they didn’t exactly start on the front foot. In fact, they were down 2-0 early and looked a bit like a team trying to find its legs in a heavy playoff building. But then something flipped. Over the final 22 minutes, they scored five unanswered goals and walked out of Rocket Arena with a 5-2 win—and a 1-0 series lead.

That’s the kind of swing you don’t see every day in the AHL playoffs, especially on the road.

A number of Marlies are stepping up when needed.

What stands out again with this group is how they do it. It’s never just one line carrying the load. It’s five different goal scorers in this one: Easton Cowan (his third), Marshall Rifai (his first), Alex Nylander (his second), Ryan Tverberg (his third), and Bo Groulx sealing it into the empty net for his second of the playoffs.

That’s been the Marlies’ identity this postseason—scoring by committee, rolling lines, and never really leaning too hard on one guy for too long. Groulx ended the night with three points, Logan Shaw chipped in with two assists, and once again, nine different skaters found the scoresheet. That’s not accidental anymore. That’s a pattern.

The Marlies’ goalies have been outstanding.

And then there’s Artur Akhtyamov, who continues to look like he’s settling into something very real here. He stopped 32 of 34 shots in Game 1 and now sits at 5-2 in the playoffs with a .922 save percentage and a 2.12 goals-against average. He didn’t steal the game, but he absolutely held it in place long enough for the offence to arrive.

It’s worth noting they did all this without Vinny Lettieri, their leading scorer in the postseason, who was out for personal reasons. No timeline yet, but you’d think Toronto would love to have him back sooner rather than later.

Cleveland controlled most of Game 1, but couldn’t finish.

Now, the numbers tell a different story than the scoreboard. Cleveland controlled large stretches of this game, outshooting Toronto 34-16 and pushing play for most of the night. If you just looked at the shot clock, you’d probably assume the Marlies were chasing it all evening.

But that’s the thing about this group right now—they don’t need to dominate possession to win. They just need moments. And in Game 1, they took all of them.

Can the Marlies put together another win on the road?

It’s a best-of-five series now. Game 2 is Saturday night in Cleveland, and if the Marlies can steal that one too, they’re coming home up 2-0 with a real stranglehold on the series.

Nothing is decided yet. But right now, this team is starting to feel like one that finds a way more often than it doesn’t.

[I want to thank Stan Smith for his collaboration on this post.]