Last Game: The Phantoms scored a team-record six goals in the third period last Friday to rally for a 7-4 victory and a four-games-to-one win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in Game Five of the East Division Finals. With the Phantoms trailing 4-1, Jeff Carter and Jon Sim each tallied a pair of goals in the third period, while Ryan Ready contributed a goal and two assists. Patrick Sharp and rookie Mike Richards each chipped in two points as Philadelphia improved to 6-0 at home this postseason. Philadelphia avenged last year’s six-game defeat to the Penguins in the division finals and advanced into the conference finals for the first time since 1999.
Phantoms vs. Providence: The Phantoms swept both meetings with the Bruins in 2004-05 and have captured the last five match-ups vs. Providence. Philadelphia posted a 4-3 overtime victory in Providence on Nov. 21 when Patrick Sharp evened the score with 1:20 left in regulation and Jon Sim tallied the game-winner 1:14 into the extra session. Three days later, Sim scored twice more and Antero Niittymaki stopped 20-of-21 shots in a 4-1 decision that included a combined 208 penalty minutes and seven fights. In the two games vs. Providence, Sim topped Philadelphia with five points (3G, 2A), including the game-winning goal in each game, while Niittymaki made both starts in net and recorded a 1.98 goals-against average. Patrice Bergeron and Brent Thompson each had two points to lead the Bruins. The teams are meeting in postseason play for the first time.
Phantoms-Bruins Ties:Ben Stafford played in 24 games with Providence during his rookie season of 2001-02. … Bruins assistant coach Rob Murray was a Phantom in 2000-01.
Playoff Records: Philadelphia’s six goals in the third period last Friday is a new club playoff record, breaking the previous mark of five. … The scores by Jeff Carter, Jon Sim and Ryan Ready 2:11 apart in last Friday’s comeback win were the fastest three goals in Phantoms playoff history. The old mark was 3:54. … Mike Richards tied Sean O’Brien’s club record for most shorthanded goals (2) in a playoff series. … The Phantoms also matched a team record with eight power-play goals in the Wilkes-Barre series.
Playoff Facts: The Phantoms are 53-36 all-time in postseason play, including a 32-15 mark at home. … Philadelphia is 11-7 all-time in Game One of a playoff series. … A different Phantom has scored the game-winning goal in Philadelphia’s eight wins this postseason. … The Phantoms’ 12 combined goals in Games Four and Five of the division finals were the most in consecutive playoff games since the club also scored 12 from May 16-20, 1999 vs. Kentucky and Rochester. … Philadelphia’s 7-4 win on May 13 was its highest-scoring playoff game since an 8-2 win over Wilkes-Barre on April 27, 2001. … Philadelphia went 8-for-24 (33.3 percent) on the power play vs. the Penguins and was 19-for-23 on the penalty kill (82.6).
Phantoms on Home Win Streak: Philadelphia’s current eight-game home playoff win streak is the longest in club history, breaking the previous record of five set during the 1999 postseason (May 7-22 vs. Kentucky & Rochester). The current streak includes the final two home games of the 2004 East Division Finals vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Home Away From Home: The Phantoms have compiled a combined 10-2 record this season when playing at their other home arena, the Wachovia Center. The team sported a 4-2 mark in six regular-season contests there before going 6-0 thus far in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Philadelphia is now 18-8 all-time when playing at the Wachovia Center during the postseason.
Who’s Hot: Jeff Carter has a five-game point streak (5G, 2A) and leads all league rookies in scoring (13 points). … Patrick Sharp has 12 points (3G, 9A) in 11 playoff games. … Mike Richards has seven points (3G, 4A) in his first five professional games. … Ryan Ready has nine points (1G, 8A) in his last eight games. … Jon Sim has eight points (5G, 3A) in his last five games. … Antero Niittymaki is 7-3 with a 2.05 GAA in the playoffs. … John Slaney has four assists in his last five games.
Special Teams: Philadelphia’s power play is third in the league with a 19.7 percent success rate (12-for-61), and is second at home at 26.7 percent (8-for-30). Jon Sim and Jeff Carter lead the team with four power-play goals apiece. … The Phantoms rank fifth in the AHL in penalty killing at 88.7 percent (7 goals allowed in 62 tries), and are ninth at home at 87.9 percent (4 goals allowed in 33 opportunities).
Odds and Ends: The Phantoms are 2-0 all-time on May 20. … Philadelphia finished the regular season ranked third in goals allowed per game (2.31), fourth in penalty minutes per game (28.05), fifth in wins (48) and seventh in shots allowed per game (28.51). … Jon Sim’s 35 goals and plus-29 rating were the most by a Phantom since 1999-2000, when Mike Maneluk tallied a franchise-record 47 goals and Steve Washburn finished with a plus-33. Sim also broke the team record for most game-winning goals (10). … The Phantoms went 29-2 when scoring four or more goals in a game. … R.J. Umberger and Ben Stafford were the only Phantoms to appear in all 80 games this season.
Upcoming Schedule: Philadelphia will host Game Two tomorrow at 7:05 p.m. before the series shifts to Providence for Games Three and Four on Monday and Wednesday. If necessary, Game Five would also be in Providence next Friday night, while Games Six and Seven would be back at the Wachovia Center on Sunday, May 29 and Tuesday, May 31.
Coaches: The Phantoms are coached by John Stevens, who is in his fifth season at the helm. Stevens is a career Phantom, and was the first-ever captain of the team. After an injury forced him to retire, he made the successful transition from player to coach, assisting Bill Barber. When Barber became a coach for the Flyers, the head-coaching job was awarded to Stevens. He is assisted by Kjell Samuelsson, who was previously an assistant coach with the Trenton Titans (ECHL), and Craig Berube, who is in his first season as a full-time coach.
