Seventy-nine games left

This is basically what they want to look like. At least, over the last, let’s say, 50 minutes or so.

Force turnovers. Keep teams bottled up. Recover quickly from mistakes. Keep skating. Put shots on goal. Draw a power play or two.

“We’ve just got to tighten up the screws for the next 79,” quipped Trevor Smith, who had the most golden scoring opportunity bounce off his stick and go wide.

They leave a guy open five minutes in; bang, it’s a goal.

They leave a guy open on a power play for a deflection/rebound/something, and he’s got an open net; bang, it’s a goal.

And that’s it. Danis does a good job, they allow only those two goals. Find a way to score a couple, and you’re out of here with a point or two. If they can keep this up, one imagines, they can be successful.

Tighten up the screws, if you will.

LINEUPS
BRIDGEPORT
F: Smith-McLean-Iggulden
Bentivoglio-Hennigar-Jackman (A)
Nikiforov-Colliton-Joensuu
Fritz-Haskins-Pitton
D: Skinner-Callahan (A)
Fraser-Wotton (C)
Kohn-MacDonald
G: Danis
(Mannino)

PHILADELPHIA
F: Kane (C)-Matsumoto-Giroux
Nodl-Kalinski-Maroon
Powe (A)-Raduns-Bellamy
Szwez-Cabana-Clackson
D: Syvret (A)-Guenin
Bartulis-Curry
Ramholt-DeSantis
G: Munroe
(Aubin)

Like Capuano was saying yesterday about the special teams, both power plays looked a bit out of synch.

The team arrived at 5:30. Coming here day-of is a new one; even when they were going nowhere the day before, they were usually coming here, because of the traffic. Guess what? Traffic. In the Bronx, at the merge, on 295. Oh well.

But since I was here before they were, I took a walk down the runway to take in the barn from ice level. Maybe it’s just recent Shea nostalgia, but it struck me hard to think that this place will be gone in less than a year. There are signs inside: 39 games left. Wow.

They held a ceremonial faceoff between Lou Angotti, the first captain of the Philadelphia Flyers, and Ab McDonald, first captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Goaltending legend Bernie Parent dropped the puck.

May seek out some other links later, but I’m stuck on dialup now.

Jeff Daniels feature from Phil Janack.

Our buddy Patrick Williams’ new THNblog has lots of preview stuff.

Baseball game was on every TV in the press box before the game. Wanted to shout the no-cheering rule. (Still bitter.) And yet, props to the dude in the Tug McGraw St. Patrick’s Day jersey.

Michael Fornabaio