Quick Hits: April 13, 2019
1) AHL: The Lehigh Valley Phantoms stayed (sort of) mathematically alive in the battle for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division with a 4-3 road win over the Providence Bruins on Friday night. Providence entered the game with a magic number of one to stake down the spot and the Phantoms entered with a tragic number of 1.
The Phantoms built a 4-0 lead by the late stages of the second period on goals by Colin McDonald (12th), Byron Froese (21st), Greg Carey (power play, 29th) and Corban Knight (shorthanded, 4th). Providence got two goals back in the final 1:15 of the middle frame, including a buzzer beating power play goal by Gemel Smith. A shorthanded goal by Jordan Szwarz midway through the third period got the Bruins back within a goal, but they never drew even.
Making his North American pro hockey debut, goaltender Felix Sandström made 40 saves on 43 shots to earn the win. Zane McIntyre (25 saves on 29 shots) took the loss.
The Phantoms chances of making the Calder Cup playoffs remain unrealistic from a practical standpoint but mathematically possible. In order for Kerry Huffman's team to get into the playoffs, all of the following would have to happen:
* Lehigh Valley must defeat the Hartford Wolf Pack in regulation or overtime at the PPL Center on Saturday. A shootout win would still eliminate the Phantoms no matter what Providence does this weekend because the Bruins would clinch the ROW tiebreaker even without another win.
* Providence must lose in regulation in both end of home-and-home against the Springfield Thunderbirds on Saturday in Springfield and Sunday in Providence. A single point in either game for the Bruins clinches the playoff spot on points.
* Here's the real kicker: If the Phantoms earn a ROW on Saturday and the Bruins lose in regulation on Saturday and Sunday, the teams will be tied in points and ROW. They evenly split their season series (three wins, three losses apiece). So the determination of the final playoff spot would come down to goal differential. Unfortunately for the Phantoms, they would need to make up a combined 25 goals to win in that category. For example, a Phantoms 10-0 win on Saturday would still have to be combined with something like 9-2 and 8-0 losses by Providence for the Phantoms to achieve a 25-goal swing and pull out the playoff spot outright.
2) NCAA Finals: Freshman forward Noah Cates' Minnesota Duluth team will take aim at its second straight NCAA national hockey championship on Saturday evening when they take on the University of Massachusetts in Buffalo. For more, click here.
3) OHL playoffs: The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds stayed alive in their second-round playoff series with the Saginaw Spirit with a 6-2 road win in Game 5 on Friday night. Morgan Frost, who has seven points in the last two games and has either scored or set up seven of his team's last nine goals in the series, led the way in Game 6 with a hat trick and a power play assist. Frost's final goal was the nicest: a breakaway finished off on the backhand. Frost now has 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) in 10 playoff games to date. Game 6 is in Sault Ste. Marie on Sunday evening.
4) OHL playoffs: The Guelph Storm forced a Game 6 in their second-round series with the London Knights with a 3-1 win on Friday night. Regular season 50-goal scorer Isaac Ratcliffe, who had been shut down through most of the series and has not scored since Game 3 of his team's first round series against Kitchener, earned assists on Nick Suzuki's third-period game winning goal and subsequent empty netter. Game Six is in Guelph on Saturday.
5) WHL playoffs: The Everett Silvertips avoided a second-round sweep at the hands of the Spokane Chiefs by virtue of a 4-1 road win in Game 4 on Friday night. Team captain Connor Dewar led the way with two goals and an assist, while Flyers defense prospect Wyatte Wylie was plus-two with two shots on net. Game 5 is in Spokane on Saturday. Everett needs a win to prolong the series and bring it back home for a Game 6 (Monday) and potential Game 7 (Wednesday).
6) Tim Taylor Award: Now under entry-level contract and set to turn pro next season, Flyers 2018 first-round pick Joel Farabee was announced on Friday as the 2018-19 season winner of Tim Taylor Award, given annually to the player deemed the top freshman across NCAA Division I men’s hockey.
7) IIHF World Championships: As expected, Flyers left wing Oskar Lindblom has accepted an invitation from the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation (SIF) to play for Tre Kronor at the 2019 IIHF World Championships in Slovakia. Swedish network SVT reported it on Friday.
8) Elliotte Friedman reported via Twitter on Friday that the Flyers have received permission to interview veteran NHL coach Alain Vigneault for their head coaching job. Vigneault's tenure with the New York Rangers did not end well and he was criticized by some for allegedly stifling creativity and/or being a poor handler of young players. However, the 57-year-old's overall body of coaching work in the NHL is impressive: two trips to the Stanley Cup Finals with two different teams (Vancouver and the Rangers), an additional Eastern Conference Final appearance, five other seasons in which his team reached the second round of the playoffs, eight regular seasons in which his team finished with 100+ points, and a Jack Adams Award (NHL Coach of the Year) in 2006-07 while coaching the Canucks.
Hearing tonight that PHI has permission to talk to Alain Vigneault for its head coaching job. No guarantees, but he’s on the radar.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) April 12, 2019