TORONTO — Playing without centers Jim O’Brien and Pavel Zacha, the Albany Devils dropped a 5-3 decision against the Toronto Marlies Friday at Ricoh Coliseum. The best-of-seven, North Division series is now tied, 1-1.
The Devils were forced to make a pair of lineup changes after O’Brien (shoulder) and Zacha (lower) were injured during Game 1. Ryan Kujawinksi and Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond were called upon to fill the void. On the flip side, the Marlies inserted William Nylander and Nikita Soshnikov to their lineups.
After falling behind 2-1 after the first period, Toronto mounted a comeback, pulling ahead 3-2 and 4-3 in the third period. T.J. Brennan, who led Toronto during the regular season with 68 points, scored twice, including the game-winning at 6:43 of the third.
Brennan started Toronto’s come-from-behind effort with a power-play goal at 10:36 of the second period. Zach Hyman scored at 2:02 to put the Marlies ahead, but Brian O’Neill setup Matt Lorito at 3:52 to make it a 3-3 game.
After Brennan’s tally, Hyman scored his second of the game to seal the win at 18:15.
From the start, Toronto led first after Ben Smith scored at 11:20 of the opening frame. However, the Devils controlled play for the next eight-plus minutes. Dan Kelly scored his first career playoff goal with a point shot at 12:38 from Mike Sislo and Seth Helgeson.
Nick Lappin then found a rebound off Kelly’s point shot minutes later at 15:26.
Scott Wedgewood suffered his second loss of the postseason; he made 27 stops. At the other end, Antoine Bibeau improved to 2-0, making 40 saves.
• The Essentials
Shots: Albany 43, Toronto 32
Power Play: Albany 0-3, Toronto 1-5
Three Stars: 1. Zach Hyman (TOR), 2. Antoine Bibeau (TOR), 3. T.J. Brennan (TOR)
• Next Up
The series moves to the Capital Region for Games 3, 4 and 5. The two teams meet against Sunday at Times Union Center. Puck drop is at 5 pm.
