The Bridgeport Report: Week 17
Feb 15, 2023With 26 games left in the regular season, the Bridgeport Islanders (19-19-7-1) find themselves just one point out of a playoff spot in the ultra-tight Atlantic Division standings. The team they’re trailing, the Hartford Wolf Pack, is their next opponent on Friday night.
The Islanders are coming off a 3-0 loss to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in their only game last weekend. It was just the second time that Bridgeport has been blanked in 2022-23.
The Islanders entered PPL Center on Saturday for the final time during the regular season, holding a 2-1-0-1 record against the Philadelphia Flyers’ affiliate prior to the setback. Bridgeport challenged goaltender Samuel Ersson with 15 shots, while rookie forward Elliot Desnoyers found the back of the net twice in the second period and Artem Anisimov sent home a power-play goal in the third. Cory Schneider (13-5-3) made 30 saves on 33 shots.
Another quiet stretch of five days off leads into a very busy weekend beginning Friday. The Islanders will navigate their final “three-in-three weekend” with critical games against division foes Hartford, Springfield, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Friday and Sunday’s games take place on the road, with First Responder’s Night at Total Mortgage Arena scheduled for Saturday night at 7 p.m. All games can be seen via AHLTV.com or heard on the Bridgeport Islanders Radio Network.
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The Week Ahead
Friday, Feb. 17 at Hartford Wolf Pack (7 p.m.): Bridgeport makes its third trip to Connecticut’s capital to kick off a three-game weekend, looking to jump over the New York Rangers’ affiliate in the standings. The Islanders are 4-2-0-0 in six meetings against the Wolf Pack this season, with Arnaud Durandeau leading the series in points (three goals, seven assists).
Saturday, Feb. 18 vs. Springfield Thunderbirds (7 p.m.): The Islanders host the red-hot Thunderbirds for the fourth time this season and their first home game in more than two weeks. Bridgeport is 3-2-4-0 against the St. Louis Blues’ affiliate and 1-1-1-0 in those games at Total Mortgage Arena.
Sunday, Feb. 19 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (3:05 p.m.): The penultimate matchup between the Islanders and Penguins occurs this Sunday afternoon inside Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza, where Bridgeport is 1-1-0-0 this season. The Islanders earned a 5-1 win in Wilkes-Barre on Dec. 3rd before falling to the Penguins 3-1 on Jan. 28th.
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Ice Chips
Leading the Way: Chris Terry leads 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 (41 appearances). He is tied for ninth among all AHL players in assists and shares 14th in points. Even with being held scoreless twice in his last six games, Terry has seven points (three goals, four assists) over that span and remains 33rd on the AHL’s all-time scoring leaderboard, two points behind Mark Greig (1990-2003). Friday is expected to be Terry’s 900th professional game between the NHL, AHL and KHL.
Chasing History: Third-year captain Seth Helgeson is just 18 games shy of setting the Bridgeport record for games played, which is currently held by Mark Wotton (2006-11) at 368. The defenseman is one of only five players to suit up for all 46 games this season, leading the club in penalty minutes (65) to go along with one goal and five assists. Helgeson has played 569 career AHL games between Bridgeport and Albany.
Quick Hits: Otto Koivula was recalled by the New York Islanders on Monday and made his NHL season debut, his 21st career NHL game, last night against Ottawa… Forwards Jimmy Lambert and Reece Newkirk, as well as goaltender Henrik Tikkanen, have returned from the Worcester Railers (ECHL)… Bridgeport’s power play shares sixth place in the AHL (22.8%) and its penalty kill ranks ninth (82.7%)… AHL All-Star Ruslan Iskhakov is 10th among AHL rookies with 31 points (nine goals, 22 assists) in 43 games and shares third among rookies in assists.
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Team Leaders
Goals: Andy Andreoff (20)
Assists: Chris Terry (30)
Points: Chris Terry (44)
Shots: Chris Terry (138)
Plus/Minus: Parker Wotherspoon* (+12)
Penalty Minutes: Seth Helgeson (65)
Power-Play Goals: Andy Andreoff, Arnaud Durandeau (8)
Wins: Cory Schneider (13)
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Across the Sound: The New York Islanders (27-23-7) are one point behind Washington for the second and final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. Last night, Bridgeport grads Ryan Pulock and Brent Nelson both scored in a 3-2 shootout loss to Ottawa at UBS Arena. Another pair of former Bridgeport players, Matt Martin and Sebastian Aho, each had an assist. Prior to the setback, the Isles went 2-1-1 to begin February with wins against Seattle and Philadelphia. The newly acquired Bo Horvat leads New York with 58 points (34 goals, 24 assists), tallying three goals and an assist through four games since being traded from Vancouver. The Islanders return to action on Friday with a 7 p.m. matchup against Pittsburgh at home.