The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins fell in overtime of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final, 2-1, to the Toronto Marlies on Sunday night at Mohegan Arena.
As a result, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has been eliminated from the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs. Toronto won the best-of-seven series, 4-2, with the fatal blow delivered by former Penguin Alex Nylander at 13:44 of overtime.
Nylander lugged a puck from the left wall to the slot, then snapped a low shot to the back of the net, ending his old team’s season on the spot. It was the 39th shot of the night for Toronto, as Penguins goalie Sergei Murashov delivered a stalwart, 37-save outing despite the loss.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 6:26 of the first period. Avery Hayes found Aidan McDonough with a rink-wide pass, and McDonough wired his shot to the back of the net just six seconds into the man-advantage.
The Marlies pulled even, 1-1, when Easton Cowan pounded home a rebound midway through the second period.
The final frame of regulation led to a bevy of scoring chances for both sides, but both goaltenders stayed hot. The frenzy continued into overtime, where both clubs generated excellent opportunities to no avail. Toronto netminder Artur Akhtyamov posted nine saves in overtime and finished the series-clinching win 39 stops.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton sees its playoff run come to an end after defeating the Hershey Bears in the Atlantic Division Semifinals and outlasting the Springfield Thunderbirds in the Atlantic Division Final.
The Penguins finished the regular season with the third-best record in the league at 46-17-7-2, good for 101 points.
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