The Toronto Marlies clinched a playoff spot by sweeping Syracuse over the weekend in Matt Murray's Marlies debut.

“I thought we played well. They got the better of us on special teams, but every time they tied it, we responded. Perhaps one thing we should understand (better) is punitive damages. If we want to be good in the playoffs, we're going to have to come away from those things.”

– Jon Gruden

“I've said it before. We have a lot of guys on our team who are having great individual seasons. I think if we can all do that at the same time as we get healthier, it could be a really fun thing.”

– Alex Steves

After a defensive battle between the Marlies and the Crunch on Friday night, Saturday's rematch was a wild 6-5 affair in which Toronto gave up a pair of multiple goals. The only thing that mattered was that the Marlies got two points to clinch a playoff spot.

The first stage

The Marlies couldn't have dreamed of a better start. They scored two goals in three and a half minutes.Alex Steeves and Logan Shaw scored similar halftime goals that ended well in the back of the net to give Toronto a two-goal lead.

Battered Syracuse may have been reeling, but they were given a lifeline at the five-minute mark. After the Marlies gave up a 2v1 with numbers, the Crunch played it perfectly and Marshall Rifai didn't. Alex Barre-Boulet scored Ilya Usau's seventh goal of the season on the hosts' first shot of the game. It was a rough start for Matt Murray, who could have provided more support in his first action of the season.

Robert Mastrosimone and Nick Abruzzese had good looks to restore the two-goal lead before Syracuse struck again. Max Crozier's shot was headed forward by Waltheri Merella in the slot and beat Murray to the blocker's side.

Toronto responded in the final two minutes to take the lead at the first intermission. They were rewarded after a strong cycle in the offensive zone that kept the puck alive. Rifai's shot from the ball deflected off a rebound, including Cameron Gaunce, of all people, stabbing home from the slot.

The last regular season meeting between the teams was very physical and threatened to get out of hand on several occasions. Even Topi Nimelya was sick of Syracuse's antics as he had to drop the glove with Gage Goncalves. The young defenseman had a very good first professional fight, landing a few punches due to his lack of experience.

The second stage

The officials made a few glaring mistakes in this game without hiding their glory. Jack Finley was ruled offside on the stroke of half-time, but Murray ruled him out. A foul was called on the play, but luckily Toronto negated the penalty.

Matteo Pietronito's open-ice shot sparked outrage from the home team. Defender Tristan had to drop the gloves with Allard, which was won by Pietronito on a slant. The Syracuse player got off without a provocative penalty in another surprising decision by the officials.

There can be no argument about the hit that allowed Syracuse to tie the game at 3-3. It was an inappropriate and careless violation by Steves during the boarding, probably caused by the emotions of the game. Gave too many chances In the room in the left circle, Goncalves took a shot from an unseen Murray.

The Marlies responded positively with another goal. In a tiebreaker, Abruzzi beat Devante Stevens to a loose puck and scored on his second attempt at halftime.

Toronto then took a two-goal lead for the second time. In a 3v3, Joseph Blandisi sacked Steves. That meant it was game over for Hugo Alnefelt, who was replaced by Brandon Halverson between the pipes.

Syracuse took the lead 60 seconds later with another controversial field goal. Sean Day was injured behind a play after being hit in the mouth by a stick and apparently bleeding. No officials raised their hands during the action, so I'm guessing they guessed the call and picked a random Toronto player to sit for four minutes.

Max Crozier scored on a shot through a screen to pull Syracuse within one.

Steeves could have scored a hat-trick inside 40 minutes, but he hit the iron late in the match. Toronto led 5-4 through two periods, but it was a special feeling that more goals were coming.

The third stage

In a disappointing start to the final frame for the Marlies, Syracuse tied the game with five minutes to go before Quinn Schmimann's goal from the top of the left circle after Toronto failed to break the cycle.

The Marlies created chances to win the game, but they couldn't find a way to score the decisive sixth goal. Josh Slavin ripped the ball off the crossbar, Roni Hirvonen broke away partially, and Niemelja forced a double save from Halverson.

A great defensive effort in the final frame secured at least one point as the teams went into overtime for the second night in a row.

Overtime/Shutout

The extra frame was exciting, with neither team taking any chances. A great defensive play by Mikko Kokkonen broke Syracuse's 2-1 lead, the best scoring opportunity for either team.

Mattu Murray went a perfect 3-3 on the Clouds, and Shaw was the lone shooter as Toronto earned the extra point that guaranteed a playoff spot.

Post-game notes

– With a playoff berth assured, it's now about whether the Marlies can get high enough in the standings to avoid the fourth and fifth round of games. Toronto is two points behind Cleveland (third), who play twice next weekend. Marley's next game is against Rochester (second), with a three-point difference between them.

– Logan Shaw He became the fifth player in franchise history to score 30 goals in a season for Toronto (Chris Mueller in 2018-19, Ryan Hamilton in 2012-13, Johnny Paul and Brad Lieb in 2005-06). With six goals in the last eight games, the Toronto captain stepped up to the plate at the end of the season.

“He's our leader,” Gruden said. “He's done a really good job of keeping his composure because he's played a lot with all the special teams, he's had some players down and he's gotten some guys that he's not familiar with in certain situations. It's great. He can protect. He can score. He is very important for our hockey club.”

– Joseph Blandisi tried to get the string down (two goals in 11), but with three assists in that game, he remains Toronto's leading scorer with 59 points (25G/34A).

– Cameron Gonz(1G/1A) The first goal for Toronto was a good moment. The Marlies could use more offense from the blue line as the games get tougher.

– Alex Steves scored twice this season for the fifth time. With three games left in the schedule, he is on 26 goals and 30 is out of reach.

– On paper, it looked like the first trip Matt Murray. Breaking down the goals, he had no chance on the first goal of a well-worked 2v1. He dealt with good traffic and well-placed shots among other goals. I'm sure he'll want to come up with another save or two along the way, but as Jon Gruden said after the game, he stayed in the fight and made a timely stoppage. I'm not sure it makes sense to overanalyze the goalkeeper's performance in his first game in 377 days.

– Toronto's injury crisis continues. Jacob Quillan was absent with an upper body problem. The good thing is that he is considered an everyday person.

– Saturday's lineup at Syracuse:

Forwards
Hirvonen – Shaw – Abruzzi
Singleton – Blandisi – Steeves
Mastrosimon – Slavin – Solow
Barbolini – Cruickshank – Johnson

Defenders
Lajoie – Kokkonen
Rifai is Gaunce
Pietroniro – Niemlya

Goalkeepers
Murray
Hildeby

Postgame media availability: Blandisi, Steeves and Gruden

Game Highlights: Marlies 6 vs. Crunch 5 (SO)