Preview: Islanders vs. Thunderbirds
Dec 4, 2022The Bridgeport Islanders (13-3-4-0) are coming off of their most dominant win of the season, a 5-1 victory against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last night in Pennsylvania. The Islanders tallied each of the first five goals including one on the power play, scoring on the man advantage for a fourth straight game. Bridgeport also finished a perfect 6-for-6 on the penalty kill to extend its win streak to three games and its unbeaten in regulation streak to seven (6-0-1-0). Chris Terry scored once, added two assists, and Cory Schneider (9-1-1) made 32 saves. The Islanders host the Springfield Thunderbirds (7-10-0-4) at 3 p.m. today inside Total Mortgage Arena.
LISTEN LIVE: https://bit.ly/BridgeportIslanders
WATCH: AHLTV.com
GAME AT A GLANCE
Today’s game is the fourth of 12 meetings between the Islanders and Thunderbirds this season, and the second of six at Total Mortgage Arena. Bridgeport has earned a point in all three meetings thus far including a 6-4 win at home last Sunday. The Islanders used a four-goal second period, two goals from Cole Bardreau, and a late power-play tally from Andy Andreoff that afternoon. Springfield’s Nikita Alexandrov, who just returned from the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, leads all players in the series with six points (3g, 3a), including a hat trick on Oct. 28th.
VIEW FROM SPRINGFIELD
The Thunderbirds have lost five straight games (0-4-0-1), falling to seventh in the Atlantic Division with 18 points in 21 contests. Last night, Nikita Alexandrov scored in his third game back from the St. Louis Blues but it wasn’t enough in a 2-1 regulation loss at Providence. Vadim Zherenko made 32 saves and leading scorer Matthew Highmore logged an assist. Highmore shares third among all AHL players in assists (18) and is tied for 10th in scoring (22 points). Goaltender Joel Hofer is third in minutes played (845:19) and saves (404), and 15th in goals-against-average (2.56).
TERRY TAKING OVER
Chris Terry has three goals and eight assists for 11 points in his last five games, tying Andy Andreoff for the team lead in scoring (19 points). Terry, who played his 700th AHL game last Sunday, has multiple points in four of those five. He and Andreoff are both on five-game point streaks entering the day.
POWERFUL STUFF
The Islanders have scored a power-play goal in four straight games and are 5-for-9 on the power play over their last three games alone. Bridgeport’s man advantage has scored at least two goals in seven of its 20 games this season and currently ranks fourth in the AHL (20-for-71, 28.2%). Andy Andreoff is tied for the league lead with seven power-play goals, while Sam Bolduc’s 10 power-play points (1g, 9a) are tied for third among all AHL defensemen.
GETTING THE CALL
Forwards Cole Bardreau and Hudson Fasching were recalled by the New York Islanders on Thursday. In a related move, Collin Adams and Jimmy Lambert were brought up from the Worcester Railers (ECHL) and were in the lineup for Bridgeport last night. Adams led Worcester in goals (8) and points (19) through 17 games, while Lambert wasn’t far behind with 14 points (7g, 7a) in 17 games. Lambert made his AHL debut and recorded an assist last night, setting up Adams’ first AHL game-winning goal early in the second period. Bardreau also played last night after he was returned from New York.
QUICK HITS
The Islanders have scored five or more goals in half of their 20 games... Brent Thompson has rotated goaltenders through the last 13 games since Cory Schneider started two straight Oct. 29 - Nov. 1.
AFFILIATES
New York Islanders (15-10-0): Last: 4-1 L vs. Nashville, Friday -- Next: Tonight vs. Chicago, 7:30 p.m. ET
Worcester Railers (16-2-1-0): Last: 6-4 W at Newfoundland, last night -- Next: Today at Newfoundland, 2:30 p.m. ET