Alex Bump, Denver Barkey hit their stride in standout performance for Phantoms

Last night’s game, kicking off the first leg of their first three-in-three of the season, was a big one for the Phantoms, as they were able to overcome a bit of a dicey start on the way to taking down the visiting Springfield Thunderbirds by a score of 7-3, and extending their winning streak to a season high five games. It was a sound effort across the board, as each of their forward lines was able to contribute at least one goal on the night, but the most notable performance of the night came in the three goals set up by the team’s top line of Alex Bump, Lane Pederson, and Denver Barkey.

The line’s big night really began to break open in the second period, when Bump was able to jump on a loose puck and get it over to Pederson to spring them on a breakout, and ultimately put away the rebound of Pederson’s initial shot after it was left out in front. This goal would ultimately hold as the game winner, but this line was far from done yet.

They were able to double up on their contributions, but this time through Bump stepping into the setup role, dropping down below the goal line to retrieve a puck and make a quick pass to Pederson inside the left circle, who then, despite being in a pretty prime shooting spot himself, took the beat to scan and then thread a pass across to the even more wide open Barkey, who knocked it home.

Their final goal felt a little bit like adding insult to injury for the Thunderbirds, as it saw Bump able to skate with the puck virtually end-to-end (with a bit of a break in the neutral zone for a quick back and forth passing with Pederson to relieve a bit of pressure), just cruising through traffic and then threading a pass back to the trailing Barkey, who whiffed on the shot but still had the puck bounce off of his skate and in. It certainly wasn’t how they would have drawn that play up, but there’s something to be said for making your own luck, and when a line is as hot as this one has been, that’s the kind of bounces that will be going their way.

This was the type of collective flashy performances which will have certainly turned heads, but it’s one that also felt like it has been building up for a little while now.

“I think they’re all starting to gel together,” head coach John Snowden said back after last weekend’s game. “You know, [Pederson]’s a calming voice, he understands the ebbs and flows of the game, he’s played in the NHL, he’s been in the American League for a long time. And [Barkey]’s just, he’s a hockey player. He’s just a hockey player. He competes on pucks, he understands space, and uses his leverage in battles. Like you see tonight, how many battles did he come out with the puck because he just understands how to get out of it. [Bump]’s really good at extending plays, he’s good at getting that sneaky shot off in areas, and it gets on goalies pretty quick and heavy because it doesn’t look like it’s coming off his stick quick and hard, and then it creates a secondary chance. And they’re really starting to understand how they need to play together and understanding each other’s tendencies, and if you start to understand each other’s tendencies and where they want to go and want pucks in certain spaces, good things start to happen like we saw in that one shift they put together and ended up getting rewarded.”

This line found a very nice bit of production last night, and it would be easy to point to it as a result of having three highly skilled players stacked on one line and feasting on matchups against a weaker opponent, but it would be unfair, in turn, to erase the fact that this output came on the heels of — and as a direct result of — the steady building up of a more well rounded and details focused process to help support the flashier bits of skill. There’s been a notable level of chemistry forged along the way, and this line is really reaping the benefits.

“I just think the hockey IQ we all have,” Bump said last night, when asked about what’s been driving his line’s recent success. “We all know where to be at the right times, and we can all make those little plays to attack. So yeah, credit to those two, those two are dominant.”

This is a line which, despite how skilled the individual players are, have yet been able to come together as something greater than the sum of them. It’s provided the Phantoms a dependable boost in offense, to be sure, but with some grounding from Pederson’s veteran presence and the overall steadiness in his game, it’s allowed both Bump and Barkey to vault into a new level of comfort with the AHL game. There’s still a lot yet for them to polish out, but they’ve gotten themselves onto a rapid trajectory, with the season still so young, and so much laid out before them.

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