Bridgeport vs. Hershey

FORWARDS — Bridgeport had five forwards score at least 40 points. It’s the first time in 12 years the Sound Tigers have had five players, period, score 40. Adding veteran Chris Bourque, a Hershey legend, has been a key part of Bridgeport’s output, but so too has been the emergence of his linemate, rookie Otto Koivula, and the return of Matt Lorito from a knee injury. This is as deep a group as Bridgeport has had in a while, youth mixed with experience. But Hershey has a similar mix: skill, grit, speed, hard on the forecheck. A wild card is that Hershey’s Riley Barber, the team’s second-leading scorer with 60 points and 31 goals, and Garrett Pilon both missed the last few games of the regular season with injuries. They practiced Thursday, and Bears coach Spencer Carbery said he’s hopeful of having at least one in Friday’s lineup. EDGE — Even.

DEFENSEMEN — A familiar face leads the Bears’ corps: Aaron Ness, fourth on Bridgeport’s all-time games-played list with 280, was among the AHL’s top defensemen this season. Partner Tyler Lewington brings a lot of snarl to the blue line. There’s a good mix of defensemen with them, a lot like Bridgeport’s. Sebastian Aho’s all-around game improved from his rookie season, Mitch Vande Sompel scored 10 goals, and Seth Helgeson and Kyle Burroughs were sometimes united as a shutdown, matchup pair. They’ll be relied on as usual on the penalty kill. EDGE — Hershey, narrowly.

GOALTENDING — An interesting quirk to the matchup: Washington called up Vitek Vanecek to be a third goalie in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Top prospect and No. 1 Ilya Samsonov actually got the call first, but he’s back with Hershey, backed up by Adam Morrison. Bridgeport’s Christopher Gibson and Jeremy Smith both won over 20 games (so, for that matter, did Samsonov and Vanecek). Gibson’s statistics came on in the second half after an early struggle. EDGE — Bridgeport, slightly.

SPECIAL TEAMS — Hershey’s power play was 15th in the league, while its penalty kill ranked 25th. The Sound Tigers’ power play was 24th, and the penalty kill was 19th. Add each team’s power-play percentage to its penalty-kill percentage... and they’re separated by 0.1 percent. Bridgeport went 7-for-25 on the power play against Hershey, while the Bears were 5for-29 in the season series. Michael Dal Colle was in on a lot of that Bridgeport damage, though, and he’s up with the New York Islanders. EDGE — Even.

OUTLOOK — These teams played six regular-season games, splitting them, each scoring 14 goals. After all the hills and dales of a season, the teams ended up separated by one point. They’re similar teams, similarly structured. Sometimes one team just catches fire and rolls through a series like this. Sometimes they’re a war.

PREDICTION — Bridgeport in five.