Bates Battaglia, a resident grinder when he played with the Maple Leafs the past two seasons, is playing a new role with the Marlies.
Battaglia the checker has morphed into Battaglia the goal-scorer – at least in the Marlies' North Division final series against the Syracuse Crunch.
The soft-spoken Chicago native's overtime goal sealed a 4-3 win over the Crunch last night before 2,733 fans at Ricoh Coliseum, and breathed new life into the Marlies' playoff drive.
"You guys give me too much credit," Battaglia said when it was mentioned in the post-game scrum that he showed a sniper's savvy by positioning himself in front of the net to whack home a centring pass from David Ling at 18:35 of overtime.
The goal was Battaglia's fourth of the playoffs, but his last two have been significant for the Marlies: Both were game-winners.
Toronto, down 3-1 in games entering last night's tilt, was facing a do-or-die situation. It will be more of the same tonight when Game 6 goes in Syracuse, but the Marlies have a restored level of confidence thanks to Battaglia.
"This is why it's a seven-game series, anything can happen," said Battaglia, who was a fixture for the Leafs under Paul Maurice, playing 82 games in 2006-07 before ending up with the Marlies after 13 games with the parent club this season.
Battaglia had a big night for the Marlies, but he smiled shyly when he was mentioned as a big-time scorer. The veteran has potted 80 goals in 580 career NHL games, most of those tallies coming while Maurice was his coach in both Carolina and Toronto.
Last night, his NHL experience and skating ability certainly helped him deliver the winning goal.
While the goal won't make the sports highlight reels, Battaglia did angle himself in front of the net to get an inside advantage on the Crunch defender.
It's what he does best – drive the net, try to get position and keep his stick on the ice. David Ling, off a feed from Kris Newbury, sent the puck into the crease and Battaglia was in the right spot to redirect it past Crunch goalie Karl Goehring.
"David made a great play and I just drove the net," Battaglia said. "He (Ling) made it easy for me and I just kind of shovelled it in from there."
Battaglia, like the rest of the Marlies, is all about keeping an even keel since the team must win tonight to force a seventh game back at Ricoh Coliseum on Monday.
The Marlies packed their bags in haste after the overtime win, loaded up the bus and headed out on the four-hour drive to Syracuse. They weren't due to arrive until about 4 in the morning, but the late nights and long bus rides are all part of life in the minor leagues.
"We've done it before," Marlies coach Greg Gilbert said, referring to the mostly weekend schedule in the AHL, where teams normally play three games in three nights from Friday to Sunday.
Brent Aubin, John Mitchell and Ling had the other Marlie goals while Tom Sestito, Gilbert Brule and Clay Wilson scored for Syracuse.
