The Toronto Marlies 4-2 victory over the Rochester Americans on Sunday put a cap on the club's most successful regular season and the third-best record in American Hockey League history.
Eric Faille, Jordan Hickmott and Tony Cameranesi tallied for Toronto and Garret Sparks made 45 saves for his first AHL victory in nearly two months. Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe gave most of the roster expected to be integral to their post-season success the day off.
Toronto's opponent in the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs will be the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the affiliate of the New York Islanders. Game 1 of the best-of-five series will be in Bridgeport on Saturday, with Game 2 on Sunday.
The series shifts to Toronto on Thursday, April 28th for Game 3, with Game 4(if necessary) scheduled for Friday, April 29th and a deciding Game 5 on Sunday, May 1.
Marlies goaltender Garret Sparks makes one of 45 saves in a 4-2 victory over the Rochester Americans on Sunday. Image courtesy of Christian Bonin at TSGPhoto
The unusual 2-3 set up is due to travel considerations, which Toronto encountered last season in the first round against Grand Rapids. The Marlies won the first two games at Ricoh before losing three straight on the road to the higher seeded Griffins.
*******
There is little doubt that KHL defenseman Nikita Zaitsev will be signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the only question is how long the deal will be.
The 24-year-old Russian is currently playing in the Gargarin Cup Final and his contract with CSKA Moscow expires on May 1, which would then free him to sign with Toronto, who has been his rumored NHL destination since last summer.
CSKA General Manager(and former teammate of Leafs Team President Brendan Shanahan) Sergei Fedorov indicated to Igor Eronko of Sport-Express that he had knowledge of Zaitsev heading to the Maple Leafs at the start of the season.
Note : Continue to check back to my column on Hockeybuzz throughout the day for the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter
*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact” button at the top of the page.*******
KINDLE USERS: Please sign up for Maple Leafs Buzz, which includes a free-of-charge 14-day trial and is just 99 cents per month afterwards. For more information click here.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»