Pregaming: Providence @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

Svedberg owns. Pass it on.

Warning: this preview turns into an Iginla rant for a short while. I’m only a little bit sorry about that.

The Providence Bruins will look to get 2 points closer to clinching a playoff spot tonight as they take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barres, PA. It will be the 2nd and time these two defensively-solid teams faceoff this regular season, although there is a good possibility they will see each other in the 1st round of the playoffs.

Providence is currently 5 points from clinching a spot in the playoffs as the season is in its final weeks. Tonight will be game 66 in a 76-game season for the P-Bruins, who are, as of right now, the only team in the AHL to hit the 40-win milestone. Despite that, they sit in 3rd place in the Eastern Conference and 4th in the AHL with 85 points. They are comfortably atop the division, however, with a 10-point cushion on 2nd place Portland. Their current record is 40-20-0-5.

The Penguins are 35-28-2-1, which is 3rd in their division (the East division), and 7th in the Eastern Conference. In 66 games, they have 73 points – only 2 ahead of the Hershey Bears, a divisional rival nipping at their heels.

The Penguins are a defensively solid team with a little trouble scoring goals. They have an even goal differential with 155 goals scored and 155 goals given up. They have one of the best penalty kills in the league, and give up the fewest goals per game, but also score the fewest goals per game as well. Here are how the teams match-up:

• Last 10: Providence is 8-2-0-0; WBS is 6-4-0-0
• Goal differential: Providence is +22; WBS is 0
• At home, WBS is 17-13-2-1; Away, Providence is 17-11-0-2
• Against the East division, Providence is 2-0-1; Against the Atlantic division, WBS is 2-0-1
• PP: Providence is 7th (18.9%); WBS is 25th (14.2%)
• PK: WBS is 2nd (86.9%); Providence is 7th (84.9%)
• Goals Per Game: Providence is 15th with 2.88; WBS is 28th with 2.35
• Goals Against Per Game: Providence is 3rd with 2.54; WBS is 1st with 2.35
• Shots Per Game: Providence is 1st with 33.91; WBS is 18th with 29.83
• Shots Against Per Game: Providence is 7th with 28.71; WBS is 2nd with 26.00

In the only previous game between the two teams this season, Providence shutout the Penguins and won by a score of 2-0. Michael Hutchinson got the shutout in net, turning aside 20 shots. Jeff Zatkoff, one of the top goaltenders in the AHL who is currently unavailable for WBS, got the loss that night despite his splendid numbers on the season.

Ironically, Zatkoff and Hutchinson will both sit out tonight, as Hutchinson is still sidelined with an injury in which Adam Morrison is on recall for. Morrison will be on the bench to back-up Nicklas Svedberg tonight. Of the two P-Bruins that scored against the Penguins in the previous game this season, which was earlier this month, only one will appear tonight – Craig Cunningham, who was credited with the game-winning goal, will play while Graham Mink, who scored the games 2nd goal, will not play tonight. Both players scored last game as well (a 3-2 win on Wednesday over Portland). It is unclear why Mink is not playing.

Unfortunately the P-Bruins will be without two other top scorers: Ryan Spooner and Torey Krug. Spooner is a last minute scratch with an upper body injury. Krug is still on recall in Boston, along with Matt Bartkowski, who didn’t get traded. What a mess. Well, at least Alex Khokhlachev will play tonight. Hopefully he will get his first professional point.

Here’s another interesting fact: Mark Divver also commented that Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli would like to see if he could get Svedberg in to play a game or two for the Boston Bruins before the season ends. Don’t know how that will be possible with the busy schedule of the AHL and the playoffs but with the way they are treating the team like expendable pieces to sit around and stew while trades don’t happen and jerks choose WBS’s parent team in Pittsburgh to screw the Bruins organization over, I’m sure they will find a way.

No, I’m not mad about that at all. Go Bruins! (Sorry that wasn’t a very good preview…I totally had one ready, but then it all fell apart. Kind of like that Iginla trade.)

In summary, all you need to know going in to tonight you now know. Cunningham: hot hot hot. Also, Chad Kolarik, who played for the Connecticut Whale earlier this season, is a WBS Penguin now, so look out for him. Recently signed University of Minnesota-Duluth defenseman Chris Casto (ELC for Boston, ATO for Providence) will not play tonight, although he is expected to join Providence.

Brad Thiessen will probably get the start in net for the Penguins. Their other top scorers aside from Kolarik include Trevor Smith, Riley Kolzapfel, Paul Thompson, Beau Bennett, Brian Gibbons, and defensemen Dylan Reese and Brian Dumoulin.

As usual, special teams will be the difference – but especially in this case. With Spooner and Krug out, and Chris Bourque still injured, along with the Penguins great penalty kill, Providence could struggle to get the power play goals that usually give them the jump in their game or insurance goals they need to win games. Hopefully our other top scorers will come through – Carter Camper, Jamie Tardif, and Justin Florek, Kyle MacKinnon, and Max Sauve. Also, I’m looking at you David Warsofsky.

Providence Win Brings Them Closer To Clinching

Craig Cunningham’s 2-point night moves him into a tie for 2nd on the team in points at 39. His 23 goals are a career high and 2nd on the team. He also has a team-best 164 shots on net in his sophomore season.

The Providence Bruins defeated the Portland Pirates in Portland last night by a score of 3-2, marking the teams 40th win of the season (the 1st team in the AHL to hit 40 wins this year) and positioning them 8 points away from clinching a playoff spot. Craig Cunningham and Ryan Spooner each had a goal and an assist and Graham Mink had the game winning goal while Niklas Svedberg made 30 saves in his 31st win of the season.

With 11 games left in the season, Providence has a record of 40-20-0-5. At 85 points, they are 2nd in the Eastern Conference, which is only 1 point behind the Conference-leading Syracuse Crunch and 2 points behind the AHL-leading Texas Stars.

Last night’s win finished off the season series against the Pirates. In 10 games against the divisional rival, Providence came out on top with a record of 6-3-0-1.

Spooner opened the scoring last night with the lone goal in the first period. The goal came on a power play at 9:20 of the 1st while the Bruins had a 5-on-3 advantage. Portland’s Brendan Shinnimin and Alexandre Bolduc were both in the penalty box when Spooner netted his 13th goal of the season from Carter Camper and Cunningham.

Providence took a 2-0 lead at 6:20 of the 2nd period on Cunningham’s 23rd goal of the season with assists to Kevan Miller and Spooner.

Portland cut the lead in half at 12:02 of the 2nd period on a goal from Jordan Martinook. Bolduc and Nick Johnson got the assists on Martinook’s 8th goal of the year. As has been a problem all season, the P-Bruins collapsed and let in a swarm of goals in a short period of time. Only 9 seconds later, Portland’s Ethan Werek got his 10th goal of the season to tie the game. Chris Brown and Shinnimin notched assists on Werek’s goal.

With just under 2 minutes to go in the 2nd period, Providence regained the lead on a goal from Mink. At 18:02 of the middle frame, Mink beat Portland goaltender Mike Lee for his 8th goal of the season with assists to Kyle MacKinnon and Trent Whitfield.

Providence held on to that lead for the remainder of the game, withstanding a power play late in the 3rd, and Svedberg turning aside 9 shots in the last period. Lee was equally perfect in the final period, shutting the door on 12 Providence shots. At the end of the night, Providence had outshot the Pirates 39-32.

The Bruins hopped on the bus after the game to travel to Pennsylvania where they will face off against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday night.

Game Notes

• Alex Khokhlachev was a healthy scratch as he was to be traded along with Matt Bartkowski, who is on recall in Boston, to Calgary for Jarome Iginla. As we all know now, that trade fell through because everything is the worst. Koko traveled with the team to Pennsylvania and will presumably play on Friday.
• Due to Bartkowski’s impending trade, Torey Krug was called up to Boston yesterday as well. It is unclear if he will remain in Boston on call-up, when or if he will return to Providence.
• Spooner, who is returning from a Boston call-up of his own, led all skaters with 7 shots on net last night.
• Providence went 1-for-4 on the power play last night and a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.
• Christian Hanson, who was questionable before the game due to a hand injury, did not play.
• The 3 stars were: (3) Jamie Tardif; (2) Craig Cunningham; (1) Ryan Spooner.

Shark Attack in the 3rd Period Beats P-Bruins

Defenseman Kevan Miller had his first multi-point night of the year with 2 assists in Providence’s 5-3 loss to Worcester on Saturday evening.

The Providence Bruins fell to the Worcester Sharks at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA on Saturday evening in a 5-3 loss that was uncharacteristic of the previous 11 meetings between the 2 teams. It was the last game between the divisional rivals this year and despite the loss, Providence came out on top with a 6-5-0-2 record. Instead of hitting the 40 win mark tonight, however, the P-Bruins hit the 20 loss mark and had their 5-game winning streak broken. They are now 39-20-0-5 with 12 games left in the regular season, still good for 1st in the division but fall to 3rd overall in the East.

Read more after the cut.

Pregaming: Providence @ Worcester

Tonight is the final game between Providence and Worcester this season. Goaltender Harri Sateri will be getting his 7th start in a row and only his 3rd against Providence this season. Jamie Tardif looks to keep the P-Bruins successful power play rolling.

Providence faces off against the Worcester Sharks tonight in Worcester in the 12th and final meeting between the teams this season. Providence, looking to extend their current winning streak to 5 games (and win streak over Worcester to 6 straight) leads the season series 6-3-0-2, but all of the games have been nail-biters. 5 have gone to shootouts, with Providence having the 3-2 edge in shootouts. Their last meeting on March 9th in Worcester also ended in a shootout and Providence skated away with a 4-3 victory.

The P-Bruins have 63 of 76 games under their belts and have earned a 39-19-0-5 record thus far. They sit atop the Atlantic division, 2nd in the Eastern Conference, and 3rd in the AHL.

Worcester is coming off of a loss. They have played 60 games but only have 63 points with a 28-25-1-6 record, placing them 4th in the Atlantic division and 12th in the East. They sit 6 points out of the 8th and final playoff spot, which is currently occupied for the Hershey Bears, who have 69 points.

Read more after the cut!

P-Bruins Silence Sound Tigers

Good job being awesome, Cunningham. Keep up the good work.

The Providence Bruins have extended their winning streak to 4 games with a 3-1 win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Friday night. Craig Cunningham has 2 goals and Justin Florek had the empty netter to insure the victory. Michael Hutchinson made 26 saves in net in helping the Bruins improve to 39-19-0-5 this season.

Penalties were aplenty in this game and although both teams had a power play goal, the scoring didn’t begin until halfway through the game. About midway into the 2nd period, Cunningham scored his 21st goal of the season with assists to Graham Mink and David Warsofsky. Mink now has 4 points in his last 4 games.

Bridgeport tied the game up at 8:44 of the 3rd period. With Colby Cohen – a last minute addition in lieu of Matt Bartkowski‘s Boston recall – in the penalty box for slashing, Sean Wiles got his 1st goal of the season. The power play goal was assisted by Jon Landry and Matt Donovan.

2 minutes later, at 10:49 of the 3rd, Cunningham would strike again. With Bridgeport’s Ty Wishart in the box for a delay of game call, Cunningham put Providence ahead for the 2nd time that night with his 22nd goal of the season and 2nd goal of the game. Zach Trotman got the primary assist, and Warsofsky also picked up an assist for his 2nd of the game.

In the final minute of the game, the Sound Tigers – already on a power play thanks to a cross-checking penalty to Trotman – pulled goaltender Kenny Reiter for a 6-on-4 advantage to push for the tying goal. Florek picked up the shorthanded empty netter to ensure the 3-1 victory for the P-Bruins, notching his 10th goal of the season at 19:51 of the 3rd period with assists from Garnet Exelby and Colby Cohen.

Alex Khokhlachev made his debut tonight, but his name only showed up on the score sheet under the penalty column. He was whistled for tripping 30 seconds into the 2nd period. He recorded 1 shot on net. His wingers had a handful of shots – 2 for Kyle MacKinnon and 3 for Jamie Tardif – but Providence spent the majority of the night killing penalties or (with the exception of Cunningham’s goal) trying to convert on their own power plays with futility.

The goaltenders were both strong – Hutchinson earned the 2nd star and Reiter, who made 27 saves, was 3rd star. Cunningham was the 1st star. Cunningham has scored 7 of his 22 goals this season against Bridgeport.

Florek has been making a big impact in the month of March. His goal tonight was his 5th this month, meaning he has scored 50% of his goals this season since his 2-goal game on March 3rd.

Providence travels to Worcester tomorrow to face the Sharks in their final game of the weekend.

Pregaming: Bridgeport @ Providence

Max Sauve has scored 3 goals in 4 games, which means 30% of his total goals scored this season have come in the last 4 games. He returned from injury on March 3 after missing 9 games. He has 1 goal and 2 assists in 3 games against Bridgeport this season. He is also from France (not relevant but fun fact).

The Providence Bruins look to extend their winning streak to 4 games tonight as they host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence. The P-Bruins hope to leave for their extended road trip on a positive note; after tonight’s home game, they will be on the road for the next 7 games, not returning to The Dunk until April 12th.

This is the 7th of 8 meetings between the 2 teams this season. Providence, after losing the first 2 games of the season series, has won the last 4, including sweeping a home-and-home on February 15th and 16th by a total score of 12-6 in 2 games.

Team Stats

• Providence is 1st in the Atlantic division, 2nd in the Eastern Conference, and 3rd in the AHL overall with a 38-19-0-5 record after 62 games.
• The Sound Tigers are fighting for their playoff lives with 15 games left in the season, currently sitting at 4th in the Northeast Division and 13th in the Eastern Conference. Bridgeport has a record of 26-25-6-4 in 61 games, but their 62 points is only 6 points behind 8th place Connecticut.
• Providence has a favorable home record (21-9-0-3), and the visiting Sound Tigers have a poor road record (11-17-3-1).
• Providence is 7-2-0-1 in the last 10; Bridgeport is 4-2-3-1.
• Power Play: Providence ranks 8th in the AHL (18.5%); Bridgeport is 13th (17.2%)
• Penalty Kill: Providence ranks 8th (84.9%); Bridgeport is 27th (80.3%)

Goaltending Match Up

• Hutchinon v Reiter

The starting goaltenders for both teams will have the night off as Bridgeport’s Rick DiPietro will miss the game due to illness and Niklas Svedberg will rest up for a game against Worcester tomorrow night. This means Michael Hutchinson will get the start in net for Providence. Hutchinson is 8-12-3 this season, posting a .911 save % and 2.38 GAA. He has 1 shutout. Hutchinson started 1 game against Bridgeport previously this year, which was the 1st game against the Sound Tigers back in October when the Bruins lost 4-2.

Starting in net for Bridgeport will be rookie Kenny Reiter. He has yet to post a win this season, going 0-4-1 with a .913 save % and 2.69 GAA.

Fresh Faces and Line Up Notes

Bridgeport announced the addition of 2 new players to the roster today with the signings of 2 forwards – Sean Wiles out of the ECHL’s Las Vegas Wranglers (to a PTO) and Joey Diamond out of the University Maine of the NCAA to an ATO.

Meanwhile, Alex Khokhlachev will make his much-anticipated professional debut for the Providence Bruins. He will center a line with Jamie Tardif and Kyle MacKinnon.

Unfortunately, Providence will be without top forwards Ryan Spooner (still on NHL callup, obviously), Chris Bourque (upper body), and Christian Hanson (hand). Tyler Randell and Jared Knight are also out with injuries, although Knight is optimistic about returning to the lineup soon. On defense, Colby Cohen and Tommy Cross will be healthy scratches.

Scoring Leaders

• Camper, Cunningham, Krug, Tardif
• DeFazio, Wishart; Niederreiter, Nelson, Donovan

In the season series between Providence and Bridgeport, Carter Camper has 7 points in 6 games. All 7 points are assists. Torey Krug has 6 points in 6 games (2 G, 4 A), and an uncharacteristic fighting major. Craig Cunningham has 5 goals in 6 games against the Sound Tigers.

Camper has 37 points this season (6 G, 31 A), 3rd on the team behind Spooner and Tardif. Camper has only appeared in 44 of the 62 games for Providence.

Cunningham is right behind Camper on the scoring sheet with 33 points (20 G, 13 A). Krug also has 33 points (9 G, 24 A).

Cunningham is the only player to appear in all 62 games for Providence this season.

Brandon DeFazio has 6 points against Providence in 6 games this season for Bridgeport (3 G, 3 A). Ty Wishart also has 6 points in 6 games (2 G, 4 A). Wishart only 15 points total on the season (4 G, 11 A), while DeFazio is only slightly better with 17 points (9 G, 8 A).

Bridgeport’s leading scorers are Nino Niederreiter, who has 26 G and 19 A for 45 points. Behind him is Brock Nelson (17 G, 25 A = 42 Pts), and defenseman Matt Donovan (9 G, 23 A = 32 pts).

Who & What to Look Out For

• Khokhlachev, Krug, Sauve
• Special teams

Aside from the obvious (Khokhlachev), Bruins fans should keep an eye out for Krug (as usual), who is on a 5 game point streak in which he has tallied 7 assists. Max Sauve has also gotten hot as of late after having a disappointing season – he has 3 goals in the last 4 games.

Tardif is returning to the lineup after missing 2 games with a brief injury. He and MacKinnon, who has 3 points in 3 games, should benefit greatly from having Khokhlachev as their centerman. Tardif still is one of the league leaders in PP goals, ranking 2nd in the AHL with 12.

Speaking of power play goals – did you notice the Bruins PP ranking climbing along with the PK? They have been fantastic the last few months on special teams. PP success usually dictates individual game success for the Bruins in this 2nd half of the season. In the last 10 games, they have had a PP of 26.3% – scoring 10 PP goals in 38 opportunities. They have gone only 2 games in that span without a PP goal, but have twice scored 2 PP goals in 1 game.

Their PK has also been unreal – they haven’t allowed a power play goal since February 26th! That’s 9 games with a PK success rate of 100% on 35 penaly kills. In the last 10 games, they have killed 38 of 39 – that’s 97%.

Hopefully they can keep up the great work against a desperate Sound Tigers team tonight.

Khokhlachev Joins P-Bruins, Prospect and Injury Updates

Alex Khokhlachev’s OHL season ended when his team didn’t qualify for the playoffs and he joined the Providence Bruins for his first practice yesterday morning. The exciting prospect is expected to make his AHL debut tomorrow night. (Photo: Flickr/slidingsideways)

Alex Khokhlachev has joined the Providence Bruins and is expected to finish the season with the team. After his OHL team, the Windsor Spitfires, saw their season end with the OHL regular season as they didn’t qualify for the playoffs, Khokhlachev became eligible to play in the AHL.

Koko spent half the season in the KHL and joined his OHL team in January. He also played for Team Russia in the World Junior Championships this year in Ufa, Russia, helping his team earn a bronze medal.

In the KHL, he played for his father’s team, Moscow Spartak. In 26 games he only had 2 goals and 5 assists. When he re-joined his OHL team, where he played the previous 2 seasons, he was more successful with 22 goals and 26 assists in 29 games.

Khokhlachev was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2011 draft by the Bruins at #45 overall. The 19 year old from Moscow joined Providence for his first practice on Wednesday. In his first practice, he reportedly centered a line with Jamie Tardif and Kyle MacKinnon on his wings. He will make his Providence Bruins debut on Friday when they host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the Dunkin Donuts Center.

In other Providence Bruins news, Jared Knight reportedly also joined Providence at practice yesterday. The 2010 2nd-round draft pick has missed the majority of his first professional hockey season due to a recurring hamstring injury. He wore a red jersey to indicate no contact, but skating with the team is hopefully a positive sign in his ongoing recovery.

Despite the progress, Mark Divver reports that P-Bruins Coach Butch Cassidy has ruled out Knight’s return to the line-up until at least April. Learning from mistakes already made this season, the team is being very cautious with Knight so as to not re-aggravate his injured hamstring:

 Even when he’s 100%, he might not play right away

Hopefully that will mean a healthy Knight for the playoffs. The P-Bruins are poised to make for the first time since the 2008-09 season. That year, the P-Bruins lost in the 3rd round to the Hershey Bears. They were able to have such a good playoff run that year because they had Tuukka Rask in net. Niklas Svedberg, who has already earned 30 wins in his rookie season, could take the team as far as Rask did. It should be an exciting playoff season, especially if Anthony Camara‘s OHL team’s season ends and he, too, can join Providence. Camara’s team, the Barrie Colts, face the Kingston Frontenacs in the 1st round of the OHL playoffs, which start tonight.

Prospect Updates

Camara finished the regular season with the 13th most goals in the OHL (36), and 6th in power play goals with 15. Like Khokhlachev, Camara was drafted by the Bruins in 2011. He went in the 3rd round at #81 overall. The Bruins 1st choice in that draft, of course, was Dougie Hamilton, who went at #9 overall  (Thanks Kessel!)

Prospects from the 2012 entry draft that currently play in the OHL are doing well – specifically Boston’s #1 pick that year (at 24th overall), Malcom Subban. PK’s younger brother is the goaltender for the OHL’s Belleville Bulls. Subban has led the Bulls to the #1 seed in the playoffs, as they face off against the Mississauga Steelheads in the 1st round starting tonight.

In the 68-game regular season, Subban appeared in 46 games for the Bulls and had a 29-11-4 record. He had the best GAA (2.14) and save percentage (.934) in the OHL this season. He had the 5th most wins in the OHL among goaltenders, despite missing time to join Team Canada as the starting goaltender at the WJC, and had the 2nd most shutouts (5), with 2 goaltenders tied for 1st at 7. Despite Canada’s disappointing appearance at the WJC, Subban was not entirely to blame.

Picked by the Bruins in the 5th round at 131st overall, Seth Griffith is also a league leader in the OHL with his team, the London Knights (despite missing a number of games with a hand injury).  In 54 games this season, he has 33 goals, 48 assists (11th best in OHL), and 81 points (also 11th best). His 22 power play assists are tied for 10th best.

Cody Payne was drafted in 2012 at #145 overall in the 5th round.

In 66 games played, the 19 year old RW scored 24 G & 21 A for the Whalers this season, while also chipping in 75 PIM in a display of his more physical side… – From The Hockey Writers, a nice post about the prospects as the OHL regular season ended.

Subban, Griffith, and Payne are not eligible to join Providence, however, since they do not have contracts with the Bruins yet. Camara recently signed a contract and therefore will be eligible.

Transactions

In transaction news from Providence, goaltender Adam Morrison has been reassigned to Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL. He joined the P-Bruins last week while Michael Hutchinson nursed a hip injury, but Hutchinson is back to 100%. He did not appear in any games over the weekend although he dressed as Svedberg’s backup on Friday and Saturday. Defenseman Ryan Button has also been reassigned to the ECHL, to the South Carolina Stingrays.

Other Injuries

In delayed injury news, Chris Bourque is out indefinitely after Cody Goloubef of the Springfield Falcons delivered a cheap shot last weekend. Goloubef was suspended for 2 games by the AHL for the hit.

Christian Hanson, who is out with an injured hand, is “50-50” for this weekend, as is Tyler Randell. Hanson’s injury has had a noticeable impact on the Bruins, especially in the faceoff circle. Hanson, a very underrated role player, is Coach Cassidy’s go-to guy in the faceoff circle – even more reliable to win draws than Captain Trent Whitfield and Ryan Spooner. Hopefully he will be back soon.

Providence currently sits at 2nd overall in the Eastern Conference with 81 points. If the playoffs started today, they would face the Hershey Bears. I recommend checking out the AHL’s daily playoff primer for more information as we prepare to enter the final stretch of the AHL regular season and start the playoffs.

P-Bruins Moving Up in the East; Fallstrom Debuts Today

Fresh out of 4 years of college hockey at Harvard, Alex Fallstrom will make his professional debut today with Providence. He was signed to an entry level contract by the Boston Bruins yesterday. (Photo Credit: Bridget Samuels/Flickr: bridgetds)

Recap: Providence 5, Springfield 2

The Providence Bruins completed a home-and-home sweep of the Springfield Falcons on Saturday night in Springfield when they beat the Falcons for the 2nd time in 2 nights to move into 2nd place overall in the Eastern Conference. Niklas Svedberg got his 2nd start and 2nd win in 2 nights, giving the rookie goalie 30 wins on the season in his 27-save performance. Kyle MacKinnon scored twice, earning 1st star honors, while Ryan Spooner had a goal and an assist and Torey Krug and Carter Camper each had 2 assists.

Providence put 35 shots on Springfield’s Curtis McElhinney, beating him 4 times and adding an empty-netter at the end. They first had to overcome an early deficit after Springfield’s Nathan Moon put the Falcons up 1-0 10:04 into the 1st period on his 2nd goal of the season from Dalton Smith.

Justin Florek tied it up at 17:45 of the 1st when he netted his 7th point in 6 games, and 2nd goal in 2 games. Florek’s 9th goal of the season was assisted by Colby Cohen and David Warsofsky.

The 2 teams remained deadlocked through the 2nd period, when Springfield out-shot Providence 12-7 but came up empty-handed. In the 3rd period, Providence jumped to the lead on their only power play opportunity of the night. Springfield’s Spencer Machachek was sent to the penalty box for interference 1:04 into the 3rd period, and 58 seconds later, Spooner had his 11th goal of the season from Krug and Camper.

Nick Drazenovic tied the game at 2 9:04 into the 3rd period. His 17th of the season came from Ryan Russel and Bryan Helmer. Kyle MacKinnon put Providenec back on top a few minutes later, 13:02 into the 3rd period, on his 11th of the season, assisted by Spooner and Graham Mink.

Max Sauve gave Providence it’s first 2-goal lead of the night at 16:36 of the 3rd. Craig Cunningham and Camper set Sauve up for his 9th of the season to give Providence a 4-2 edge. MacKinnon scored his 2nd of the night and added the insurance goal for a 5-2 victory at 18:35 after Springfield had pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker. Krug picked up a helper on MacKinnon’s 12th of the season.

With the win, Providence leapfrogged Springfield in the conference standings to secure 2nd place, which they look to defend today against divisional rival Manchester Monarchs.

Preview: Manchester @ Providence

Providence sits atop the Atlantic Division and 2nd in the Eastern Conference with their 37-19-0-5 record, which gives them 79 points in 61 games this season. Manchester is 29-25-3-4 for 65 points in 61 games this season. They are 3rd in the Atlantic and 10th in the Eastern Conference, only 1 point out of 8th place and fighting for their playoff lives.

• Season Series: Providence has the edge so far at 6-4-0-0
• Last 10: Providence is 6-2-0-2; Manchester is 7-1-1-1
• At home, Providence is 20-9-0-3
• On the road, Manchester is 14-14-1-1
• Goal differential: Providence is +19; Manchester is +9
• Power play: Providence ranks 9th (18.4%); Manchestser ranks 22nd (15.0%)
• Penalty kill: Providence ranks 8th (84.9%); Manchester ranks 14th (83.6%)

Manchester’s top scorer, and top rookie scorer in the AHL, Tyler Toffoli, made his NHL debut with the Kings last night, and will not be with the Monarchs. They still have a top scorer in Linden Vey, who ranks 5th overall in the AHL in scoring with 55 points (15 G, 40 A), and 1st in the AHL in assists with 40.

Alex Fallstrom, who was signed to an entry-level contract yesterday by the Boston Bruins, will play today for Providence. Fallstrom is a native Swede who has played with the Harvard hockey team for 4 years. Before that, he attended prestigious Shattuck-St. Mary’s, a private high school that boasts alum such as Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews.

Although he did not dress the last 2 nights, Michael Hutchinson will start for Providence today.

Providence Looks for 2nd Win in 2 Days vs Springfield

Chris Bourque had a goal in regulation and the only goal in the shootout in last night’s win over Springfield. He has had 5 points (1 G, 4 A) in 5 games versus the Falcons this season.

Recap: Providence 3, Springfield 2 (SO)

Providence gave up a 2-goal lead in the 3rd period but managed to get the 2 points in the shootout against the Springfield Falcons at the Dunkin Donuts Center on Friday night. Niklas Svedberg improved to 29-7-2 on the season and 7-2 in shootouts. Svedberg made 25 saves on 27 shots and stoned all 5 Falcons shooters in the shootout. Springfield goaltender Curtis McElhinney made 31 saves.

Chris Bourque scored the only goal in the shootout. He also scored the 2nd Providence goal of the night, putting the Bruins up 2-0 at 4:26 into the 2nd period. His 9th of the season came from Torey Krug and Matt Bartkowski. The goal came during 4-on-4 play. Justin Florek opened the scoring at 7:47 into the 1st period with his 8th of the season, assisted by Kyle MacKinnon and Bobby Robins.

Providence remained ahead by 2 until the final 5 minutes of the game, when Ryan Craig netted his 17th goal of the season, assisted by Trent Vogelhuber and Nathan Moon. Springfield then tied the game with the goaltender pulled for the extra attacker with 20 seconds left in the game. Ryan Russel got his 7th of the season from Nick Holden and Craig.

The 1 point for Springfield put them at 77 on the season as Providence moved into a tie for 2nd in the Eastern Conference, also with 77 points.

Preview: Providence @ Springfield, 7pm

The winner of tonight’s rematch, which will take place in Springfield, will move into sole possession of 2nd place in the Eastern Conference. The P-Bruins currently have a record of 13-19-0-5 to Springfield’s 24-16-5-4. Providence is 3-3-0-1 against Springfield thus far this season.

• Last 10: Providence is 6-2-0-2; Springfield 4-4-1-1
• Providence on the road: 16-10-0-2
• Springfield at home: 19-7-1-3
• Power Play: Springfield 18.9% (7th); Providence 18.1% (10th)
• Penalty Kill: Springfield 85.9% (4th); Providence 84.8% (9th)

Jamie Tardif and Tyler Randell, who both played last night, will sit out tonight. Tardif, who sustained a groin injury. was a -2 last night with 2 shots on net. Randell sustained a hand injury, perhaps during his fight against Dalton Smith halfway through the 3rd last night. Randell had had 7 fights in the last 8 games.

Michael Hutchinson, who didn’t dress last night due to a hip injury, is still questionable for tonight. Adam Morrison dressed as Svedberg’s back-up last night and has not played an AHL game yet this season.

Look out for Bourque tonight, who has 5 points in 5 games versus Springfield this season. Max Sauve also has 5 points against the Falcons this year, in 6 games. Jonathan Audy-Marchessault has 8 points (4 G, 4 A) in 7 games versus Providence this year. Nick Drazenovic also has 8 points in 6 games versus the Bruins this year (3 G, 5 A).

Cunningham Hat-Trick Highlights P-Bruins 7-1 Win

Craig Cunningham may not be on a lot of Boston fan radars, but his hat-trick on Sunday afternoon and team 2nd-best 17 goals show what an exciting young prospect this 22-year-old BC-native (drafted in 2010, 4th round, by the Bruins) is turning out to be.

The Providence Bruins went 2-0-0-1 this weekend, improving their overall record to 33-18-0-5 (71 points) in 56 games this season. They sit atop the Atlantic division and currently sit 3rd in the Eastern conference.

With less than 20 games left in the season, the P-Bruins are poised to make their first playoff appearance since the 2008-2009 season. That season, they finished 43-29-2-6 (94 points), 2nd in the division at the time. In the 1st round, they defeated the Portland Pirates 4 games to 1, then defeated the Worcester Sharks 4 games to 2 in the 2nd round. In the 3rd round – the Conference Finals – they lost 4 games to 1 to the Hershey Bears, who went on to win the Calder Cup in the next round. Were the playoffs to start today, the P-Bruins would face Hershey in the 1st round.

Some notable players on that 2009 P-Bruins team that went to the Eastern Conference finals include current Boston Bruins Brad Marchand, Johnny Boychuk, Adam McQuaid, and Tuukka Rask – all of whom played in all 16 games of the postseason. That should give you a pretty good idea of 1. Why the AHL is important and successful in developing players and 2. How potentially good the P-Bruins team is this year and definitely how good the potential of the prospects on the team are.

After defeating the Worcester Sharks 3-1 in Friday night, the P-Bruins followed up with an unfortunate 2-1 shootout loss to the Springfield Falcons. They rebounded Sunday with a 7-1 win over the Portland Pirates, a team they needed to beat in order to maintain first place in the division.

Jordan Caron scored the lone goal for the P-Bruins in Saturday’s loss, sparked by being placed on the Buzz Saw line in the spot previously filled by Lane MacDermid. His Buzz Saw linemates, Christian Hanson and Bobby Robins, had the assists on Caron’s 9th of the season. Placing Caron on this line was a much needed spark for the struggling winger, who many thought would be a shoe-in for the open 3rd line spot in Boston this season. The positive results continued for Caron – and the P-Bruins whole team – into Sunday’s victory.

Ryan Spooner returned to the lineup on Sunday after missing a handful of games with a lower body injury. He has 2 assists, 1 shot, and a +1 rating. The P-Bruins top scorer was far from their top scorers Sunday, however, as many P-Bruins recorded multi-point games and even multi-goal games. Justin Florek had a 4 point night (2 goals, 2 assists) and Craig Cunningham, a former Vancouver Giant of the WHL (fun fact: he won the Memorial Cup with Milan Lucic), recorded a hat-trick.

Hanson scored a shorthanded goal, as well as the primary assist on Caron’s goal. In total, 11 different P-Bruins recorded at least one point: Florek, Cunningham, Hanson, Spooner, Caron, Kevan Miller, Matt Bartkowski, Tommy Cross, Bobby Robins, Alden Hirschfeld, and Kyle MacKinnon. In net, Niklas Svedberg made 29 saves on 30 shots, recording his 27th victory of the season.

Justin Florek opened the scoring at 7:23 of the 1st period when he beat Portland goaltender Mike Lee. Florek’s 6th goal of the season was assisted by Miller and Bartkowski. At 18:27 of the 1st, Providence struck again on the shorthand with Bartkowski in the penalty box. Christian Hanson converted on the shorthanded opportunity for his 8th goal of the season.

2:20 into the 2nd period, Cunningham scored his 1st of the night and 15th of the season on the power play, assisted by Spooner and Cross. Providence went 1-for-5 on the PP.

Portland struck next bringing the score 3-1 at 3:15 of the 2nd on Jordan Martinook‘s 5th of the season from Phil Lane and Chris Summers. Portland outshot Providence 15-7 in the 2nd period, but the score remained 3-1 going into the 3rd period.

Florek regained Providence’s 2-goal cushion at 4:31 of the 3rd period on his 2nd of the night and 7th of the season, assisted by Spooner (his 2nd of the night) and Robins. Cunningham made it a 5-1 lead at 7:53 with his 2nd of the night and 16th of the season, with an assist to Alden Hirschfeld.

Jordan Caron hit the 10-goal plateau at 13:17 of the 3rd period, getting assists from Hanson and Florek. With just over a minute left in the game, Cunningham completed the hat trick with his 3rd of the night and 17th of the season with helpers from MacKinnon and Florek – capping off Florek’s 4 point night as well.

Providence next plays on Friday, March 8th, at the Dunk against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Make sure to keep an eye out, because this team is potentially getting really awesome.