By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
So we pose this question late on a Friday night: Lucky or good, which do you want to be?
Jonas Johansson, making his second AHL start of the season, was more than willing to pick lucky after he helped the Rochester Americans to a 2-1 victory over the Providence Bruins at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.
Your Friday night Amerks 6-pack after the Amerks improved to 15-6-2 and maintained a four-point lead over the Syracuse Crunch in the North Division (32-28):
How’d that stay out, Part I?
With the Amerks up 2-0, Bruins right winger Martin Bakos ended up by himself moving down the right of the slot off a two-on-one fast break.
As the pass came to Bakos, Johansson shifted across his crease to get into something resembling proper defending position.
Except he had no time to really accomplish that, so he improvised, flinging his catching glove and left leg high into the air.
His left skate ended up as high as the cross bar, his glove was pretty close to that high, and somehow he stopped the shot.
“I think it hit my arm,” he said. “I just felt I didn’t have enough body behind the puck so I just tried to get anything I could up there.
“Sometimes you get lucky.”
He’s now 2-0 since his Monday promotion from ECHL Cincinnati (three goals against).
How’d that stay out, Part II
With the Amerks clinging to the 2-1 lead in the final seconds — aren’t they always barely hanging on? — Ryan Fitzgerald pass from the right edge of the crease to Trent Frederic in the deep slot.
Frederic immediately fired a shot that hit everything except the other side of the goal line.
“I think it hit me, hit the post, hit my back and maybe hit the other post,” Johansson said. “Maybe I should take a moment to thank my posts.”
Strong night for Bailey
Fourth-year winger Justin Bailey scored both goals for the Amerks, giving him seven. They’ve all come in the past 11 games, because he went the first 11 games without one.
“Obviously it’s not the start I would have wanted but at the same time I’ve been playing better as of late and I attribute a lot of that to my linemates (Sean Malone and Alex Nylander),” he said.
His play away from the puck, the attention to the details of every shift, also has improved, coach Chris Taylor said.
The line has been more noticeable of late.
“My speed, his (Nylander) skill and Sean doing a good job winning faceoffs and his grit,” Bailey said.
Don’t ever leave early
A one-goal lead is rarely, if ever, safe for the Amerks. The Bruins were storming for the final two minutes but couldn’t score the tying goal.
Well, actually Jordan Szwarz did hammer home a rebound but it came a split second after time expired. The referees immediately waved it off, and apparently couldn’t have gone to replay if they wanted because the system malfunctioned.
Are the Amerks getting any better defending the one-goal lead?
“Sometimes I think we are and sometimes I don’t know,” Taylor said.
So why start Johansson again?
Goalie Scott Wedgewood was promoted by the Sabres on Friday morning because of an undisclosed injury to Carter Hutton. That left Taylor with the decision of starting Johansson or Adam Wilcox.
Taylor said the plan all along was Wedgewood on Friday and Wilcox on Saturday and he said he didn’t want Wilcox thinking differently “and I really wanted Wilcox playing against his former team (at Syracuse on Saturday).”
Porter, Malone hurt
Captain Kevin Porter suffered what Taylor said was a lower body injury delivering an open-ice check late in the third period. He’s apparently doubtful for Saturday.
Malone was struck in the face by an errant stick in the third period and did not return.
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