Chirps from Center Ice

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins morph into the Pittston Tomatoes on Saturday when they host the Laval Rocket in their annual change your name to a local town and what that town is known for. Last year they were the Old Forge Pizzas. Next year? The Larksville Pierogis? The Nanticoke Kielbasa? The Jeddo Coal Breakers? Who knows.

Music to set the mood…

Hey why are you putting this out there on a Tuesday night? Good question. They play a school day game Wednesday up in Toronto, which bleeds into the next chapter…

The Setup

Trip North of the Border for the final time this season when they visit the Toronto Marlies in an 11 am Wednesday game, then a Friday stop in Rochester then home against Laval. It’s three North Division clubs on the menu this week for the Pens, and they are 6-3-1 against teams in that division.

Wilkes-Barre is a top ten team overall in the League and top five in the Eastern Conference. I don’t know if it’s a top heavy thing meaning that there truly are only a handful of great teams (Hershey, Milwaukee, Providence, Tucson, Coachella Valley, etc.) then just a bunch of contenders and then a bunch of dreck.

Toronto is in that contender group, Rochester and Laval are teetering on contender / dreck. With the race in the Atlantic Division tightening literally by the day, this is an important week for the Penguins.

The Penguins erased a two goal deficit in the third period Friday in Allentown only to lose in the shootout for the first time this season 5-4.

Toronto walloped Laval 6-1 on Friday and then Laval walloped them 7-1 on Saturday.

Rochester lost in overtime Friday 3-2 to Syracuse and then in the home and home with the Crunch on Saturday…lost 3-2 in overtime! They will be in Utica Wednesday before hosting the Pens Friday.

The Rocket are in the midst of a five game road trip and will be in Hartford Friday before taking the trip down I-84 to play the Pens Saturday.

Records

The Penguins are 24-16-6-1, good for 55 points and third place in the Atlantic Division.

The Marlies are 20-15-6-2 good for 48 points and third place in the North Division.

Rochester is 21-16-5-1, good for 48 points and fourth in the North.

Laval is 20-19-4-2, good for 46 points and sixth in the North.

Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?

Since we last did this, Jesse Puljujarvi signed an NHL contract with Pittsburgh, so assume he’s up for the duration. I don’t know if he will be rostered back at the clear day deadline or not. John Ludvig was recalled from his conditioning stint. Colin White and Jansen Harkins remain up. Have to figure one of those two may end back up here after Noel Acciari heals up. Likely White.

Owen Headrick, Dillon Hamaliuk and Lukas Svejkovsky are up from Wheeling.

Injured are Sam Houde, Avery Hayes, Jack St. Ivany, Sam Poulin and Marc Johnstone. Raivis Ansons was a regular customer here on this line he healed up and was sent down to Wheeling, but he’s back now, recalled on Monday.

Coal Street sent Garret Sparks, the third goalie here, to Wheeling. Sparks has played sparingly but will presumably get reps for the Nailers, who are on a tear.

Have to be gutted for Johnstone, who would be returning back to Toronto, a team he played for last season.

Houde and Hayes are week to week. Johnstone is “longer term” meaning likely separated shoulder / fractured collarbone after that hit into the boards two Friday’s ago in Allentown. Poulin and St. Ivany have been updated to “day to day”.

They can get by with this short term, but will miss Johnstone. I mentioned this Friday in my recap.

What can we learn from the Penguins this week?

This is the first bit of adversity they have faced since…November? Missing Poulin and St. Ivany and Johnstone suck. But they are resilient and looked better on the power play with Valtteri Puustinen and Lukas Svejkovsky slinging it around out there. They can get scoring from Vinnie Hinostroza. Radim Zohorna is a threat every time he is out there. The list goes on and on.

I want to set a high standard here and say that six points are a must if you want to consider them a contender for a first round bye come April. Consider Hershey a foregone division winner. They can catch Providence I think but need to win the remaining head to heads and hope for help as the Bruins and Pens are locked in games played wise. It’s not like the four games in hand the Hartford Wolf Pack still have on the Penguins.

Toronto is good but not great. Rochester is good but not bad and Laval is just bad. These are teams that, if you want to consider yourself a contender and not an also ran, you must beat.

Who’s in Goal? 

Have to think it’s Blomqvist, Hellberg, Blomqvist in that order. I’m not as high on Hellberg as I was say three weeks ago or so. He has only won two out of his last five starts, picking up wins against a bad Bridgeport team and an equally as disappointing Springfield club, although that Springfield team beat Hershey clean this past Saturday.

I’d expect Dennis Hildeby again for Toronto, Dustin Tokarski for Rochester and likely Jakub Dobeš or Kasimir Kaskisuo for the Rocket on Saturday.

Who’s running the show?

Riley Brace and Damian Figueira get the assignment for Wednesday with Spencer Knox and Dan Kovachik on the lines.

Nothing on the Friday or Saturday crews yet.

Looking ahead…

Back to divisional action with Lehigh Valley in for a Wednesday home game, a trip to Hershey on Friday then back home against Bridgeport Saturday for I think the first meeting in Wilkes-Barre between the two clubs as they close out February and the calendar flips to March.

Give us a bold prediction…

Blomqvist finally picks up his shutout Saturday playing as a Tomato and they connect for a power play goal in all three games.