Game 64 Recap: Hartford Haunts Phantoms Again!
HARTFORD - The Hartford WolfPack might be fading fast from the Atlantic Division playoff race due in large part to a recent six-game losing skid, but boy have they had the Lehigh Valley Phantoms number this season - continuing that success against the Phantoms Friday night at the XL Center in a 4-3 shootout win.
The Phantoms have not defeated the WolfPack in five meetings so far this season, granted the Phantoms have picked up one point in four of the five head-to-head matchups this season (0-1-4). Still, obviously frustrating that points against non-playoff teams - or any team at all for that matter - are slipping away at this time of year.
Lehigh Valley led 1-0 early on Cole Bardreau's 9th of the season and took the lead back early in the middle frame on Mark Friedman's 2nd of the year, but three Hartford goals in the middle frame flipped the script and had the Phantoms playing from behind entering the third period.
Nicolas Aube-Kubel tallied his 18th of the year early in the third to tie the game at 3-3, but the Phantoms - despite several Grade A chances throughout the third period and overtime - couldn't find that go-ahead goal before falling victim to what Phil Varone has termed several times this season as the skills competition.
John Muse stopped 31 of 34, plus two of the three shooters he faced in the shootout but was tagged with the loss. WolfPack goaltender Marek Mazanec (28 saves- 31 shots) played a pivotal role in keeping Hartford afloat when they were outshot 10-4 in the first frame.
Playoff Update: The Hershey Bears defeated Bridgeport in regulation Friday night at Giant Center. That, combined with the Phantoms shootout loss in Hartford, lowers Lehigh Valley's magic number from 12 down to nine points with 12 games left on their regular season schedule.
Looking Ahead: The Phantoms have a big game Saturday night at home against the Providence Bruins, who aren't too far in the distance in third place in the Atlantic Division with five head-to-head meetings between the two teams in the final month of the season looming large. Lehigh Valley also hosts Springfield Sunday in a rare 3:05 p.m. ET home game at PPL Center.
Phantoms' Lines (Starters in Bold/Italics)
Greg Carey - Phil Varone - Alex Krushelnyski Cole Bardreau - Corban Knight - Nicolas Aube-Kubel Danick Martel - Mikhail Vorobyev - Chris Conner Tyrell Goulbourne - Radel Fazleev - Colin McDonald
T.J. Brennan - Reece WillcoxJames de Haas - Phil Myers Will O'Neill - Mark Friedman
John Muse - Dustin Tokarski
Scratches: Sam Morin, Max Lamarche and Mike Vecchione
POST-GAME RECAP
The Phantoms came ready to play Friday night in Hartford to begin their third straight three-in-three weekend. Just 2:16 into the contest, Lehigh Valley was off and running with an early 1-0 lead.
Danick Martel missed the mark on a hard shot from the slot, but the speedy forward was able to track the puck and recognize the situation - racing to the wall at the right point to keep a puck in and fire a second shot toward the net. Cole Bardreau was placed inside the right-wing circle atop the crease and timed it perfectly - getting a stick on Martel's shot and re-directing it past Hartford goaltender Marek Mazanec.
Lehigh Valley dominated most of the first period, but had just the 1-0 lead to show for it due in large part to Mazanec's play in net. The Phantoms outshot Hartford 10-4 in the opening 20 minutes, but it was a one-goal game heading to the middle frame.
The goals started flooding in in the second period.
Filip Chytil used a burst of speed in the neutral zone to cut up the middle of the ice and beat everyone on the way to his 11th of the season, tying the game at 1-1 just over five minutes into the middle frame.
The Phantoms answered right back just 70 seconds later, with Mark Friedman joining the rush on the right wing and Danick Martel pulling him and finding Friedman at the back door for a tap in past Mazanec for Friedman's 2nd of the season and Martel's second assist of the night.
Hartford responded in a big way after not matching the Phantoms' speed and intensity in the opening period. They went on to score 35 seconds after Friedman put the Phantoms up 2-1, and the WolfPack took their first lead of the night less than two minutes later when a point shot from Dan DeSalvo eluded John Muse through traffic.
It wasn't until late in the period that the Phantoms had a chance to tie the game back up - on a power play with 2:11 left before the second intermission - but they were unsuccessful. Nicolas Aube-Kubel almost tied himself in the final seconds, using his skating strength to take a puck to the net but just missing an empty corner.
After missing that chance late in the 2nd period, Aube-Kubel made up for it on the opening shift of the 3rd - stealing a puck in the neutral zone and splitting the defense before firing one past Mazanec to the five-hole to tie the game back up at 3-3.
The two teams played right to the final horn, and through overtime, before Hartford eventually emerged victorious in the shootout.
The Phantoms had a glorious chance in OT, but Will O'Neill's shot hit the post. Corban Knight drew the post in his shootout attempt as well.
GAME SUMMARY
1st Period
2:16: LV - Bardreau (9) - Martel 3:14: HFD - (PP) DeSalvo, minor (tripping) 4:01: LV - (PP) Vorobyev, minor (tripping)
2nd Period
5:03: HFD - Chytil (11) - Schneider 6:13: LV - Friedman (2) - Martel, Vorobyev 6:48: HFD - Nieves (6) - Kosmachuk 8:19: HFD - DeSalvo (3) - Denis, Andersson 9:02: LV - (PP) Willcox, minor (interference) 17:49: HFD - (PP) Crawley, minor (interference)
3rd Period
0:55: LV - Aube-Kubel (18) - unassisted 3:29: LV - (PP) O'Neill, minor (high-sticking) 14:20: HFD - (PP) Bigras, minor (high-sticking)
Overtime
No Scoring
Shootout
HFD
Kosmachuk - no goal Chytil - no goal DeSalve - GOAL
LV
Knight - no goal Vorobyev - no goal Conner - no goal
BOXSCORE
Lehigh Valley 1 - 1 - 1 - 0 - 0 = 3 Hartford 0 - 3 - 0 -0 - 1 = 4
Shots
Lehigh Valley 10 - 7 - 0 - 3 - 11 = 31 Hartford 4 - 13 - 14 - 3 - 1 = 35
Goalies
LV - John Muse (31 saves - 34 shots) HFD - Marek Mazanec (28 saves - 31 shots)
Power Play
LV: 0-for-3 HFD: 0-for-3
Penalty Kill
LV: 3-for-3 HFD: 3-for-3
Attendance: 5,023
