Marlies end Wilkes-Barre/Scranton season in Game 6 overtime, advance to Calder Cup Finals

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins saw their 2026 Calder Cup run end the way so many long postseasons do: on an overtime goal in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final. Toronto’s Marlies took a 2-1 overtime victory on Sunday evening, then finished the best-of-seven series with a 4-2 win to punch their ticket to the 2026 Calder Cup Finals.

The game’s scoring followed a clear rhythm. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton opened the scoring 6:26 into the first period on a power-play goal by Aidan McDonough, whose shot came just six seconds after the man advantage began. The Marlies answered before the break when Easton Cowan finished a rebound at 9:11 of the second period, tying the score 1-1 and setting up a tense, goaltending-heavy night.

Toronto’s advantage in the margins of overtime decided everything. Former Penguin Alex Nylander, playing for the Marlies after his time in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, delivered the clincher at 13:44 of the extra session by snapping a low shot from between the circles past Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltender Sergei Murashov. Murashov still made 37 saves in the loss, but it was Artur Akhtyamov who steadied Toronto throughout the final minutes, finishing with 39 saves overall after posting nine in overtime.

In the wider arc of the series, this ended a matchup that never fully let either side take control. The AHL summary posted game-by-game results of Toronto’s wins and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s responses, with Toronto taking Game 1 (4-2), Game 2 (2-1 in overtime), and Game 5 (5-1) before closing it out in Game 6. With the Eastern Conference title, the Marlies also captured the Richard F. Canning Trophy.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s season before this round was built around momentum. The Penguins entered Game 6 after surviving earlier Eastern Conference matchups, defeating the Hershey Bears in the Atlantic Division Semifinals and outlasting the Springfield Thunderbirds in the Atlantic Division Final. They finished the regular season with a 46-17-7-2 record for 101 points, the third-best mark in the league, giving their Calder Cup credentials more weight than a simple hot streak.

Toronto’s path to this point carried its own kind of consistency. The AHL noted that the Marlies finished fourth in the North Division during the regular season with a 36-26-5-5 record (82 points), then built a postseason identity that included wins over Rochester, Laval, Cleveland, and ultimately the Penguins in the Eastern Conference championship series. Led by third-year head coach John Gruden, the Marlies advanced to their third Calder Cup Finals and their first since winning the championship in 2018.

Next up is the matchup that determines who can wear the league’s biggest prize. The AHL stated that Toronto will face the winner of the Western Conference Finals between the Colorado Eagles and the Chicago Wolves. For Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the immediate focus shifts away from game-to-game intensity and toward what comes after a postseason like this, when younger players, organizational depth, and future development all become the real offseason priorities.