Marlies beat Stars for 3-2 series lead, and can clinch Calder Cup at home

The Toronto Marlies are one victory away from claiming their first Calder Cup.

Defenceman Calle Rosen scored twice as part of a threegoal second period and Andreas Johnsson had a goal and two assists as Toronto beat the Texas Stars 6-2 on Saturday in Game 5 of the American Hockey League championship series.

“When you have a championship team you feel like every guy out there is making a difference,” Johnsson said. “And that’s the way I feel about this team.”

Trevor Moore, Colin Greening and Carl Grundstrom also scored for the Marlies, who can win the Calder Cup at home on Tuesday. Garret Sparks made 23 saves for the win.

Johnsson’s three-point effort gives him the AHL playoff scoring lead with 20 points in 14 games.

Gavin Bayreuther and Sheldon Dries scored for the Stars. Mike McKenna gave up five goals on 22 shots and was replaced by Landon Bow at the start of the third period. Bow made seven saves in relief.

Toronto came out fast and found itself ahead 2-0 less than three minutes into the game.

Johnsson opened the scoring on a breakaway with his teamleading eighth post-season goal at 1:32, beating McKenna on his left side.

Moore — despite being draped by a Texas defender — won the puck just outside the crease following McKenna’s block off a Mason Marchment shot, then slid the puck into the goal only 47 seconds later.

It marked the first time of the series the Marlies held a two-goal lead.

“For us to come out with that type of start fuelled us all the way through the game,” said Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe said.

“Since Game 4 ended, as a staff all we’ve focused on and talked about how we’re going to score more goals. To get the two early … it was huge. Especially when you’ve played three games that (scoring) has been so hard to come by.”

Texas cut its deficit in half early in the second when Bayreuther beat Sparks on a slap shot from just inside the blue line that went over the Toronto goaltender’s left shoulder.

The Marlies answered a few minutes later as Greening took a quick three-foot pass from Chris Mueller just outside the crease and slid the puck past McKenna.

The Marlies only took another 1:02 to go ahead 4-1, as Rosen scored arguably the most impressive goal of the three games in Texas, when he received a pass from Johnsson, juked a defender and blasted a shot over McKenna’s left shoulder.

Rosen scored again later in the frame, going coast to coast and beating McKenna to the lower-left corner with a wrist shot from 30 feet out to put Toronto ahead 5-1 and turn the game into a rout.

“Our response after (the Texas goal), to me, is a championshipcalibre response,” Keefe said.

“If you want to be a team that’s going to win, play deep into the playoffs and have a chance to win the Calder Cup, you need to have those types of moments and we had it. We’ve had it throughout the playoffs to get to this point.”

Game 7, if needed, would be Thursday at Ricoh Coliseum as the best-of-seven series follows a 2-3-2 format.