Cowan lifts Marlies to East final, Penguins rout Springfield 8-1
Easton Cowan’s 11.3-second winner sent Toronto to the East final, while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s 8-1 clincher tied an AHL playoff record.
Easton Cowan turned Game 5 into a knockout punch, scoring with 11.3 seconds left to lift the Toronto Marlies past the Cleveland Monsters 3-2 and push Toronto into the Eastern Conference Finals. The goal capped a postseason run in which the Marlies won their third winner-take-all game, a feat only the 2002 Chicago Wolves and 2023 Coachella Valley Firebirds had ever matched in AHL history.
Toronto’s latest escape came in front of 12,090 at Rocket Arena, where Artur Akhtyamov stopped 22 shots to keep the Marlies alive long enough for Cowan to finish the job. It was also the continuation of a pattern that has defined Toronto’s spring: the Marlies had already survived a first-round winner-take-all game against Rochester, then trailed by a goal entering the third period of Game 5 at Laval before rallying again. John Gruden’s read on the group fit the moment neatly: the Marlies showed an ability to “bend and not break.”
The other half of the bracket was decided with far less suspense and far more force. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton stormed Springfield 8-1 at Mohegan Arena, using a four-goal first period to seize control before the Thunderbirds could settle in. Tristan Broz set the tone early with two goals in the opening frame and finished the series with 3 goals and 6 assists. Ville Koivunen added two goals and an assist in the clincher and closed the five games with 3 goals and 4 assists. Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, back after missing the previous five games, scored twice and added an assist in Game 5 to finish the series with 2 goals and 1 assist.
Sergei Murashov was just as decisive in the crease, stopping 26 of 27 shots in the clincher and finishing the series with a 1.55 goals-against average and a .949 save percentage. The seven-goal margin matched the largest ever in a winner-take-all Calder Cup Playoff game, alongside Grand Rapids’ 7-0 win over Houston in 2013 and Quebec’s 8-1 victory over Providence in 1969.
By night’s end, the AHL’s conference-finals picture was set: Toronto survived again, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton overwhelmed Springfield, and the teams that can finish under pressure are still standing.
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