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PROVIDENCE — Anton Blidh settled the puck on the crease and wrapped around Brandon Bussi’s pad save.

The backhand shot was clinical and decisive, leaving the Providence Bruins’ goalie little chance to deny Hartford’s insurance tally early in the third period.

Blidh’s score doubled Hartford’s advantage as the Wolf Pack held on for a 4-3 decision in Game 1 of the American Hockey League Atlantic Division semifinals on Wednesday in front of 2,683 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion.

Game 2 of the best-of-five series is to begin at 7:05 p.m. Friday in Providence.

Hartford, which ousted the Charlotte Checkers in the first round, raced to a 2-0 lead just five minutes into regulation. Jake Leschyshyn collected possession from Tyler Pitlick in the attacking zone and found space in the slot to bag the opening goal top right. Blake Hillman, on a near identical look from the left side, buried the second goal.

Providence earned a bye in the first round and thus had a 10-day wait for its first playoff game.

“There were two bad breaks at the beginning,” Providence coach Ryan Mougenel said. “I think we'd love to have those scores back but we just have to be better and execute better. I think for the most part, I actually really liked our game. I’d take some of the goals back if we could but there was some real good things.”

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With the P-Bruins trailing, 2-0, after the first intermission, Jimmy Lambert skated possession across the blue line and into the right circle for a wrister to cut the deficit in half for Providence at the 6:19 mark of the second period.

“I think we had a lot of guys pulling the rope and then some guys that took some time to understand that they were in a playoff game,” Mougenel said. “And that's what that game was about.”

Providence knotted the match just six minutes later as Oskar Steen won possession on the forecheck and flipped the turnover to a cutting Lambert for his second goal of the contest.

The Wolf Pack, who split the regular-season series with Providence, scored with 40 seconds left in the frame as Pitlick deflected Victor Mancini’s shot for a 3-2 advantage.

“Momentum is a huge part of the playoffs and to give up a goal at the end of the period is something that we talked about,” Mougenel said. “It can either give you momentum or take some away, and I thought it took our momentum away.”

Providence’s Patrick Brown scored with 47 seconds left in regulation, but the hosts couldn’t find the equalizer.

“I'm not concerned about our compete [level] or anything like that," Mougenel said. "It was just our execution wasn’t where it probably needed to be."

jrousseau@providencejournal.com

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