Rob Madore gets shutout in Jeremy Morin’s Marlies Debut

The World Juniors are over, but the Toronto Marlies’ teenage wunderkinds still aren’t around. Kasperi Kapanen is presumably busy being a national hero while William Nylander is back in Toronto getting rest and evaluation from team doctors as they find a way to best address his upper-body injury.

Thankfully for the team, there are a ton of roster players willing to keep those spots for another game or two, including a new face. Jeremy Morin, acquired a few days prior from the Chicago Blackhawks, made his debut for the team and found his way onto the scoresheet of a 3-0 victory.

Morin’s debut point came on Josh Leivo’s late-second ice breaker. Technically, it was a secondary assist; he merely sent the puck over to TJ Brennan, who gave Leivo the perfect pass he needed to rocket a one-timer past Eric Comrie. Even still, it was a positive start for the new guy, who was immediately trusted to play on the powerplay and picked up four shots on goal.

Despite the two teams combining for eight more powerplays throughout the game, things were quite quiet throughout; thanks to spectacular performances by both Comrie and Marlies goaltender Rob Madore. Madore was vital in keeping Toronto in the game during the first period, as they were outshot 13-5 in the opening twenty, but went on a 21-13 run in the back forty. With two minutes to go, Stuart Percy took this ridiculous shot to give the team some insurance.

Ryan Rupert followed it up with an empty-netter that crossed the full length of the ice. A few other players had good showings as well; Brendan Leipsic equalled Morin’s four shots on goal, and Nikita Soshnikov was a strong two-way presence throughout.

With the win, Toronto moves to 28-7-2 (0.784) on the season, further asserting their dominance as the AHL’s best team. Additionally, they moved to 5-0 against the Moose this season, which they could turn into 6-0 tomorrow night at the MTS Centre. The puck drops at 8 PM.