Happy Veterans Day. And thanks, vets.
A couple of tweaks to Bridgeport’s lineup, which does indeed include five right-handed defensemen. Matt Carkner and Jesse Graham have been the two who’ve played the left side so far this year, and they’ll both do it tonight, Carkner moving into Adam Pelech’s spot. Jared Gomes appears to draw back in for Carter Verhaeghe as well, though Verhaeghe is on for warmup.
(Have been assembling a story for a while… nice to have a peg for it.)
The Bruins also have one to scratch. From indications, both now and from Mark Divver earlier, it’s Eric Neiley. Providence is the only team Bridgeport has faced that has also been overloaded with righties; Youds is a righty on the left tonight for them.
BRIDGEPORT
F: Whitney-Kearns-Collberg
Halmo (A)-Quine-Strome
Vaive-Wright-Holmstrom (C)
Johnston-Gomes-Florek
(Verhaeghe-scratch)
D: Carkner (A)-Mayfield
Czuczman-Pulock
Graham-Leduc
G: Gibson
Williams
PROVIDENCE
F: Hargrove-Czarnik-Griffith (A)
Talbot-Cave-Cherniwchan
Blidh-Acciari-Hickman
Smith-Bordson-Nunn
(Neiley-scratch)
D: Youds-Casto
Irwin (A)-Simonelli
Arnesson-Bellemore (A)
G: Subban
McIntyre
R: Mullen. L: Galvin Kiriakos, Ernst.
Bridgeport scratches: Finn (upper body), C. Jones (healthy), Petrov (broken left foot), and one more (if Verhaeghe, healthy)
Would love to have seen Pelech’s reaction, watching his first NHL game on an NHL paycheck, to this last night in San Jose. It’s a lot like what he got pinched for in March in Bridgeport. Except he did less.