The Toronto Marlies’ road to the Eastern Conference Finals hasn’t been an easy one, but they find themselves eight wins away from a championship all the same.
Easton Cowan scored with 11.3 seconds left in regulation of Game 5 to send the Marlies past the Cleveland Monsters, 3-2, on Sunday afternoon. Toronto joined the 2002 Chicago Wolves and the 2023 Coachella Valley Firebirds as the only teams in AHL history to win three winner-take-all games in the same postseason.
In both the division semifinals against Laval and the division finals against Cleveland, the Marlies trailed 2-1 in the third period of Game 5 before rallying to win the game and the series.
“The resilience of our group, our ability to bend and not break,” head coach John Gruden said after Sunday’s win. “It’s such a credit to our guys – the way they handle themselves when our backs are against the wall.”
Before Cowan netted the series-winning goal, captain Logan Shaw tied the game at 2-2 with 4:30 to play. For Shaw, a 13-year pro, this will be just his second time reaching a conference final round; he was with the Anaheim Ducks when they made the NHL’s Western Conference Final in 2017.
“It’s fitting that he gets that game-tying goal,” Gruden said. “This is [our] third year together and he’s gotten to be a better all-around player and a better all-around leader. His leadership is second to none.”
“We’re just playing for each other,” Shaw said. “We have a lot of positivity, and a lot of guys in that room that are willing to do everything to win.”
The Marlies take on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the Eastern Conference championship. Game 1 is Wednesday (7 ET, 
) in Wilkes-Barre.
