The difference in attitude, enthusiasm, and pace was evident to see from the opening minute as Toronto played with playoff intensity.
The Marlies stormed out to deserved two-goal lead inside eight minutes. The Monsters had no answers as Matt Read, Tyler Gaudet, and Kristians Rubins all combined in a fluid passing movement to tee up newcomer Miikka Salomaki for a debut goal from down low in the right circle.
Gaudet was also the architect of the second tally as his perfectly-weighted pass found Michael Kapla moving from left to right across the Cleveland zone. The defenseman isn’t known for his offensive abilities, but he shrugged off the attention of Ryan MacInnis before beating Veini Vehvilainen with a pinpoint finish.