An end to comebacks: Portland postgame

“I mean, we’re resilient for sure,” Harry Zolnierczyk said. ““It’s our starts.”

We’ll take the first period as a whole as a start tonight (because you start with Brett Gallant’s first professional power-play goal, that’s not a bad technical-start). Alex Bolduc’s goal at the front of the net. Evan Oberg’s power-play goal.

You can start with the start of the second, too, where the Pirates get a goal with a guy left wide open at the front of the net. The second goal of the second period included… a guy left wide open at the front of the net.

For Brent Thompson, it came down to battles: Winning battles, defensive-zone coverage, “and the faceoff goal (Portland’s fifth) was too easy, for us,” he said. “Take that away, I think we walk away with a win.”

Easy enough, I guess, to say. But it’s an ongoing issue.

“We keep putting ourselves behind the 8-ball. It’s tough to come back from a deficit, especially a three-goal deficit. A goal, you’re in the game. Three, it’s tough to feel you’re part of it.”

……

Didn’t get to ask about the first-period power play that included Colton Gillies at the front of the net (Zolnierczyk was locked away for a fight that came after he, according to T.J. Luxmore, took a dive into the boards on a hit well after the whistle). Gallant came out on the next shift and scored a goal off John Persson’s feed after Alan Quine’s pass bounced to Persson off a defender.

There was some rearrangement in the third with Kael Mouillierat in the box for 12 minutes, but the lines sort of congealed to Persson-Quine-Stretch, Gillies-Sundstrom-either Courtnall or Vaughan.

Never seen coincidental match penalties before. Really didn’t see them tonight, either, because I was watching Harry Zolnierczyk on a breakaway while Justin Hodgman and Lukas Sutter had it out. Don’t know if there’s video. Doesn’t seem to be on the center-ice camera.

Mike McKenna had a day. (Added later, because the embed at the bottom didn’t work.)

Prescout. Leading the conference with 61 points; four wins in a row. They also play Hartford on Wednesday. The “weirdest goal (of Philippe Cornet’s) career” sent it to overtime tonight.

Coincidental match penalties here, a (successful) penalty shot at the end of overtime in Oklahoma City. First time in since at least 1992 in the AHL, Doug Plagens notes with word from the league office; the league office notes it’s the first successful penalty shot at the end of any period in over 12 years. Edit: Yeesh, and two saved penalty shots in one game, too?

Sound Tigers will practice tomorrow, then take Monday off, so more tomorrow.

Michael Fornabaio