Bridgeport’s season reaches the halfway point tonight in the capital. Feels like it came quickly, even though the Sound Tigers have already played 21 of their 38 home games.
They’ll keep the same lineup tonight, at least as it ended last night (a bit different order on the rushes, for what it’s worth). Same defense, even with Matt Carkner back from suspension. It’ll be Christopher Gibson to start on back-to-back days for the first time this year; he did start the second game in St. John’s in October, a day after coming in in relief. It’s nothing new for him; he did it six times after Christmas last year for the Marlies, including once in the playoffs, winning the back-end game four times (though losing the last two, including the playoff game).
Gibson needs 82 minutes of shutout hockey tonight to get his GAA under 2 again, so that’ll be tough.
Nicklas Jensen, acquired by the Rangers yesterday for Emerson Etem, makes his Hartford debut. That’s former Sound Tigers forward Jack Combs on the second line with Alex Krushelnyski and Luke Adam; Bob Crawford talked to him about his year last season. Quite a tour.
Hartford is wearing its red third jerseys (black or dark blue on red, I’m missing an ‘A’) (Edit: Oops, think I found him), so Bridgeport is in white. Oh: And the power play streak is at 0-for-28.
BRIDGEPORT
F: Verhaeghe-Kearns (A)-Beck
Florek-B.Holmstrom (C)-Halmo (A)
Whitney-Wright-Collberg
Gomes-C.Jones-Markison
D: Burroughs-Pulock
Cullity-Graham
Czuczman-Leduc
G: Gibson
Milner
HARTFORD
F: Tambellini-Nehring-Bourque (C)
Combs-Adam-Krushelnyski
Brown-Hrivik-Jensen
Tarnasky-McCarthy-Nicholls
D: Graves-Bodie (A)
Skjei-Hughes
Summers (A)-Curran
G: Hellberg
Malcolm
R: T.Koharski, MacDougall. L: Simeon, Wahl.
Bridgeport scratches (believed healthy unless noted): Johnston (lower body), Quine (lower body), Vaive (ill), Carkner.