Chirps from Center Ice

 vs.

6                                 2

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Woof.

And Hartford, whom the Penguins play Saturday, beat up on Bridgeport 7-3.

Oh, and then Rochester, who probably has the best prospect group in the AHL, comes in Wednesday.

The hits, keep coming, like they did tonight.

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins were down just 67 seconds into the game tonight and it got worse from there. Providence goes up 2-0 in the first period, outshoots the Penguins 16-4 in the period, then runs it up to 4-0 before the Penguins make a goaltender change, get two back but lose 6-2 Friday.

Like I said, woof.

Little bit of a regression to the mean after starting 5-1. They look lost offensively and defensively they give up way too many changes and shot opportunities. You could have started Ed Belfour in net tonight and the result wouldn’t have mattered.

Filip Lindberg opposed Jon Gillies, making his season debut.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Radim Zohorna was back from that nasty hit Tanner Kaspick laid on him last Saturday. Filip Hallander was back from his illness which kept him out of the game Wednesday. Sam Houde and Matt Alfaro came out of the lineup. On defense, with Taylor Fedun on recall to Pittsburgh, Chris Ortiz, up from Wheeling, made his debut.

First Period: $2 beer night at the Arena. Before the patrons could sip their first, the Pens trailed 1-0. Oskar Steen was the last to touch a puck I think was accidentally knocked in by Cam Lee.

Steve Fogarty tipped in a shot from the point on the back end of a double minor Mitch Reinke was serving that made it 2-0.

A 2-0 deficit is certainly manageable, but if you looked at the shot totals, 16-4 after the first, you would wonder if the Penguins knew the game started at 7:05.

Second Period: Bruins connect for another power play goal to go up 3-0. Zach Senyshyn tipped in a blast from the point that made it 3-0.

(the Bruins stopped tweeting GIFs of goals. Just be thankful you have the two they provided)

Chris Wagner made it 4-0 and the rout was on, if you didn’t realize.

That was all for reigning AHL goaltender of the month Filip Lindberg, you would swear that the award is cursed.

Louis Domingue settled things down slightly, Nathan Legare scores to make it 4-1.

Third Period: After a flurry of saves by Domingue, Kyle Olson takes a Jonathan Gruden pass and shoots for a goal that makes it 4-2. Life? Maybe.

Not if Eduards Tralmaks had anything to say about it. I’m glad I don’t have to type that name in often. Anyway he skated in the slot and took a pass from Joona Koppanen (no easier to spell) and ripped a shot past Domingue to make it 5-2.

Oskar Steen made it 6-2 on an empty net.

Three Stars: 3) Sam Asselin (two assists) 2) John Moore (three assists) 1) Zach Senyshyn (goal)

The Good: The response was there late, but they trailed by multiple goals and fought the clock.

The Bad: Too many penalties coupled with the fact that they weren’t ready to play spelled disaster.

Turning Point: Second period, Bruins take two penalties three seconds between each other. Pens down 4-0. Score one, get it to 4-1, see what happens with the leftover time, get lucky score agains and it’s 4-2 and a totally different game. They didn’t and the Bruins made it look easier than it really should have been.

Around the Division: Gave you the Hartford / Bridgeport final in my lede…Hershey loses in Springfield in overtime 3-2. The Thunderbirds still haven’t lost in regulation. Everyone else was off.

Standings: Springfield .875, Hartford .722, Hershey .698, Penguins .611, Charlotte and Providence .500, Bridgeport .444, Lehigh Valley .250.

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off.

Video Highlights: Look away, kids! Look away!

Hartford Saturday and a hope for better fortunes lies ahead.

Let’s Go Pens!