Michael Pezzetta's third goal of the 2026 Calder Cup playoffs came at the perfect time. The Toronto Marlies forward scored at 14:53 of overtime on Friday night, giving the Marlies a 2-1 victory in Game 2 of the AHL's Eastern Conference final against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Series Lead Extended
The Marlies now lead the best-of-seven series 2-0 and will return home to host Games 3 and 4 at the Coca-Cola Coliseum on Monday and Wednesday, respectively. The winning goal at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza came after Pezzetta flipped the puck toward the net from the Penguins' blue line. The goal originally was credited to Marc Johnstone after the shot found its way past goalie Sergei Murashov and over the line, but was later changed to Pezzetta. In Game 1, Pezzetta also scored the winner.
Cowan Absent
Rookie forward Easton Cowan, who had scored in each of the Marlies' previous two games, did not play. Cowan's exclusion from the Toronto lineup was thought to be for precautionary reasons, though coach John Gruden was expected to address the matter after the game. It was the first time in 15 playoff games this spring that the Marlies went to overtime.
Goaltending Duel
Artur Akhtyamov made 33 saves for the Marlies, while Murashov stopped 37 shots for the Penguins. The Marlies carried a 1-0 lead until 8:01 of the third period when Tanner Howe got the Penguins on the scoreboard. Howe collected a Chase Pietela rebound out of a scramble in front of the net, spun around and beat Akhtyamov with a shot along the ice.
Nylander Opens Scoring
Alex Nylander opened the scoring at 18:21 of the first period with his fourth goal of the playoffs. It was the result of some creativity: Nylander came off the side boards at the blue line, passed to Luke Haymes and immediately took a return feed, which got Murashov out of position and gave Nylander an open net to hit.
The Marlies went 1-for-2 on the power play, while the Penguins did not score on their only man advantage.
