QUICK HITS: MAY 5, 2018
1) The Lehigh Valley Phantoms earned a 2-1 win over the Charlotte Checkers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series on Friday night at the PPL Center in Allentown, PA. The victory, however, was a costly one for Lehigh Valley and the Flyers.
With the game tied 1-1 and 1:49 remaining in regulation, defenseman Travis Sanheim stickhandled through the neutral zone. Trying to slow him down, Charlotte forward Valentin Zykov inadvertently made knee-to-knee contact with Sanheim, who went airborne and tumbled over the blueline.
Sanheim, unable to put weight on his left leg, had to be helped off the ice. Zykov received a tripping minor.
The Phantoms cashed in quickly on the power play, needing just six seconds. They won the draw, and a quick passing sequence followed from Chris Conner on the left side to Corban Knight behind the net and then to Greg Carey in the left slot. Carey finished it off with a rapid release of his shot, beating Alex Nedeljkovic (30 saves on 32 shots) for his 3rd goal of the playoffs.
The Phantoms killed off the rest of the clock as the Checkers pulled their goalie for an extra attacker. Radel Fazleev missed a point-blank open net feed from Oskar Lindblom and Lindblom subsequently was unable to hit the vacant net from the neutral zone but precious time was lost for Charlotte, and they eventually ran out of time on their 6-on-5.
Alex Lyon (29 saves on 30 shots) had another outstanding game in goal for the Phantoms, earning 2nd star honors. He yielded a Zykov goal at 15:26 of the first period on a loose puck in the crease that the Russian forward stashed home for a 1-0 Charlotte lead. Thereafter, Lyon slammed the door for the next 44:34.
The Phantoms got a boost at 6:17 of the second period as minor league veteran Alex Krushelnyski, who split this season between the Phantoms and the ECHL's Reading Royals, potted a Colin McDonald rebound for his first goal of the playoffs. Cole Bardreau got the assist.
The game remained knotted at 1-1 until the Zykov trip that injured Sanheim and the subsequent Carey goal that proved to the game winner. Lehigh Valley went 1-for-5 on the power play (now 5-for-19 on the playoffs). The Phantoms killed off a pair of second-period minor penalties taken by Bardreau. The Checkers (1-for-17 to date) have struggled on the power play thus far in the playoffs.
Rookie center Mikhail Vorobyev returned to the Phantoms lineup from an upper-body injury, appearing in his first game of the playoffs. Third-year defenseman Samuel Morin, absent from the lineup since aggravating a recurring lower-body injury on Jan. 20, took the pregame warmup but did not dress in the game.
Morin may be ready to play in Game 2 on Saturday night. Game time at PPL Center is 7 p.m. EDT. Thereafter, the scene shifts to Charlotte for Games 3-5.
The Checkers have been an outstanding home team. It would be huge for the Phantoms if they could go to Charlotte leading the series 2-0 with a return trip to Allentown guaranteed even in a worst-case scenario of losing all three of the road games. Including the regular season series, the Phantoms are now 4-1 at home against Charlotte but 1-3 in their building.
2) WHL Finals: Carter Hart authored a 34-save gem and took first-star honors as the visiting Everett Silvertips earned a 2-1 win on Friday in Game 1 of the Western Hockey League finals against the Swift Current Broncos. Aleksi Heponiemi's mid-second period marker was the lone tally for the Broncos. The Silvertips took a 1-0 lead to the first intermission on a Patrick Bajkov and then reclaimed the lead early in the third period on a Connor Dewar goal. Garrett Pilon assisted on both Everett goals. Hart then nailed down the win, making nine third-period saves after 14 in the opening period and 11 in the middle frame. Game 2 is on Saturday night in Swift Current.
3) QMJHL Finals: The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada skated to a dominant 4-1 home win on Friday against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in Game 1 of the QMJHL Finals, going ahead early and never being severely threatened. Flyers 2016 first-round pick had four shots on goal but was pointless and minus-two on the night for the Titan. Game 2 is on Saturday.
4) OHL Finals: The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds will try to salvage a home split in Game 2 of the Ontario Hockey League Finals on Saturday night. In Game 1 on Thursday, the Greyhounds battled back from a 3-0 deficit to force overtime but lost, 4-3. Flyers 2017 first round pick Morgan Frost had a secondary assist on the second Greyhounds goal; a broken play upon entry into the attack zone that bounced right back to a teammate. Flyers 2017 fourth-round pick Matthew Strome had the primary assist on the game-winner. It was his initial shot that dribbled through the pads of Greyhounds goalie Matthew Villalta and was tapped home from the crease by MacKenzie Entwhistle.