A few things to know before the Devils and Sound Tigers take to the ice at Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard:
-Season: This is the 4th and final meeting between the two teams, with the Devils holding a 2-1 lead. Last matchup was on March 9th in Albany, a 5-4 comeback win for the Devils highlighted by Chad Wiseman’s four goals in nine minutes stretch.
-Standings: The Sound Tigers begin the day in 7th place in the Atlantic Division, with a 29-39-4-7 record and 69 points. They trail 6th place Springfield by 4 points. Albany stands in 8th in the East with a 32-41-1-5 record and 70 points, trailing 7th place Adirondack by 2 points. It’s a close race between Bridgeport, Albany, and Rochester to stay out of the league basement (BPT 69, ALB 70, ROC 71), the Devils need a win in regulation to keep from falling further and also hope Lake Erie defeats Rochester and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton beats Adirondack (they have 72 points; the Devils would tie them for 7th with a win).
-Scoring: Bridgeport is lead by AHL All-Rookie Team member Rhett Rakhshani with 62 points (24 G, 38 A), followed by Rob Hisey with 47 points (15 G, 32 A). The goaltending situation has finally calmed down between Bridgeport and the parent NY Islanders, rookie Mikko Koskinen (11 wins) and Nathan Lawson (6 wins) share the duties, Koskinen was the goalie in net when Chad Wiseman went on his goal scoring tear. On the Albany side…Matt Anderson has basically clinched the team scoring title with 55 points (23 G, 32 A), still behind him is Adam Henrique with 50 points (25 G, 25 A). Henrique was MIA last night in the home finale along with Alexander Urbom, usually in that case it means they’re going up to New Jersey (it was reported that the Devils planned on a callup for the season finale this afternoon…I think I have the answer). No idea who will get the nod in goal for the last day, Jeff Frazee returned to the lineup last night and backed up Mike McKenna, and Dave Caruso was last seen at the arena loading up his red pickup truck with his goalie gear, signaling the end of the line for him. McKenna did very well in a shootout loss to Portland, but Frazee seems to be more of the prospect the Devils want to see. So we shall see.
Game time: 3 PM. One more game till summer. Also the end of the 9 Days of Devils, we have reached Day 9. I will be making the trek to Connecticut and have the updates…
Thoughts Inside The Box 