Preview: Islanders at Crunch
Dec 17, 2022The Bridgeport Islanders (14-7-5-0) continue a three-game road trip tonight with their only visit to Syracuse, N.Y., featuring a 7 p.m. puck drop against the Syracuse Crunch (11-9-2-2) at Upstate Medical University Arena. Last night, the Islanders let two one-goal leads slip away and suffered a 5-2 loss to the Utica Comets at the Adirondack Bank Center. Ruslan Iskhakov and Jeff Kubiak both scored, but the Islanders allowed four goals in the third period in their second straight setback. Cory Schneider (10-3-2) made 23 saves in his season-best third straight start.
GAME AT A GLANCE
Tonight’s game is the first of two meetings between the Islanders and Crunch this season, and the only matchup in New York. Bridgeport swept the two-game series in 2021-22, including a 3-1 victory in Syracuse on Nov. 10, 2021. Grant Hutton, Chris Terry and Kyle MacLean all scored that night, while Jakub Skarek made 35 saves on his 22nd birthday. The Islanders defeated the Crunch at home in the last head-to-head tilt on Mar. 19, 2022.
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WATCH: AHLTV.com
VIEW FROM SYRACUSE
The Crunch are fourth in the North Division with 24 points in 23 games, coming off a 4-2 win against the Springfield Thunderbirds last night at home. Shawn Element, Felix Robert, Simon Ryfors and Gemel Smith all scored, while Hugo Alnefelt made 17 saves in Syracuse’s second straight victory. They also beat Utica 5-1 last Saturday. The Crunch have scored three or more goals in 12 of their last 13 games and lead the Eastern Conference with 93 goals on the season. Tonight is game four of a five-game homestand.
HELGESON HITS 600
Seth Helgeson is expected to play his 600th professional game tonight. The third-year captain and veteran defenseman will play his 550th AHL game (Bridgeport, Albany) in addition to 50 NHL contests with the New Jersey Devils. Helgeson is second on Bridgeport’s all-time games played list (311), trailing only Mark Wotton (368). He has 87 points (15g, 72a) and 796 penalty minutes in 549 AHL games, and now leads the Isles with 40 penalty minutes this season after dropping the gloves with Samuel Laberge last night.
MAGIC NUMBER IS THREE
The Islanders have scored more than two goals only once in their last six games, going 1-4-1-0 over that span. When scoring three or more goals this season, Bridgeport is 14-0-3-0. They are 0-7-2-0 when scoring two or fewer.
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
Ruslan Iskhakov scored his eighth goal of the season with a sequence of flashy moves in transition that got him behind Utica’s defense and in on Mackenzie Blackwood last night. Iskhakov now has points in six of his last eight games and shares third on the team in scoring with 20 points (8g, 12a).
QUICK HITS
The Islanders saw their 10-game unbeaten in regulation streak on the road come to an end last night (6-0-4-0)... Due to a scoring change after last night’s game, Jeff Kubiak has been credited with Bridgeport’s second goal in Utica, his fourth of the season... Parker Wotherspoon has assists in four of his last five games... The Islanders are 1-1-1-0 against North Division opponents this season.
AFFILIATES
New York Islanders (17-13-1): Last: 5-4 L at Arizona, last night -- Next: Tonight at Vegas, 10 p.m. ET
Worcester Railers (16-7-1-0): Last: 5-3 L vs. Idaho, Sunday -- Next: Tonight vs. Newfoundland, 7:05 p.m. ET