Anderson's Toronto ties run deep

Way back when, John Anderson played junior hockey for the Toronto Marlies.

"I have some old Marlies sweaters, but (my family) isn't allowed to wear them," the Chicago Wolves coach joked Thursday.

It's the Wolves vs. the Marlies in the Calder Cup Western Conference finals starting tonight in Game 1 at Allstate Arena -- and there figures to be a lot of attention on Anderson and his Toronto ties, particularly when the series heads north of the border next week.

Anderson is from Toronto, played junior hockey for the Marlies, was drafted in the first round (11th overall) by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1977 and went on to score 189 goals and 393 points in eight productive seasons with the Leafs.

So is this a special series for Anderson?

"I'm sure for my family it has a lot of significance because they have to live there, but we want to win every series and win a championship," Anderson said. "Whether it's the Marlies or Syracuse or whoever, we still want to win, but certainly my family will want bragging rights that I'd come back home and our team won."

Interestingly, the Maple Leafs have a coaching vacancy following the dismissal of Paul Maurice.

There has been no mention of Anderson being a candidate, which is nothing new since NHL general managers have only ignored the guy who has won more than 500 games and three championships in the last 10 years with the Wolves.

To make it two Calder Cups and four titles, Anderson's Wolves must get past a Toronto team that racked up 109 points during the American Hockey League's regular season, just 2 behind Chicago.

"We know we're going to be playing a good hockey team with a lot of size and speed, so we have to come prepared just as we did in Games 6 and 7 against Rockford," said Wolves captain Darren Haydar.

The Marlies are coached by Greg Gilbert, a former Blackhawk, and have a balanced scoring attack led by right winger David Ling, who had 59 points and 179 penalty minutes during the regular season.

Goalie Scott Clemmensen, the former backup for Martin Brodeur in New Jersey, is 8-6 in the playoffs with a .912 save percentage.

While the Wolves knew earlier playoff opponents Milwaukee and Rockford inside out, they faced the Marlies only twice during the regular season, splitting the games. Fresh in Anderson's mind, however, is the 8-3 loss on April 9 in Toronto.

"We saw them enough to get our rear ends kicked 8-3 the last time we played them," Anderson said. "We have a good idea what they're about and how good a team they are. They only saw us twice, too, so we're all in the same boat."

If the Wolves had an edge other than home ice it might be their power play, which connected for 6 goals in the final two games against Rockford.

The Wolves lead the AHL with 17 power-play goals in the playoffs and have scored at a 30.4 percent clip during their 8 victories. The Wolves are only 3-for-31 in the playoff games they have lost.

"That's one of our strengths and we have to continue in that vein," Anderson said. "If our power play went south, it's the same with any team, it can change a series.

"You saw what happened in the third, fourth and fifth games (against Rockford, all losses), when we weren't scoring a lot on the power play or getting good chances. We have to be good at what we're good at."