Lettieri lifts Marlies past Rocket in Game 5, reach North Division Finals

Vinni Lettieri ended Toronto’s season-saving surge at Place Bell, scoring with 9:38 left in regulation to break a 2-2 tie and send the Marlies past the Laval Rocket, 3-2, in a winner-take-all Game 5 on Saturday afternoon. The road win turned a series that had repeatedly swung toward elimination into a North Division Finals berth, and it gave Toronto a postseason lifeline built on late-game nerve.

The deciding play came after an offensive-zone faceoff and a quick puck reversal that opened space above the left-wing circle. Lettieri made Laval pay, beating Kaapo Kähkönen for his fifth goal of the playoffs. That goal tied him for the AHL postseason scoring lead at the time, and it delivered the sort of finish that changes the tone of a whole playoff run. Toronto had spent the series answering pressure, and this time it produced the final, decisive response.

Reese Johnson had already dragged the Marlies level early in the third period, scoring 4:57 into the frame for his first career playoff goal. Blake Smith also provided an immediate spark in his first appearance of the postseason, adding another critical lift for a Toronto club that needed production from across the lineup just to survive. Artur Akhtyamov backed it up with 20 saves, and the Marlies protected the lead long enough to move on.

Laval had grabbed a 2-1 lead behind two goals from Owen Beck, but the Rocket could not close it out after entering the third period ahead. That mattered because Laval had not lost in regulation all season when leading after two periods, a streak Toronto snapped at exactly the right time. Kähkönen stopped 16 shots, but the Rocket never fully recovered after letting the game slip in the final frame.

The series had been a roller coaster from the start. Laval won Game 1, 3-1. Toronto answered with back-to-back 6-2 wins in Games 2 and 3. Laval forced Game 5 with a 4-0 shutout in Game 4. Then Toronto seized control when the season was on the line.

The Marlies now advance to face the Cleveland Monsters in the North Division Finals, which are scheduled to open Thursday, May 14, 2026. Game 2 is set for Saturday, May 16, in Toronto, with the series following a 2-2-1 format and home-ice advantage determined by regular-season points. Toronto finished fourth in the North Division, Cleveland third, and the matchup gives the Marlies a playoff rematch with a higher-stakes prize waiting next.