Looking to make good on home-ice advantage before the series heads back to Toronto for (up to) three straight, Albany were the better team in every aspect in the series opener.
First Period
The Marlies easily could have found themselves down by more than one goal through 20 minutes, although they also could’ve opened the scoring early.
Trevor Moore’s tripping penalty cancelled out an early power play for Toronto, but with Albany’s Rod Pelley released from the box, Brendan Leipsic stripped a Devils defenceman and raced away alone on goal. The speedy winger was denied twice by MacKenzie Blackwood, who came up a sharp reaction save with his right pad to stop the rebound attempt.