The Bridgeport Islanders took on the Providence Bruins on Saturday, Dec. 2 at Total Mortgage Arena. This was the second of two meetings in as many days for these two teams, and the Islanders were looking to find a different result than their first matchup, which the Bruins won handily. Despite getting out to an early two-goal lead, the Islanders lost the game by a score of 4-3.
Fast Start
The Islanders have struggled with slow starts as of late. Heading into Saturday’s matchup they had scored zero even-strength goals in the first period of their previous four games. That changed against the Bruins on Saturday. Defenseman Dennis Cholowski got the scoring started with just under seven minutes to go in the period on a wrist shot from the point. It was just his second goal of the season, though it brought his point total to 13, which trails just Ruslan Iskhakov for most on the team.
The Islanders were not done there. They found themselves on the power play in the last five minutes of the period, and Kyle MacLean was able to put home a rebound from a Matt Maggio shot. MacLean has been an impact player as of late. He has points in his last three games and has scored five goals on the year – with three of those coming against the Bruins.
Another Poor Finish
The Islanders headed into the second period hoping to improve upon their second period from the day prior, where they allowed five goals. They did not get off to a good start in doing so. Just eight seconds into the new period, the Bruins scored off the rush. Seconds later, Otto Koivula committed a tripping penalty, giving the Bruins the man advantage. While the home team was able to kill the penalty, they allowed a goal just after returning to even strength. Neither team scored over the last 17 minutes of the period, but the Islanders’ poor start to the frame resulted in the game being tied heading into the final twenty.
Related: Week in Review: Bridgeport Islanders Drop 2 Out of 3
The Islanders were able to take a 3-2 lead on a Cole Bardreau goal two minutes into the third period. However, Providence responded minutes later, tying the game at three. With just over 11 minutes to go in the third period, the Bruins took the lead for good, hanging on to win the game 4-3. This was as frustrating a loss as any for the Islanders, as they seemed to match the Bruins’ physicality and even control the pace of play for most of the game. The final shot total ended up favoring Bridgeport by a tally of 32-22, though they were unable to salvage even a point from the matchup.
Looking Ahead
Saturday was the Islanders’ fifth game out of twelve against Providence this season. They have won just one of those contests. Sitting in last place in the Atlantic Division, it is not lost upon the team how important these matchups with divisional rivals like the Bruins will be down the stretch. In his postgame press conference, MacLean said, “We need to win these games. We need to get points… everything matters. We got them seven more times. It’s playoffs from here on out, kind of for us. We dug a little bit of a hole, but we can get out of it.” The Islanders currently sit nine points out of a playoff spot in their division.
The Islanders do not return home for another game until Dec. 27, as the team heads into a season-long six-game road trip. They will look to improve on their performance away from home thus far this year, as they have just one win in their nine games played outside Total Mortgage Arena. If the Islanders’ struggles on the road continue over this stretch and into the new year, they will likely find themselves on the outside looking in for a playoff spot down the stretch. These coming matchups are worth keeping an eye on.
