They’re moving on.
The Cleveland Monsters won the opening round of their best-of-three Calder Cup Playoff series with the Toronto Marlies, 4-3, in double overtime on Saturday from Coca-Cola Coliseum.
|
Monsters Scoring, April 26 |
Period | Time | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-1, Trailing Toronto | 2 | 7:47 | Hunter McKown | Madison Bowey |
| 2-2, Tied with Toronto | 2 | 14:58 | Rocco Grimaldi |
Denton Mateychuk, Hunter McKown |
| 3-2, Cleveland | 2 | 17:16 | Denton Mateychuk | |
| 4-3, Cleveland | 2OT | 19:05 | James Malatesta | Guillaume Richard |
One more note on the Monsters. Per the AHL, they played the longest game in franchise history today with 99:05 of gametime. It's the longest game for overall AHL Cleveland (the Barons) since 1962. #CBJ
— Mark Scheig (@mark_scheig) April 27, 2025
The Monsters move on to play the Laval Rocket, coached by former Blue Jackets head coach Pascal Vincent, in the North Division Semifinals this week.
Had a few people ask about why Cleveland gets to start at home over Laval.
— Mark Scheig (@mark_scheig) April 27, 2025
The rule in the AHL is if two teams are more than 300 miles apart, then the higher seeded team gets to choose either a 2-2-1 format or 2-3 format.
Laval chose 2-3, so Cleveland opens at home. #CBJ
Following the Columbus Blue Jackets' 6-1 win in the regular-season finale over the New York Islanders on April 17, Jet Greaves and Denton Mateychuk were loaned to the Monsters for the playoffs.
Greaves stayed hot with Thursday's 4-3 overtime win, making 25 saves, as the Monsters took the 1-0 series lead.
|
Monsters Scoring, April 24 |
Period | Time | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-1, Tied with Toronto | 1 | 7:48 | Denton Mateychuk |
Rocco Grimaldi, Madison Bowey |
| 2-1, Cleveland | 3 | 4:11 | Guillaume Richard |
Luca Del Bel Belluz, Trey Fix-Wolansky |
| 3-1, Cleveland | 3 | 8:22 | Luca Pinelli (PPG) |
Stanislav Svozil, Mikael Pyyhtia |
| 4-3, Cleveland | OT | 9:42 | Luca Pinelli |
Madison Bowey, Denton Mateychuk |
Splitting time for the Blue Jackets and Monsters, he's won seven straight starts since April 10. Greaves has won five consecutive starts for Cleveland, dating back to April 4 of the regular season, as he rode a three-game winning streak ahead of his emergency recall to Columbus on April 10.
Greaves was 24-11-6 with three shutouts on the season with Cleveland with a 2.62 goals against average and .920 save percentage. He also had two assists.
| Jet Greaves | GP | GAA | SV% | W | L | OT | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AHL Regular Season Career Totals | 158 | 2.87 | .909 | 82 | 51 | 17 | 7 |
As his latest NHL stint showed, Greaves looks ready to make the full-time jump to the NHL and will be on a one-way contract next season. He was 7-2-2, 1.91, .938 for the Blue Jackets this season.
| Jet Greaves | GP | GAA | SV% | W | L | OT | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AHL Playoff Career Totals | 15 | 2.16 | .924 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
Mateychuk was the Second Star of Thursday's game, scoring in the first period and getting an assist on Luca Pinelli's overtime goal. Pinelli, a 2023 fourth-round draft pick by Columbus, spent the majority of the season with the OHL's Ottawa 67's, scoring 71 points (37 goals, 34 assists) in 52 games. He potted two assists in three regular-season games for the Monsters.
Denton is settling back in quite nicely
— x - Cleveland Monsters (@monstershockey) April 24, 2025
: Grimaldi & Bowey pic.twitter.com/kT4b9OS3gY
Pinelli was the First Star with two goals, and Guillaume Richard was the Third Star with one goal.
here's that game winner courtesy of Luca Pinelli
— x - Cleveland Monsters (@monstershockey) April 25, 2025
: Bowey & Mateychuk pic.twitter.com/sOP9uwxGl4
How much of a confidence boost did Mateychuk get from finishing the season in the NHL?
"It was awesome to be up there for 45 games," Mateychuk said after Thursday's win. "There's so much you can learn at that level, and I just try to bring that back here and play like that."
Like Greaves, Mateychuk had a one-week break between games in the NHL and AHL.
"It was a nice reset," Mateychuk said. "When we were finishing the year there in Columbus and right on the brink of the playoffs, it's a bit of an emotional toll, and you don't get in when you work so hard to get to where we were.
"I think having a little bit to reset was very important."
Former Blue Jacket Alex Nylander opened Thursday's scoring with a goal.
#CBJ Luca Del Bel Belluz, struck on the bench by a puck just after the opening faceoff, said his right ear lobe was dangling from the rest of his ear, held on by a small flap of skin.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) April 25, 2025
"Took 14 or 16 stitches," he said. We agreed to go with 16. "Sounds better."
In Toronto on Saturday, the Monsters overcame a 2-0 deficit, and the two teams once again settled the score in overtime with James Malatesta’s deciding goal at 19:05 of the second overtime.
James Malatesta in the final minute of double overtime@monstershockey | #CalderCup pic.twitter.com/xst13v7gZP
— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) April 27, 2025
Matetychuk scored in the second period to give the Monsters a 3-2 lead and had a first-period assist as he was the Third Star of the Game.
Denton goes solo pic.twitter.com/uYOP3CQu2F
— x - Cleveland Monsters (@monstershockey) April 26, 2025
41 17 91 tie game
— x - Cleveland Monsters (@monstershockey) April 26, 2025
: Grimaldi
: Mateychuk & McKown pic.twitter.com/HmxHv9qtfk
Greaves was the First Star with 39 saves. He's now an astonishing 16-0-0 against the Marlies in his career. Murray was the Second Star with 46 saves.
That was the first time all season Matt Murray allowed four goals in a game for the Marlies this season. He was spectacular.
— Mark Scheig (@mark_scheig) April 27, 2025
Jet Greaves was great too. He finished the 2OT game with 39 saves. #CBJ
And of course, Del Bel Belluz, stitched up and all, played in the clincher.
