The Marlies’ home opener came with all the signs of a team in transition - new coach, new faces, new roles - but the result was familiar enough for a club that still knows how to win. Toronto rolled past the Hammers 5-3, getting a big night from Brendan Brisson and enough from the usual pillars to shake off a season-opening loss in Rochester.
Brisson made his presence felt right away. He opened the scoring with his first goal in a Marlies sweater, then came back for another in the first period as Toronto built a 4-0 lead before the game could really settle in. The winger, drafted by the Golden Knights in the first round of the 2020 NHL Draft and later signed by the Leafs in September after not receiving a Qualifying Offer from the Rangers, looked sharp in his second chance with a new organization.
In between Brisson’s two goals, Noah Chadwick got on the board for the first time this season as well, pushing Toronto further ahead.
Logan Shaw kept doing what Logan Shaw does. The veteran forward added another goal, and he remains one of the steady constants on a roster that has changed plenty since last spring’s championship run.
Steve Sullivan was asked about Shaw’s value and made it clear why the team keeps leaning on him. “there's a reason why he keeps getting extensions, it's because of what he does in the dressing room, not just what he does on the ice. You look at John Gruden, last year, I thought he played him too much.
I'm on the bench now and I'm playing him too much. I understand why Gruden put him on the ice all the time.
He's just so reliable in every situation,” he said, adding “it's also good for the young guys they can have a leader like that to look up to.”
Arty Akhtyamov handled the net for Toronto and has now moved into the clear starter role with the Marlies after the offseason reshuffle around the Leafs’ goalie depth chart. Dennis Hildeby is gone, traded to the Penguins, while Sergei Bobrovsky signed a three-year deal to split duties with Anthony Stolarz for the Leafs. That leaves Akhtyamov as the main man in Toronto, with Ken Appleby backing him up.
The Marlies were in control for much of the night, though the edge wasn’t quite as sharp late. Shaw said afterward that “there's some things we need to clean up.”
Sullivan agreed there was room for improvement, pointing to “a little inconsistency in our systems. We were playing slow and we want to play fast.”
He also noted, “It's a new system, right, so there's a few things we are going through that the Leafs have changed and we're trying to implement here and it's going to take a while.”
Toronto’s lineup has a different look this season, with Easton Cowan and Ben Danford up with the Maple Leafs, Alex Nylander now with the Calgary Flames, and Sullivan in charge after John Gruden’s promotion to the Leafs. Still, the Marlies are the reigning AHL champions, and Friday’s win was a reminder that there’s still plenty of talent left in the building.
The teams won’t have to wait long for the rematch. Toronto and the Hammers meet again on Thanksgiving weekend, with games Friday and Sunday at the renovated and renamed TD Coliseum in downtown Hamilton. Friday’s game is the Hammers’ home opener.
That setting should make for a lively one. Friday’s matchup is set for 7:00 p.m., with Sunday’s game at 3:00 p.m. in Hamilton.
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