Weekend Preview: Islanders vs. Bruins
Dec 10, 2022THE STORY COMING IN
The Bridgeport Islanders (13-5-4-0) begin a home-and-home series against the Providence Bruins (14-3-3-2) with a 7 p.m. puck drop at Total Mortgage Arena tonight. The series shifts to Rhode Island for a 3:05 p.m. rematch on Sunday. Last night, the Islanders let an early lead slip away in a 4-2 loss to the Hershey Bears at home, their second straight setback. Ruslan Iskhakov scored his third goal in the last four games just 1:34 into the contest and Cole Bardreau kept Bridgeport close with a tally 22 seconds into the third. Between the pipes, Cory Schneider (9-2-1) made a season-high 37 saves.
TOSS THOSE TEDDIES
Tonight is the annual “Teddy Bear Toss” game where fans are encouraged to bring any new stuffed animal (or 10!) and throw it onto the ice when the Islanders score their first goal. All toys will be collected and donated to organizations throughout Fairfield and New Haven counties that support those in need this holiday season. Click here for tickets and more information.
LISTEN LIVE: https://bit.ly/BridgeportIslanders
WATCH: AHLTV.com
GAME AT A GLANCE
Tonight is the sixth of 12 meetings between the Islanders and Bruins this season, and the third of six games in Connecticut. Bridgeport is 3-2-0-0 against Providence including a 4-3 win in regulation Nov. 30th. William Dufour and Chris Terry each scored once and added an assist that night, while Dennis Cholowski recorded two assists. Providence has points in the other four meetings this season (2-0-2-0) including a 1-0 shutout at Total Mortgage Arena on Nov. 6th.
VIEW FROM PROVIDENCE
The Bruins have won two straight games, but have been off since last Sunday when they defeated the Hartford Wolf Pack at home, 3-1. Josiah Didier, Jack Ahcan and Jakub Lauko each scored, and Keith Kinkaid made an impressive 46 saves on 47 shots. Ahcan’s second-period goal pushed his point streak to five games (1g, 5a). Providence was the first team in the AHL to hit 33 points, but they enter tonight’s contest in second place in the Atlantic Division after having last night off, getting passed by Hershey.
BITING BACK AT THE BRUINS
Four of William Dufour’s eight goals have come against the Bruins. He’s also added one assist for five points in five meetings so far, leading all Islanders in the series. Two of his three multi-point games this season have been against Providence including a two-goal performance (and the OT winner) on Oct. 21st at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Dufour is second on the Islanders in goals behind Andy Andreoff’s 11.
TERRY TIME
Chris Terry collected one assist against the Bears last night and now has 12 points (3g, 9a) in his last seven games, taking control of the team lead in scoring for the first time this season (20 points). Terry, who played his 700th AHL game on Nov. 27th, has multiple points in four of those seven. He has at least one point in six of his last seven games.
KILLING IT
The Islanders penalty kill went 6-for-6 last night and improved to 17-for-18 over its last four games (94.4%). Bridgeport’s kill shares eighth place in the AHL at 83.3% and has also scored three times shorthanded. The PK got a boost last night with the return of forward Kyle MacLean, who missed five games due to injury. MacLean blocked three shots and generated a pair of high-danger chances.
QUICK HITS
Ruslan Iskhakov has points in four straight games (3g, 1a)... Dennis Cholowski has six assists in his last five games, but saw a four-game point streak come to an end last night... Last night’s setback was Bridgeport’s first regulation loss when scoring the first goal (9-1-3-0)... The Islanders are 12-5-3-0 within the Atlantic Division this season... Providence goaltender and Long Island native Brandon Bussi shares the league lead with a .932 save percentage... Bussi is fifth among all AHL goaltenders with a 2.31 GAA in nine appearances.
AFFILIATES
New York Islanders (17-11-0): Last: 6-4 W at New Jersey, last night -- Next: Tonight vs. Carolina, 7:30 p.m. ET
Worcester Railers (16-5-1-0): Last: 5-1 L vs. Idaho, last night -- Next: Tonight vs. Idaho, 7:05 p.m. ET