The Toronto Marlies are going to the Calder Cup Final and Easton Cowan's redemption is complete

The Toronto Marlies had Game 6 on Sunday night only one win away from the 2026 Calder Cup Finals and made it through thanks to some overtime heroics.

The Marlies came out storming in Game 5 and were able to easily dispatch of Wilkes-Barre and set themselves up with only one game to win in order reach the Calder Cup Finals. With Game 6 upon on Sunday night, Easton Cowan led the way again for the Marlies and Artur Akhtyamov showed why he's the goaltender of the future as they move on step closer to glory.

Ride 'em Cowboy! Easton Cowan hops on the saddle as he and Alex Nylander leads Toronto to the Calder Cup Finals

Cowan managed to score yet again after promising to do better after his Game 4 heartbreaking turnover that cost the Marlies the chance to put a stranglehold on the series. He came back with immense fire in Game 5, and kept that up in Game 6 as he scored the first goal for the Marlies:

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That was Cowan's seventh of the postseason and it pushed his playoff totals to 13 points in 17 games. He's also been given immense praise on Sunday night, as AHL reporter and Pittsburgh Penguins beat writer Tony Androckitis said flat out Cowan has been the best on the ice:

Easton Cowan has tied Game 6, but unfortunately the Wi-Fi inside Mohegan Arena is going to prevent me from clipping the goal highlight.

He's been on a whole new level tonight, easily Toronto's best player out there.

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The Marlies were down 1-0 early however tied it thanks to Cowan which were the only goals in regulation setting up OT, where both goaltenders were absolutely on fire. Akhtyamov and Penguins goalie Sergei Murashov both made stellar saves to keep the game tied in sudden death:

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But it was Alex Nylander who played the hero as he scored with 6:16 left in OT to send the Marlies to the Calder Cup Finals:

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With that win, it also gives the Marlies the Richard F. Canning Trophy for winning the Eastern Conference Championship, and captain Logan Shaw was presented with it post-game:

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It makes sense considering that the 'Cowboy' was able to secure 29 points in 66 NHL games so putting him in the AHL against a bit weaker opposition is only going to help him thrive, and he's not just being dynamic - he's working hard, getting rebounds, fighting, and being a general spark plug everywhere on the ice.

Artur Ahkytamov stellar again as Maple Leafs await winner of Chicago/Colorado

Toronto was also led by the heroics of Artur Akhtyamov, who once again has stepped up when it matters and has been lights out the past couple of games. He's actually responsible in setting up Cowan's goal as he put in a huge stop on Rutger McGroarty (who scored the winner in Game 4).

He also absolutely stunned the Penguins in the third, as they looked to have an easy goal but he said no:

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Akhtyamov finished the game with 39 saves and showed a lot of that Dominik Hasek potential we touched on earlier as he made save after save no matter what he was doing or in position or not:

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That's a closer look at the goaltender's save from the earlier clip and shows just how ridiculous that actually was given that he was bouncing around left and right, and still made a save without his stick - he just lunged at the puck.

That right there shows that Toronto is in good hands when it comes to their goaltending situation and the Maple Leafs may have a stud on their hands (which makes a potential goalie trade a lot easier).

The Marlies will await the winner of the Chicago Wolves/Colorado Eagles series, with the Eagles leading the series 3-2 heading into Sunday night.

The Wolves are the AHL affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes (apropos since they are in the Stanley Cup Finals) and the Eagles are the Avalanche's AHL affiliate.

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