Playoffs Game 3 Recap: Phantoms Power Past Providence
ALLENTOWN - The first period starts have been a recurring problem for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms throughout the regular season, and the issue re-surfaced in the opening two games of the postseason last weekend in Providence. While they got the split to bring the series back to Allentown, it was clear when the puck dropped Friday night that the home team was ready to play.
A 19-shot, two-goal outburst in the opening 20 minutes paved the way for Lehigh Valley to close in - just one win away - from the Philadelphia Flyers AHL affiliate's first playoff series win since 2008 after a 4-1 Game 3 win in front of 6,956 loud and energetic fans.
Oskar Lindblom made an instant impact in his return to the AHL, leading the way with two goals while Phil Myers opened the scoring and the Phantoms got a strong 32-save performance from Dustin Tokarski to put Providence on the brink.
Phantoms' Lines (Starters in Bold/Italics)
Greg Carey - Phil Varone - Nicolas Aube-Kubel Danick Martel - Mike Vecchione - Alex Krushelnyski Oskar Lindblom - Corban Knight - Chris ConnerTyrell Goulbourne - Cole Bardreau - Colin McDonald
T.J. Brennan - Mark Friedman Travis Sanheim - Phil Myers Reece Willcox - Max Lamarche
Alex Lyon - Dustin Tokarski
Scratches: John Muse, Anthony Stolarz, Sam Morin, Will O'Neill, Steven Swavely, Mikhail Vorobyev, Radel Fazleev, Carsen Twarynski, Pascal Laberge, David Drake, James de Haas and Isaac Ratcliffe
Bruins' Lines (Starters in Bold/Italics)
Ryan Fitzgerald - Jordan Szwarz - Austin CzarnikKenny Agostino - Jacob-Forsbacka Karlsson - Peter Cehlarik Anton Blidh - Colby Cave - Zachary Senyshyn Adam Payerl - Trent Frederic - Colton Hargrove
Tommy Cross - Connor CliftonChris Breen - Jakub Zboril Jeremy Lauzon - Paul Postma
Jordan Binnington - Zane McIntyre
POST-GAME REACTION
GAME RECAP
The first period starts had been a problem for Lehigh Valley in the two games in Providence, but not in Game Three Friday night.
It was a complete 180 for the Phantoms, who fired 19 shots on Bruins' goaltender Jordan Binnington and were downright dominant for large stretches of the opening 20 minutes.
The Phantoms' speed and energy were ever apparent, as they were skating past the opposition and getting the puck to the net. They took the 1-0 lead 6:05 into the contest when a trailing Phil Myers got open in the slot and Mike Vecchione fed the 6-foot-5 defenseman. Myers picked the top corner on Binnington and sent the PPL Center into a frenzy. You could feel the energy and momentum building leading up to the goal. It was inevitable.
Lehigh Valley caught a bit of a break later in the period while on their first penalty kill of the night. Cole Bardreau blocked a shot and got to a loose puck in the neutral zone, flying down the right wing and centering for Oskar Lindblom. Lindblom was hooked, but turned his skate and appeared to kick the puck past Binnington. The play was eventually given a quick review but deemed a good goal.
The Phantoms kept the pressure on in the middle frame and took advantage of a Providence penalty in the opening minute of the middle frame - converting on the man advantage after a quick series of tic-tac-toe passes between Phil Varone, Travis Sanheim and Lindblom ended with the latter tapping one in past an outstretched Binnington.
At that point, the 3-0 score wasn't a clear indication of just how much the Phantoms were out-working and using their speed to take it to their opponent. If not for some excellent saves from Binnington early on it could have easily been a blowout.
Instead, some unnecessary penalties taken by the home team allowed the Bruins to grab some life and get them back into the game.
After a T.J. Brennan double-minor penalty for roughing, Providence cashed in on the power play to get on the board. Austin Czarnik redirected a Tommy Cross shot past Tokarski for the Bruins' lone tally on the night.
A pair of bench minor penalties for too many men also slowed the Phantoms' momentum, which head coach Scott Gordon made reference to in his post-game press conference as something that simply cannot happen in the playoffs.
Tempers flared early and often in the third frame, where it seemed like some players on both teams were less interested in the 3-1 score and more keen on lining up their opponents with big hits. It seemed commonplace after every whistle for there to be some sort of post-whistle altercation, which really boiled over after a big scrum at the team benches had Gordon running down the bench to yank on Tyrell Goulbourne to prevent him from getting involved while not on the ice.
In the end, the Phantoms fast start proved too much for the Bruins and the win has them one away from their first playoff series win since 2008.
GAME SUMMARY
1st Period
6:05: LV - Myers (1) - Vecchione, Martel 11:12: LV - (PP) Goulbourne, minor (roughing) 12:50: LV - Lindblom (1) - Bardreau 16:28: PRO - (PP) Lauzon, minor (tripping)
2nd Period
0:49: PRO - (PP) Fitzgerald, minor (tripping) 2:06 LV - PPG Lindblom (2) - Sanheim, Varone 13:16: LV - Brennan, minor (roughing) 13:16: LV - (PP) Brennan, minor (roughing) 13:16: PRO - Payerl, minor (roughing) 13:42: PRO - PPG Czarnik (1) - Cross, Agostino 15:56: LV - (PP) bench minor, too many men (served by Conner)
3rd Period
7:19: LV - (PP) bench minor, too many men (served by Martel) 12:11: LV - Martel, double-minor (roughing) 12:11: PRO - Cehlarik, double-minor (roughing) 12:39: LV - Brennan, minor (unsportsmanlike) 12:39: PRO - Blidh, minor (unsportsmanlike) 12:39: LV - (PP) Carey, minor (interference) 15:16: LV - Vecchione (2) - Conner
BOXSCORE
Lehigh Valley 2 - 1 - 1 = 4 Providence 0 - 1 - 0 = 1
Shots
Lehigh Valley 19 - 9 - 6 = 34 Providence 6 - 11 - 16 = 33
Goalies
LV - Dustin Tokarski (32 saves - 33 shots) PRO - Jordan Binnington (30 saves - 34 shots)
Power Play
LV: 1-for-2 PRO: 1-for-5
Penalty Kill
LV: 4-for-5 PRO: 1-for-2
Attendance: 6,956
