There is only one Boston Bruins prospect remaining in the playoffs at any level and that is Fabian Lysell with the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League.
For Lysell and the Giants, the week began on Monday with the Giants defeating the Everett Silvertips 6-3 and Lysell contributing to the win with 4 assists. The victory eliminated the Silvertips and the Giants moved onto the Western Conference Semifinals against the Kamloops Blazers. Vancouver took the series in 6 games and it was the first time in WHL history that a number eight seed eliminated a number one seed.
Lysell was dominant in the opening round, registering at least one point in all six games. He put up a whopping 15 points on 4 goals and 11 helpers. There weren’t many people outside Vancouver that gave the Giants a chance against the Silvertips, especially since Everett finished 47 points ahead of them in the standings. But the Giants actually played the Silvertips very well in the regular season, splitting the 4-game set at two wins each.
There are even fewer people giving the Giants a chance in the conference semifinals against Kamloops. The Blazers won 10 of the 12 meetings between the two clubs in the regular season and outscoring Vancouver 50-24.
However, there needs to be some context.
While the Blazers dominated offensively, most of their offensive explosion against the Giants came in the first half of the season. Up until December 8, 2021 they had played 6 times with the Blazers taking 5 of those games and outscoring the Giants 28-10. The Blazers still took 5 of the next 6 meetings but the scores were much closer, outscoring Vancouver 22-14.
So, the series began:
Game 1 was on Friday at the Sandman Center in Kamloops B.C. The Silvertips took that game by a 3-1 score and take a 1-0 series lead. For the first time in these playoffs, Lysell was kept of the scoresheet but give credit to the Blazers, they knew shutting down Lysell would be key and they did an excellent job in shadowing him. They limited him to just two shots on goal and took away his playmaking opportunities for the most part.
Game 2 took place on Saturday, once again in Kamloops and it was more of the same with the Blazers taking it 4-3 and a 2-0 series lead. Once again, they limited Lysell to two shots on goal and took away most of his opportunities to set up teammates.
The series now shifts to the Langley Events Center where the hope is that on home ice, they can get away from the matchups that the Blazers want to use. Game three takes place Tuesday while game four goes Thursday. If they need to go beyond that, game 5 is back in Kamloops on Friday and game 6 in Langley on Sunday. If a game 7 is necessary, it will go next Tuesday in Kamloops.
In other news, the Providence Bruins signed Brett Harrison to an Amateur Try Out Agreement as soon as his Oshawa Generals were eliminated from the playoffs last Sunday. The hope was that with the injury to Georgii Merkulov, that Harrison could get a couple of practices in and play for Providence in the playoffs. On Wednesday he led the morning stretch for Providence but didn’t get into the game Wednesday night where Providence lost 2-1 in overtime against the Bridgeport Islanders (for the second time) and were eliminated from the playoffs.
For Harrison, the AHL is not an option for him next season (NHL-CHL agreement) so it’s either the NHL or back to Oshawa in the OHL. My guess is that he will be back in Oshawa for next season and will be an offensive leader on the team with the graduation of Ty Tullio. There is a very good chance Harrison will also be named Captain of the squad. There is also a very good chance Harrison will sign his Entry Level Contract with the Bruins this offseason (don’t worry, the contract will slide).
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Providence Bruins Player Stats
Providence Bruins Goalie Stats
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Dom - Hockey 