The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton can put all their eggs in one basket with just one game this weekend, a Friday home game against the Cleveland Monsters.
This is the only time on the season schedule where the Penguins will be featured just once in what is always a busy weekend in the American Hockey League. I am not complaining.
Music to set the mood…
Apropos if it were. I have never heard this song. I’m really not into country.
A Quote…
Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.
– Proverbs 16:27
The devil never played hockey apparently. You take the rest whenever you can get it.
No one got or cared to take a stab at last weeks quote author. It was CM Punk that said it. I wonder if George Jones can manage a Target.
Anyway.
The Setup
Cleveland Monsters are in for the lone weekend fixture. The Penguins own this team, especially at home, 6-0-1-0 against the Lake Erie / Cleveland Monsters franchise. They beat this team, often. So there’s another opportunity for them to do so again this weekend.
Cleveland scores darn near four goals a game. Their goals for average is tops in the Eastern Conference at 3.95. The Penguins are one of the stingiest teams in the entire AHL. A good defense should stifle a good offense.
The Monsters took three of four points away from visiting Rochester last weekend.
The Penguins got torched last weekend at home against the Bridgeport Islanders 5-1 and then absolutely smoked Hershey in Hershey 7-3.
Records
Penguins are fifth in the Atlantic with a 11-6-1-2 record good for 25 points. Cleveland sit third in the North with a nearly identical 10-6-1-2 record good for 23 points.
Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?
Defenseman Colin Swoyer was sent to the ECHL last weekend. That tells me that Pittsburgh is OK now with Kris Letang being sidelined after his stroke and they don’t plan on a recall or putting Letang on LTIR, yet.
No one is presently recalled from Wheeling or to Pittsburgh.
Jamie Devane and Jordan Frasca remain out with injuries. Alex Nylander left in the third period against Hershey. His status as of now is unknown.
Pittsburgh announced that Sam Poulin asked for an was granted a leave of absence. In this day and age it is wrong to question a decision like this. You have to wonder if Poulin was getting frustrated with being in the AHL. The door is left open for his return. Maybe he does, maybe he doesn’t.
Who’s in goal?
Interesting conundrum we have here. Dustin Tokarski got smoked Saturday. Filip Lindberg looked shaky but his offense kicked in and he was insulated by that. I don’t know who you go to if I am JD Forrest. If you force me to make a decision (kinda the point of the exercise here) you go right back to Tokarski.
Cleveland will probably roll with Jet Greaves.
Who’s running the show?
Peter Schlittenhardt and Tanner Doiron are your referees with Tyler Loftus and J.P. Waleski running the lines. Doiron is a new referee making his AHL debut tonight. Heads up Hershey fans, he is headed your way Saturday. Here’s a story I found on the guy.
Looking ahead…
Two with Hershey, Friday and Saturday, both at home.
WBS News
Chirps from Center Ice 