Thompson not tipping playoff lineup
BRIDGEPORT — Perhaps it was a tip-off to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers’ lineup to open the playoffs; perhaps, as coach Brent Thompson said after the team practiced Monday at the Wonderland of Ice, it was just a factor of waiting to see who’ll be available.
The Sound Tigers practiced with basically the same lineup that won Saturday’s regular-season finale at WilkesBarre/Scranton. The exceptions: Leading scorer Chris Bourque returned to the top 12 after a night off Saturday, and captain Ben Holmstrom, who sat out the rest of the game after receiving a check to the head in the first period, practiced but as one of four extra forwards.
“We’re going day-to-day with (Holmstrom). That’s kind of why we’re in the situation we are as far as where the lines are at,” Thompson said. “Day-to-day with him and (Josh Ho-Sang) both, just making sure they’re healthy.”
Ho-Sang was scratched from the last two games of the regular season, reported ill.
Bridgeport prided itself on depth this year. When the team played three consecutive weekends of three games in three days, most of the roster got at least one day off. The lineup rarely stayed identical one game to the next.
So does that continue in the playoffs, which begin Friday at Webster Bank Arena against Hershey to start a best-of-5 series?
“I’m going to look at each game, plan on that one game, focus on that,” Thompson said. “We’ve been successful all year by going in that direction. I don’t plan on changing it. But, saying that, when a group comes in and competes as hard as they did the last game, it’s hard to make changes.”
Similarly, Thompson said he wasn’t sure what he’d do in net, where Christopher Gibson and Jeremy Smith split time, with Gibson winning 22 games and Smith 21.
“I love our group. Our tandem was outstanding this year. Flip a coin,” Thompson said. “Both guys won us games. Both gave us solid goaltending. Both work hard in practice. They’re quality veterans in this league.”
STILL OUT: Veteran winger Mike Sislo has been out since March 27 with a lower-body injury. Thompson said last week it will keep Sislo out “a longer term than expected.”
ALUMNI LEADERBOARD: Former Sound Tigers forward Carter Verhaeghe of the Syracuse Crunch led the AHL with 82 points, including 34 goals, which tied for the league lead as well.
Hershey defenseman Aaron Ness led AHL defensemen with 55 points and
50 assists. He’ll lead the Bears into his old home rink this weekend: Ness played
280 games for Bridgeport, fourth on the team’s leaderboard, 12 ahead of Holmstrom. Connor Jones moved up to seventh on the list this weekend with 244 games, three behind Micheal Haley, now of the San Jose Sharks.