The Bridgeport Islanders continue to search for more offense as the AHL season enters its second month. After 12 games, the Islanders have scored 24 goals as a team, a total of exactly two goals per game. The goal total ranks Bridgeport last in the league. It’s also not enough production to win consistently.
Right now, Ruslan Iskhakov and Samuel Asselin are tied for the team lead with four goals each. Rookie Matthew Maggio is next with three tallies and no other player has more than two.
The drought has been teamwide and consistent. In the first 12 games, the Isles have scored more than three goals in a game just three times. They are 2-1-0 in those three games.
Certainly, the team’s struggles in goal scoring have put more pressure on goalies Samuel Asselin and Ken Appleby. They know that to win hockey games, they have little margin for error. Give up three or more goals in a game and the odds are they will lose.
Part of the problem for Bridgeport has been the team’s power play. The Islanders rank dead last in the league with a 10.2 percent success rate with the extra attacker. The Isles have five power-play goals in 49 chances. They have also given up two shorthanded goals, which means that through a dozen games, Bridgeport is just plus-three when they have the man advantage.
Thus far, Asselin leads the team with two power-play goals. Maggio, William Dufour and Arnaud Durandeau have one tally each while the Isles have had the extra attacker.
There are multiple reasons for the team’s offensive struggles. Part of it is the roster lacks a top prospect in the sniper mold. Maggio and Dufour were the most likely candidates to fill that role, but it hasn’t worked out as hoped thus far.
Maggio is in his first full professional season and is still adjusting to life in the AHL. The 20-year-old Windsor, Ontario, native scored 54 goals last year for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL, but playing against adults with more size, strength and experience is a more difficult task that he’s still getting used to.
“There’s a change in pace,” Maggio acknowledged. “I haven’t really found that to be too crazy, but obviously, there is a huge adjustment in moving to a new country and the stuff away from the rink, like having to find a place and live on your own and do all that for the first time.”
Meanwhile, the 21-year-old Dufour has missed several games this year. A year ago, he scored 21 goals in his rookie AHL season. He is hoping to get back on track after a slow start this season. The Quebec native has just one goal and three points in nine games thus far in 2023-24.
While waiting for Maggio and Dufour to develop, Asselin has stepped up his offensive game. He has scored four goals and added six points in his last seven games. The 25-year-old veteran spent the last four-plus seasons with the Providence Bruins before joining the Islanders this offseason. He’s been an important veteran presence for Bridgeport and seems more comfortable in his second month with the club.
Another factor in the Islanders’ offensive struggles may be the system that they play. Like most AHL clubs, the Bridgeport Islanders play a similar system to their NHL parent club. The New York Islanders remain a defense-first team that prioritizes preventing opponents from creating quality scoring chances. That does often come at the cost of creating scoring chances for your own team.
Bridgeport head coach Rick Kowalsky needs to tweak his lineup and line combinations to find a way to get the offense going. Until then, expect a lot of low-scoring, close games for the Bridgeport Islanders this season.
