The first game of the Western Conference finals played out as advertised, with the similarly skilled and speedy Toledo Walleye and Kansas City Mavericks battling to a tight one-goal finish, putting the onus on the goaltenders in the series.
The quality chances mounted for both teams in Game 1, with Kansas City cashing in on a third-period opportunity to take a 3-2 win at Toledo's raucous Huntington Center on Friday night.
Toledo led 1-0 early, but then trailed 2-1 in the second before tying it near the game's midpoint. K.C. took the first game when Jacob Hayhurst scored the decisive goal with 6:32 left in regulation.
Both coaches have assembled skilled and fast offensive teams, but also rely on a steady rotation of goaltenders. The teams finished 1-2 in the final regular season standings, with the Mavericks winning the Brabham Cup for the most points (114) and Toledo finishing runner-up with 105.
The two-platoon system in net has worked for both teams. K.C. is 9-1 in the Kelly Cup playoffs. Toledo, which saw its 22-game winning streak snapped on Friday, is 8-1.
The Walleye have used a time-share in net all season. John Lethemon, who made 19 saves on Friday, ranks fifth in the ECHL playoffs with a 2.13 goals-against average. Rookie Jan Bednar is seventh with a 2.20 goals-against average.
The Mavericks counter with Jack LaFontaine and Cale Morris, who have split time in goal. Morris, who earned the win with 24 saves on Friday, has a 6-0 record and ranks 10th with a 2.50 goals-against average. LaFontaine has a 3-1 record and leads all netminders with a .944 save percentage and ranks sixth with a 2.16 goals-against average.
Traditional wisdom in the NHL playoffs calls for a coach to go with the hot hand in net, riding the shoulders of one netminder.
“Goaltending has been an easy conversation so far,” Walleye coach Pat Mikesch said. “They've both showed up and played so well. The nice thing is the relationship that they have and the way they support each other.”
Kansas City coach Tad O'Had said he prefers his goalies to share the workload.
“In our league, we have a lot of back-to-back games on our schedule. It's just the rigors,” O'Had said. “We want to be making intelligent decisions with the goaltenders.”
Mikesch said he feels comfortable starting the more experienced Lethemon, who was named the ECHL's goalie of the year last season, and the young prospect Bednar.
“Bednar has matured right in front of us,” Mikesch said of the 21-year-old from the Czech Republic who was a fourth-round draft choice of Toledo's NHL parent club, the Detroit Red Wings, in 2020. “They both just have the ability to settle down the game when we need to. They both can make a couple of huge saves.”
O'Had said part of the role of an ECHL affiliate is to develop players, getting as much playing time for the prospects.
“Both organizations have really strong affiliations, and a major part of our job is development of players and that's part of our rotation,” said O'Had, whose team is affiliated with the NHL's Seattle Kraken and AHL's Coachella Valley Firebirds.
“Both of our goaltenders have earned every minute they've played. They have flown under the radar. I don't think they get the due credit that they deserve, but they let their actions speak for themselves. With Toledo, you're looking at two excellent prospects. The fan bases are going to see excellent goaltending all series.”
LaFontaine was a third round draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2016. Lethemon played at Michigan State and Morris at Notre Dame.
Each team has scored 37 goals in the playoffs, so the team that has a goalie that can steal a game will have the upper hand.
“Both teams played a pretty good, fast hockey game, and both goalies were sharp like we expect this time of the year,” Mikesch said of Game 1.
Walleye forward Brandon Hawkins, who scored his sixth goal of the playoffs on Friday, said his team needs to get more than the 26 shots on goal, the total it had in Game 1.
“It's two really skilled teams,” said Hawkins, who won the league's MVP award. “They play a very similar game to us. They play a pretty good system. I think we've got to be a bit better in transition with some puck management in the neutral zone.”
Rookie forward Riley Sawchuk, who scored his ECHL-leading eighth goal on Friday, said the team was not fixated on the 22-game winning streak.
“It's tough for us to be down one game, but we put that behind us and we'll need to sweep two games at home here to turn it around. So, that's what we're gonna do,” Sawchuk said. “There's a bigger picture to work toward. It's one game. We were bound to lose a game in the playoffs. It's a long run, and you can't expect to win every single game.”
Mikesch said the speed of both offenses creates problems for opponents and generated quality chances in Game 1.
“They force you into some mistakes with their speed and with their pressure,” Mikesch said. “That's why they're as good as they are. But [in Game 1], I would take our chances versus their chances. They just found a way to put it in.”
O'Had said both teams learned a lot in Game 1.
“There are areas that we can continue to tighten up on but, ultimately, we found a way,” O'Had said.
O'Had said his team also must have a short memory after breaking Toledo's winning streak.
“That's a hell of an accomplishment for them,” O'Had said. “We had several streaks this year, but that's a hell of a hockey club.”
Mikesch said his team did a better job defensively as the game went on Friday night.
“I thought they got behind us a couple of times early in the game. But I thought we did a much better job in the second and third period of not giving up the odd-numbered rushes,” he said. “The biggest thing right now is to find what we really liked about our game and then make a couple of quick adjustments. You get right back at it Saturday night in a great building.”
First Published May 18, 2024, 9:43 p.m.
