Connor Brickley scored Portland’s only goal of the game, giving him goals in three straight games. It came on the power play early in the first period, which gives the Pirates a string of three straight games with a goal on the man advantage.
Portland’s special teams has been good on both sides of late, as the penalty kill has not allowed an opposing power play goal in the last 21 opportunities.
Greg McKegg and Mike Matheson both returned to the lineup for Portland last night after coming
back down from the Florida Panthers. Goalie Mike McKenna is likely to do the same tonight after being sent back down yesterday after an emergency recall for two games.
Cameron Gaunce has also been hot lately, as he picked up an assist for his third straight game last night.
Sam Brittain took the defeat in goal, stopping 30 shots. He dropped to 6-10-1 on the season.
Providence comes into the game after giving away what seemed to be a sure two points last night at the Dunkin Donuts Center against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. They entered the game’s final minute with a 3-1 lead, but goals by Tanner Fritz and Justin Florek with 25 and 11 seconds left, respectively, forced the game to overtime. Bracken Kearns notched the overtime game winner on a penalty shot to stun the P-Bruins and leave them with just one point.
Rookie goalie Zane McIntyre made 28 saves in the overtime defeat. Seth Griffith, the AHL’s co-leader in point with Hershey’s Chris Bourque, added to his 62-point total with a goal and an assist. Ben Sexton added just his second goal of the season after coming back from injury. And, of course, Frank Vatrano netted a goal, his 26th of the season in just 26 games. He’s tied for the league lead in goals with Albany’s Mike Sislo.
Tonight’s game starts a home-and-home series between the Pirates and Bruins that could decide a lot in the Atlantic Division standings. Coming into the games, the two teams are tied on points, but Portland is ahead in the standings based on a points percentage of 0.591 to 0.580 as a result of having one game in hand.
The goal for both teams will be to take all four points while leaving the opponent with nothing. If that happens, the team that sweeps could set themselves up for a run at Hershey and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the top of the Atlantic Division down the stretch, while the loser would be locked into a battle for a playoff spot with the likes of Bridgeport and Hartford.
A split, on the other hand, would likely mean status quo, with both Portland and Providence, along with Bridgeport, to continue duking it out for the 3, 4, and 5 spots in the Atlantic Division.
As of now, all three are safely in a playoff position, as Bridgeport (0.569) has a higher points percentage than the North Division’s fourth place team, the St. John’s IceCaps (0.519).
If the regular season ended today, Bridgeport would be slotted into the fourth seed in the North Division and play the Toronto Marlies in the opening round of the Calder Cup Playoffs. Portland would take on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and 2/3 matchup in the Atlantic, while Providence would slot in #4 and take on the division-leading Hershey Bears. But, all of that could change drastically with this weekend’s results.
In the season series between Portland and Providence so far this season, the home team has won six of the nine games. Portland has won three of the four meetings at Cross Insurance Arena this season, but the P-Bruins won the last one 3-1 on February 6.
How to Watch Tonight’s Game: ahllive.com
How to Listen to Tonight’s Game: 95.9/95.5 FM and here
Game Time: 7:00 p.m.
Pirates Pregame Show, Served Dunkin Donuts Start Time: 6:40 p.m.
Portland Pirates
NHL Affiliate: Florida Panthers
Record: 31-21-2-1, 65 points, 0.591 points percentage
Standings: 3rd in Atlantic Division, 5th in Eastern Conference
Home Record: 17-10-0-1
Power Play: 13.9% (28th)
Penalty Kill: 86.5% (3rd)
Overall Record vs. Providence: 5-3-1-0
Overall Record at Home vs. Providence: 3-1-0-0
Providence Bruins
NHL Affiliate: Boston Bruins
Record: 27-18-9-2, 65 points, 0.580 points percentage
Standings: 4th in Atlantic Division, 7th in Eastern Conference
Road Record: 4-10-5-0
Power Play: 23.0% (1st)
Penalty Kill: 86.3% (4th)
Overall Record vs. Portland: 4-2-2-1
Overall Record @ Portland: 1-2-1-0
Previous Meetings (Home Team in CAPS):
October 11: PROVIDENCE 6 Portland 4
October 30: PROVIDENCE 6 Portland 4
November 15: Portland 3 PROVIDENCE 2 (SO)
December 4: PROVIDENCE 3 Portland 2 (OT)
December 12: PORTLAND 3 Providence 2 (OT)
December 22: PORTLAND 4 Providence 2
December 31: PORTLAND 4 Providence 3
January 17: Portland 2 PROVIDENCE 1 (OT)
February 6: Providence 3 PORTLAND 1
Upcoming Meetings:
Tomrrow: Portland @ Providence – 3:05 p.m.
April 1: Providence @ Portland – 7:00 p.m.
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