Providence, RI – In the final four games of the season, the Utica Comets were acutely aware that they needed to continue gathering points in the standings in the hopes for one of the final playoff spots in the North Division. Standing in their way on Saturday night were the Providence Bruins as the Comets were set for a rematch of the previous night’s game where Utica gained a point in an overtime loss. Like the previous game, the Comets and Bruins needed extra hockey to get a decision but this time it was the Bruins winning 3-2 in a shootout. The Comets did earn a vital point in the standings as they left Providence.
Utica came out of the gates storming the Providence goal and were rewarded after Sam Laberge found a loose puck in front of Bruins goalie, Mike DiPietro at 6:02. Laberge scored his sixth of the year and it was assisted by Andre Ghantous and Nolan Stevens. The Bruins tied the game after a giveaway in the defensive zone led to a goal by Georgii Merkulov at 7:33. The period ended with the game tied at 1-1.
After a scoreless second period, the Bruins scored on a shorthanded by way of Oskar Steen at :52 putting Utica down 2-1. But, that lasted for less than a minute after Andre Ghantous scored his first AHL goal on the powerplay. The game remained 2-2 through the end of the third period and into overtime and then into the shootout.
The only goal scored in the shootout was tallied by the Bruins Jayson Megna and the Comets skated away with a point in the standings bringing them closer clinching a playoff spot next weekend.
Providence, RI – Forward Riley Duran netted his first professional goal and added two assists to help the Providence Bruins past the Utica Comets 5-4 in overtime on Friday night at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Patrick Brown scored the game-winning goal in overtime, while Oskar Steen potted two goals. Mason Lohrei recorded two assists in the victory.
How It Happened
Fresh out of the penalty box, Duran skated the puck from his own zone across the far blue line and fired a snap shot from the top of the left circle that zipped into the upper-left corner of the net, giving the P-Bruins a 1-0 lead with 9:21 remaining in the first period.
Jimmy Lambert skated the puck up the left wing to the bottom of the left circle, where he backhanded a shot from an off angle past the ear of the goaltender, extending the Providence lead to 2-0 with 7:26 to play in the first frame. John Farinacci and Michael Callahan received assists.
1:36 into the second period, Brian Halonen poked in a loose puck from above the crease for a power play goal to cut the P-Bruins’ lead to 2-1.
Duran dangled through a defender and backhanded a shot on the breakaway, before Steen put in the rebound from the crease to extend the Providence lead to 3-1 with 13:07 left in the second period. Frederic Brunet was credited with a secondary assist.
From the right corner, Duran found the stick of Steen in the slot, where he collected the pass and wristed a shot into the top-right corner of the net, giving the P-Bruins a 4-1 lead with 15:21 remaining in the third period. Lohrei received an assist as well.
Halonen deflected a wrist shot from the point across the goal line to cut the Providence lead to 4-2 with 10:03 to play in the third frame.
Justin Dowling’s one-timer from the right circle snuck inside the near post for a power play goal, cutting the P-Bruins’ lead to 4-3 with 4:54 left in the third period.
Halonen one-timed a cross-crease feed at the left post to tie the game at 4-4 with 1:52 remaining in the third period.
Ian Mitchell fed the puck to Brown cutting in the slot, where he fired a shot into the top shelf to give the P-Bruins a 5-4 overtime win 1:50 into the extra frame. Lohrei received an assist as well.
Stats
Duran’s goal was the first of his professional career and he recorded the first three points of his career as well.
Lambert’s tally was his first in a Providence uniform.
Steen’s two-goal night was his second multi-goal game of the season. He has five goals in his last four games.
Goaltender Brandon Bussi stopped 25 of the 29 he faced. The P-Bruins totaled 23 shots.
The Providence power play went 0-for-2, and the penalty kill was 2-for-4.
In Buffalo, the Sabres laid an egg on Saturday night, and not one of those chocolate eggs for the holiday.
One night after getting a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils to keep their faint hopes alive for a postseason berth, the Sabres dropped a lifeless 3-0 shutout loss to the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs.
Ilya Samsonov made 34 saves in the shutout win.
The Maple Leafs moved to 42-22-9 off their fourth win in the last six matches.
The Maple Leafs produced all the offense they would need in a quiet opening stanza.
John Tavares hit at 4:58 of the first period for a 1-0 lead. He hit off a shot from the high slot.
Buffalo dropped to 35-35-5 off their fifth loss in the eight games.
Nicholas Robertson pushed the advantage to 2-0 at 2:34 of the middle frame, scoring off a shot from the left side.
Auston Matthews potted his 60th marker of the season at 14:23 of the third period. He scored off a loose puck in the slot.
The Sabres are seven points back of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, with too few games to play.
In Sunrise, Dylan Larkin scored with four minutes left in regulation on Saturday afternoon to get the Detroit Red Wings even, 2-2, with the Panthers.
The Red Wings were only able to collect a point in the game as Sam Reinhart hit for the only marker on penalties in a 3-2 win to the Panthers.
“We played hard, blocked a lot of shots, guys were battling through the flu,” Larkin said. “We take a lot of pride off that performance, and it is something we can build off of. You saw the response when they went up 2-1 — we battled, played for each other and stayed disciplined. It came to a shootout, and we had every opportunity to win.”
Sergei Bobrovsky made 20 saves through overtime and stopped all three skaters on skills.
The Panthers improved to 47-22-5.
“It was tight and it is easy to get frustrated, especially during this stretch where it has been hard getting wins,” Reinhart said. “We did a good job of staying composed and found a way.”
Aleksander Barkov hit for a double in the third period to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead.
The Red Wings took a 1-0 lead midway through the opening stanza when Robby Fabbri scored off the power play, hitting right circle.
Detroit dropped to 36-30-8.
“It was a gutsy, very impressive point for the guys,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. “In the circumstances, you want [two points]; [in] reality, we knew this was going to be a very tough road trip and we’re trying to get any points we can.
“We had 21 blocked shots going into the third period. A lot of will from the group. That is an effort from the group where I am proud of them.”
The scored remained 1-0 into the third period.
Barkov scored his first at 12:21 to tie the game, 1-1. He scored off an errant puck in the slot.
Barkov collected his double at 15:04 to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead. Alex Lyon made 36 saves in the loss.
“We had some fine opportunities to score, and Alex Lyon made some great saves,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “We missed on a few, but then we were in the box and had a problem. I thought we were better than the final score.”
In Buffalo, the Sabres found themselves trailing 2-0 after the first 20 minutes of their match with the visiting New Jersey Devils on Friday night.
Tage Thompson hit for a natural hat trick over the second and third periods to erase the deficit and help send the Sabres to a 5-2 win over New Jersey.
“I think if you look at the season as a whole, there’s a lot of games or situations where things didn’t seem to go our way as a group or individuals,” Thompson said. “And, obviously, last [game] (a 6-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday) didn’t go the way we wanted and wasn’t a good enough effort especially at the time of the year we’re at right now.
“I thought, kind of get off to a similar start down two, it would have been easy to kind of just fold the tent and pack in and I thought we responded the right way. I think that says a lot about the character in the room and the guys we’ve got here. So, it was nice to get that one. It feels really good.”
Thompson added an empty-net strike with six seconds left on the game clock for his fourth goal of the game.
Devon Levi recovered from a rough first period to get the win, he made 28 saves.
“I knew there was still a lot of hockey to be played,” Levi said. “It’s easy to feel like it’s the end of the world, you let in two quick ones, but it’s when the mental toughness comes in. That’s when you rely on your teammates and you kind of come together as a group and just chip away at it and try to get back into the game. I had no doubt in the boys.”
The Sabres moved to 35-34-5.
New Jersey scored twice in the opening stanza for the 2-0 lead.
Max Willman scored with three minutes gone in the game for the early 1-0 advantage. He was credited with the goal after deflecting a point shot past Levi for the lead.
Jesper Bratt pushed the lead to 2-0 midway through the first, he scoring off picking up a loose puck and wristing it home from the left circle.
“When you go up 2-0, obviously you know that they’re going to have a push and they did,” Bratt said. “We had some breakdowns in our game and some small mistakes that they capitalized on. Not great right now.”
New Jersey dropped to 36-34-4 after winning their previous two games.
“I think it’s a good time that we have a few days off right now, especially after you lose a game like that to regroup, refocus,” New Jersey interim coach Travis Green said. “And then, really, all we can do is worry about the next game.”
The loss severely damaged their hopes for a post season berth, they are five points back of the Washington Capitals, and six points back of the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division p[layoff race.
Thompson started his hat trick run with 28 seconds gone in the middle frame. It was the end of the game of New Jersey.
“We know that was a game we should have taken advantage [of],” New Jersey’s Nico Hischier said. “I don’t think there are any excuses. I think if you look at the game, we’ve just got to find a way to win against certain teams and we haven’t done that all year. It should not happen. Just another immature performance by us.”
He trimmed the deficit to 2-1, scoring off a shot from the left circle.
Thompson collected his double at 17:29, scoring from the slot after a nifty pass from Alex Tuch.
“I don’t think we got down on ourselves,” Tuch said. “I think we just tried to play a little simpler, get our energy up a little bit and it took us a little longer than wanted to. But all in all, I thought it was a good game by us and when we needed him to, ‘Beast’ (Levi) was keeping them out. And we just tried to capitalize on some of the mistakes.”
Thompson collected his hats at 15:26 of the third period. A shot from the point found its way through Jake Allen’s pads, and Thompson needed only to tap int home for the hats and a 3-2 lead to Buffalo.
JJ Peterka got in on the scoring, his empty-net strike at 19:23 pushed the Sabres’ lad to 4-2.
Allen made 31 saves in the loss.
Once again Allen has found himself in a position of playing behind a porous defense and lazy forward corps that refuses to backcheck effectively.
Utica, NY – As the Utica Comets entered the Adirondack Bank Center on Friday night, they did so against an Atlantic Division opponent, the Providence Bruins. With a continued battle for a post season berth, the Comets and their fans understood they needed to continue accruing points in the final ten games of the regular season to have a chance at the playoffs. With the crowd roaring at puck drop, Utica tried to keep that momentum with them as they took on one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. The Comets found themselves down by four goals in the third period and managed to claw their way back into the game to be within a single goal. However, as the period wound down, the Bruins found two goals to finalize the contest as the Comets were defeated 7-4.
In the opening period, Nathan Legare picked a great time for his first goal as a Utica Comet when he fired a puck through traffic and passed Bruins goalie, Brandon Bussi at 13:10. The goal was his seventh of the season and it was assisted by Colin Felix and Jackson van de Leest. The Bruins tied the game after an unfavorable bounce happened when Comets goalie Nico Daws played the puck into Anthony Richard who sent the puck into the Comets net at 19:28. When the first period ended, the game was tied, 1-1.
During the middle frame the Bruins scored a shorthanded goal at 13:32 by way of Jayson Megna making it a 2-1 game for his squad. They followed that up with a breakaway tally from Marc McLaughlin at 16:13. When the second period ended, the Comets were down 3-1.
In the final period of regulation, Oscar Steen extended the Bruins lead after his shot on a two-on-one opportunity struck at 2:50. He hit the back of the net again at 7:01 cleaning up a rebound chance on Daws during a Bruins powerplay. After both goals in by Steen, the Comets trailed 5-1. Kyle Criscuolo brought the Comets within a goal as he stepped into a shot between the circles and beat Bussi over the blocker at 11:35. The goal was assisted by Chase Stillman and it was Criscuolo’s 14th of the season. Filip Engaras boosted the Comets chances when he scored during a six-on-five opportunity for his sixth goal of the season assisted by Tyler Wotherspoon and Topias Vilen. Criscuolo went on to score a second goal of the period at 16:59 for his 15th during another six-on-five situation. Suddenly, the Comets were only down, 5-4. Joe Gambardella and Vilen registered assists and the crowd was sent into a frenzy with the home team only being down by a single goal. Unfortunately, the Comets allowed an empty net goal to Megna at 17:37 and then an even strength goal to Anthony Richard at 17:53. This brought the game to its final score, 7-4.
The Comets are back will return to the Adirondack Bank Center tomorrow against the Springfield Thunderbirds on Saturday, March 30 at 5:00 PM. Great seats still available.
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