BRIDGEPORT, Ct. – Going into Thursday night’s tilt between the Bridgeport Islanders and the Providence Bruins, there was already plenty on the line for what was sure to be an interesting game. It ended up being interesting, but not in the way anyone expected, as the Islanders rattled off seven unanswered goals and filled the penalty sheet over the course of the last 40 minutes of play.  Brandon Bussi took the loss and was eventually pulled after allowing six goals on 26 shots and was replaced by Kyle Keyser, who allowed one goal on four total shots. Jakub Skarek earned the win with 25 saves as host Bridgeport secured two important points in the Atlantic Division race.

For all of what the final score showed, it wasn’t a bad start for the Bruins, who opened the scoring just over a minute into the game. Georgii Merkulov scored his 18th goal of the year by burying a quick shot from along the goal line to put the visitors ahead. Providence’s sensational rookie scorer currently leads all Bruins in points with 41. The Bruins doubled up the Islanders in shots on goal at 10-5 after one period and seemed to be in good shape with that marker on the power play.

The Islanders played the ultimate reversal card in the second period, completely flipping the script by outshooting the Bruins 15-7 and peppered the net with chances. It’d take most of the period, but the Islanders evened the score and took the lead all in one fell swoop as Paul Thompson and Jeff Kubiak scored goals separated by only 21 seconds.

A scrap in the late stages of the second saw three players on each side sent to the box for roughing, and the stage was set for the final frame.

ONLY 19 SECONDS INTO THE THIRD 😱 pic.twitter.com/AHjtnRGuBE

— Bridgeport Islanders (@AHLIslanders) March 3, 2023

Bridgeport opened the floodgates in what would amount to a tumultuous third period as Andy Andreoff would tally just 19 seconds after the puck dropped. Islanders rookie Ruslan Iskhakov made an excellent step up in neutral ice and rushed forward to feed Andreoff for the finish.

It was the start of a run in which the Islanders tallied four goals in just under five minutes. Blade Jenkins was the recipient of a fortunate break as Bussi skated out to play the puck from the corner but couldn’t get back into his net to stop Jenkins’ shot for his first of the season. Iskhakov fed Andreoff again minutes later for his second of the game and 23rd of the season, followed up quickly by Samuel Bolduc’s blast from the point less than a minute later. Iskhakov finished a first-star effort with his third point of the game by scoring his 14th goal of the season on Keyser.

Despite some rough stuff in the latter stages of regulation, including an ejection for Seth Helgeson for being the aggressor in a fight, the Bruins couldn’t find offense and the Islanders held on to take two points. The victory propelled them into the sixth and final playoff spot over the Hartford Wolf Pack by just one point.

It sets the stage for a particularly important edition of that rivalry on Saturday as the Islanders are now only two points back of Lehigh Valley and Springfield. Bridgeport could potentially move up as far as fourth if they can parlay this success into a streak of some kind. Providence was unable to take possession of first place but have the opportunity to earn it back when they take on the Hershey Bears on Saturday.