The two North Division teams begin a best-of-three series tonight
The Toronto Marlies and Belleville Senators best-of-three North Division First Round series gets underway tonight at CAA Arena in Belleville.
The Senators finished fourth with 82 points in the North Division, two points ahead of the Marlies. They finished eighth and ninth in the respectively in the Eastern Conference.
The two teams faced off against each other 10 times during the regular season, with the Senators coming out ahead in six of those games.
Toronto finished ahead of Belleville in both Powerplay and Penalty Kill percentage, so continuing the success on special teams will be a key to success.
The Marlies have dealt with injuries to key players down the stretch including Dylan Gambrell, Ryan Tverberg, and Kieffer Bellows.
The goaltending battle is a matchup of two giants, with Belleville's Mads Sogaard and Toronto's Dennis Hildeby both listed at 6'7. Both have had stellar seasons.
Joseph Blandisi lead the Marlies in scoring with 59 points in 70 games, while Garrett Pilon lead the Senators with 47 points in 62 games.
Angus Crookshank - who was just returned from Ottawa - and Wyatt Bongiovanni are two players to watch who could be difference makers for Belleville.
Bellows and Alex Steeves will have to play big roles and provide offense for Toronto.
Game 2 gets underway Friday April 26th at 7pm in Toronto.
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