Preview: Islanders at Wolf Pack
Feb 17, 2023THE STORY COMING IN
The Bridgeport Islanders (19-19-7-1) open their final “three-in-three series” of the season with a 7 p.m. matchup against the Hartford Wolf Pack (19-19-3-6) at XL Center tonight. The Islanders trail Hartford by just one point in the standings and are two points behind Sunday’s opponent, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. Last time out, Bridgeport produced just 15 shots on goal in a 3-0 loss to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on the road Saturday. Cory Schneider (13-5-3) made 30 saves in his second straight start. The Islanders have 26 games left in the regular season.
LISTEN: https://bit.ly/BridgeportIslanders
WATCH: AHLTV.com
GAME AT A GLANCE
Tonight’s game is the seventh of 12 meetings between the Islanders and Wolf Pack this season, and the third of six in Connecticut’s capital city. Bridgeport is 4-2-0-0 against Hartford and 1-1-0-0 in those games at XL Center, including a 6-2 win on Jan. 25th. Chris Terry scored twice and added one assist that night, while Andy Andreoff and Paul Thompson had one goal and one assist each. Jakub Skarek (6-11-3) made 32 saves. Bridgeport and Hartford will meet four times in March and once in April with five of the last seven matchups taking place at XL Center, including tonight.
VIEW FROM HARTFORD
The Wolf Pack have dropped back-to-back games since returning from All-Star break, including a 2-1 loss in Hershey last Saturday. Will Cuylle had Hartford’s lone strike, his team-leading 15th goal of the season, while Dylan Garand (8-10-3) made 18 saves. Prior to their two-game skid, the Wolf Pack beat Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 8-2, on Feb. 4th, in which Tanner Fritz scored the winning goal in his 300th AHL game. The first 198 of those came with Bridgeport, where Fritz ranks 11th on the team’s all-time points list (135). Fritz carries a three-game scoring streak into tonight’s tilt (1g, 3a).
900 AND COUNTING
Chris Terry is expected to play his 900th professional game between the NHL, AHL and KHL tonight. The 33-year-old veteran continues to lead the Islanders in points (44), assists (30) and shots on goal (138), and is the only Bridgeport player at or above a point-per-game pace (1.07). He is tied for 10th among all AHL players in assists and shares 15th in points. Terry has seven points (3g, 4a) in his last six games and remains 33rd on the AHL’s all-time scoring leaderboard, two points behind Mark Greig (1990-2003). He has eight points (4g, 4a) in four games against Hartford this season.
DURANDEAU DELIVERS
Arnaud Durandeau leads all players in the “Battle of Connecticut” with 10 points (3g, 7a) in six games. He has three multi-point efforts against the Wolf Pack this season, recording three points on Nov. 5th (2g, 1a), three points on Nov. 23rd (3a), and two points on Dec. 23rd (1g, 1a). Overall, Durandeau has four goals in his last four games and is tied with Ruslan Iskhakov for third on the team in scoring (31 points). Eight of his 11 goals this season have come on the power play, shattering his previous career high of two power-play goals in 2021-22.
QUICK HITS
Forwards Jimmy Lambert and Reece Newkirk, as well as goaltender Henrik Tikkanen, have returned to Bridgeport from the Worcester Railers (ECHL) this week... Tonight could be Newkirk’s first AHL game of the season after he collected two assists in 13 games in 2021-22... Bridgeport’s leading goal scorer, Andy Andreoff, was recalled by the New York Islanders on Thursday... Bridgeport’s power play shares sixth place in the AHL (22.8%) and its penalty kill ranks ninth (82.7%)... The Islanders host Springfield at 7 p.m. tomorrow for First Responder's Night at Total Mortgage Arena.
AFFILIATES
New York Islanders (27-23-7): Last: 3-2 SOL vs. Ottawa, Tuesday -- Next: Tonight vs. Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. ET
Worcester Railers (24-21-3-0): Last: 4-2 L vs. Reading, Saturday -- Next: Tonight at Norfolk, 7:05 p.m. ET