Surprising Boston Bruins prospects lead Providence to victory in Calder Cup Playoffs

After dropping the first two games of their second-round Calder Cup Playoffs to the Charlotte Checkers at home over the weekend, the Providence Bruins hit the road looking to keep their season alive with a win in Game 3 on Wednesday night. Needing to win the final three games to advance to the next round, you can bet the P-Bruins are taking it one game at a time.

If they were going to get the job done, they were going to need their top prospects to step up and lead them. Or so we thought. Behind another strong performance from goaltender Michael DiPietro, Providence kept its season victory alive with a 3-2 victory and got goals from unlikely sources.

Providence Bruins get three goals from surprising prospects in win over Charlotte

Goaltending will be a key to come back in the series, and DiPietro turned back 38 shots from the Checkers and got two goals from Riley Tufte and a game-winner from Tyler Pitlick to force a Game 4 on Friday night at Bojangles Coliseum.

Tufe's first strike was assisted by Fabian Lysell and Frederic Brunet, while veteran Oliver Wahlstrom, picked up off of waivers back in December by Boston, an Brunet had the helpers on Tufte's second goal. Vinni Lettieri and Jeffrey Viel set up Pitlick for the game-winner in the final period.

The 27-year-old Tufte signed a one-year deal last summer for the Bruins and is likely playing his only season in the organization. Wahlstrom is also set to be a free agent this summer, and both players are playing for a role with another team, hoping to get a contract this summer, for 2025-26.

DiPietro continues to be the wild card in Providence as he offers the front office an interesting situation this summer. Do they sign him to a cheaper contract than what their paying Joonas Korpisalo and trade the veteran, or re-sign DiPietro to play in Providence next season?