Greg Mauldin is back with the team tonight (though maybe not beyond, given the other injuries on top of Sound Tigers centerman Josh Bailey’s), back in his usual spot. Mark Flood slides into Jake Gannon’s spot.
Fourth place on the line. Does it get any better?
BRIDGEPORT
F: Reich (A)-Mauldin-Joensuu
Smith-Radja-Rakhshani
Bentivoglio-Haskins-Martin
Haley-Marcinko-Figren
D: Witt (A)-Gleed
Friesen-Wotton (C)
Motherwell-Flood
G: Lawson
Munroe
LOWELL
F: Sestito-Walter-Perkovich
Vasyunov-Gionta (C)-Halischuk
Davis-McIntyre-Swift
Robitaille-Mills (A)-Palmieri
D: Magnan (A)-Murphy
Eckford-Corrente
Davison-Taormina
G: McKenna
Frazee
R: D.Banfield. L: S.Whittemore, T.Whittemore.
Overnight edit to fix the ‘A’ for Bridgeport. Reich on the blues, not Mauldin.
To recap the simplest part: If Lowell wins in regulation, it clinches fourth in the Atlantic and the Devils organization’s first AHL playoff berth since 1999-2000. If Bridgeport wins in regulation, it moves into fourth place on the season-series tiebreaker. An overtime win clinches the season series for the victor, though the overtime point complicates the standings just a smidge.
Keith Aucoin is the AHL’s MVP. (Have I used the “and this time he even got the award” line before?)