Alex Nylander scored with 6:16 remaining in overtime to eliminate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
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The Maple Leafs farm team, an afterthought in the autumn, is turning into the boys of summer.
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With a possible Calder Cup reward at the end of a nine-month season.
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The Marlies are moving on to the American Hockey League final for the first time since winning it under coach Sheldon Keefe in 2018 after Sunday’s 2-1 overtime win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, ending the best-of-seven series in six games.
Winger Alex Nylander scored with 6:16 remaining in overtime, supporting another strong game in net from Artur Akhtyamov. It was the first time the Marlies won a series this spring that didn’t go the distance, beating the Rochester Americans (the Buffalo Sabres’ farm team) in a best-of-three and both the Laval Rocket (Montreal) and Cleveland Monsters (Columbus) in the deciding fifth.
Will face either Colorado or Chicago
Toronto will face either the Colorado Eagles or Chicago Wolves in the league championship. Chicago forced a seventh game in the Western final on Sunday with a 3-2 win, though no matter the winner of Monday’s deciding match, it’s determined Toronto will open with two on the road at some point with a third game June 16 at home at Coca-Cola Coliseum, a fourth two nights later and, if necessary, a fifth on June 19.
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“The best way to describe it is I’m so proud of these guys,” captain Logan Shaw said in a phone interview with the Toronto Sun. “To come out tonight, not back down, go the distance so many times and win a couple in overtime … at this stage, we’re doing this for each other.
“It’s awesome to play this far into June. For our younger guys, my message was you might think you’ll get this far again in future years, but nothing is given. Maybe they’ve been farther in the ECHL or even the NHL, but this is the AHL and it’s (a longer haul of five series to reach the Cup final).”
After Aidan McDonough provided the Pens a 1-0 lead on the power play with Marc Johnstone in the box, Easton Cowan knocked in a Ryan Tverberg backhand rebound midway through the second period.
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Akhtyamov shines again in net
With their linemate Luke Haymes drawing the other assist, it was Cowan’s seventh of the playoffs after potting 11 in 66 games as a rookie Leaf. He is no stranger to late-spring hockey with two Memorial Cup final runs on his resume as a London Knight.
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Nylander, a former member of the Pens who hoped to catch the Leafs’ eye while coming to Toronto in the shadow of big brother William, was aided by Borya Valis and Cedric Pare in cutting off a clearing attempt along the boards and snapped the winner past Sergei Murashov. Nylander has five goals in 19 playoff games, while Valis came in the lineup the last couple of games when centre Jacob Quillan had an upper-body injury.
Akhtyamov made 32 saves in Game 5 and 25 of his 39 saves in Sunday’s Game 6 during the third period and overtime.
“He’s the reason we are where we are,” Shaw said. “He’s kept us in games where we made it hard on ourselves.”
X: @sunhornby
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