The Bridgeport Islanders lost the first game of their weekend series to the Providence Bruins on Friday night, with a final score of 3-2. This loss dropped the Islanders to 2-7-1-1, while the Bruins rose to 4-6-0-0 and snapped their two-game losing streak. The game highlighted every reason the Islanders sit last in the Atlantic Division: poor special teams and lousy second periods.

Early on, the Islanders survived several Bruins scoring chances, thanks to Jakub Skarek’s solid goaltending. Skarek, starting frequently due to Marcus Hogberg’s injury, has played admirably. Although the Bruins took the first six shots, the third line for the Islanders struck first. Forward Julien Gauthier worked the puck into the slot to Marc Gatcomb, who fired it past Bruins goalie Michael DiPietro. Gatcomb’s goal, his second of the season, gave the Islanders an early lead.

The Islanders maintained their pressure throughout the first period, taking five of the next seven shots. DiPietro, however, stayed strong, keeping the score 1-0 as the teams entered the first intermission.

The Islanders once again struggled in the second period, though it didn’t start that way. For the first 10 minutes, both teams traded low-risk chances. Then, at 9:48, Bruin Trevor Kuntar received a penalty for boarding. The Islanders should have seized this opportunity to boost their momentum, but instead, they faltered.

During the power play, the Bruins created two high-risk scoring chances. Skarek stopped a 2-on-1, but Bruins forward Jeffery Viel broke free, forcing Tyce Thompson to take a penalty. The teams skated 4-on-4 for 15 seconds, after which Providence received a shortened power play.

Following the four-on-four stretch, Bruins defenseman Jordan Oesterle scored on a wrist shot off a face-off, tying the game at one. This marked the first power-play goal the Islanders allowed in their last 12 penalty kills.

Just 43 seconds later, Islanders defenseman Christian Krygier took an undisciplined slashing penalty, putting the Isles back on the penalty kill. Only 20 seconds later, Bruins forward Vinni Lettieri finished a tic-tac-toe play, giving the Bruins a 2-1 lead. The Islanders entered the second intermission down by one.

Trailing by a goal, the Islanders quickly fell further behind in the third period. Only 90 seconds in, Jeffery Viel scored a shorthanded goal on a breakaway, taking advantage of an ill-timed pinch by Islanders defenseman Sam Bolduc. This extended the Bruins lead to two with 18:30 left.

For the next 10 minutes, the Islanders appeared defeated, creating few quality scoring chances. Gauthier had a chance to cut the deficit on a penalty shot at 13:53, but DiPietro turned him away. Desperate, the Islanders pulled their goalie with two minutes remaining.

Bolduc managed to score with the goalie pulled, narrowing the deficit to one with 1:30 left. However, the Islanders couldn’t generate another scoring chance in the final 90 seconds. The Bruins kept the puck away, and when the Islanders did regain possession, they could only manage one blocked shot. The Bruins cleared the puck, securing their win.

Jeffery Viel earned the game’s first star for his game-winning goal. Vinni Lettieri and Jordan Oesterle received the second and third stars for their power-play goals in the second period.

The Islanders face the Bruins again on Saturday, Nov. 9, at home. The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. at Total Mortgage Arena. All AHL games can be streamed on flohockey.tv

Featured image courtesy of the Providence Bruins

Joey McAuliffe

Joey McAuliffe is a passionate Islander fan pursuing a Masters of Accounting in Buffalo, NY. His favorite player of all time is Jordan Eberle. He has followed the team closely since 2014, but he began regularly attending games during the 2006 season. Outside of hockey, Joey loves music and the Buffalo Bills.