Starting point, maybe. (Precisely one point, after all.) They did, as Scott Pellerin said, “do a lot of good things. I can only say so much. … We’ve got to find a way to get through, find a ways to be accountable to each other.”
For two periods, they were outstanding. For the first, especially, you pretty much had to angle your seat toward Niklas Svedberg. That’s where the puck was.
“When our forwards get in there, they’re a tough group to contend with,” said Ty Wishart, who helped out on that.
And maybe the story of the night is that they only scored one in the first, that Providence got out of it 1-1, that the Bruins actually outshot Bridgeport in the first.
The Sound Tigers led to the last TV time out. The Bruins scored on the rush, Nino Niederreiter a step late on the backcheck. The Sound Tigers had a power play late in regulation that half-spilled into overtime. The Bruins held them off.
“There were parts of the game I thought we played really well,” Matt Watkins said. “It was a solid game. I think we’ve got to not let off the pedal at all when we’re up a goal.”
They probably deserved better, but they didn’t get there. Two games the next two nights to try to do better.
….
Really, the goal was probably the least-impressive part of Wishart’s shift on his even-strength goal. Kept a puck in. Won a battle on the wall. Took a nice pass from Watkins. Scored through a screen (was told Watkins; might’ve been Kabanov; both did lots of good things). “It was a great shift,” Pellerin said. “We talk about our D being aggressive at the right times.” He did that and got his team a lead. (His second two-goal game as a Sound Tiger.) Then a little over a minute later it was tied.
I’ll harp on it: Take away that Providence power play and that first period was really, really impressive. Persson-Watkins-Kabanov did some great things on the forecheck, keeping it deep. DeFazio-Campbell-Riley, too. Might’ve been Halmo’s best game.
Kevin Poulin made a few ridiculous saves. Not sure you can really fault him on the goals, and he absolutely robbed Torey Krug in the third.
Jack Capuano was apparently OK after taking a puck to the head in Jersey tonight. The Isles won in overtime just before Bridgeport lost in the shootout.
Pete Dougherty noted that Mattias Tedenby hadn’t reported to Albany in time for Thursday’s practice, but sounds like Tedenby will be in Providence tomorrow to join the Devils.
Hartford tomorrow.