Chirps from Center Ice

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A couple weeks ago I openly questioned whether the right goalie was in Wheeling after questioning the play of Filip Larsson.

Well, I am wrong. They have the right hierarchy of goaltenders where they should be after a 1-0 win in Hershey Sunday afternoon and a 33 save shutout by Filip Larsson.

That’s Larsson’s third shutout and puts him in a seven way tie for the AHL lead with six other goaltenders.

Penguins take four out of possible six points out of the week, and close to within six points of the Bears with five games in hand on Hershey.

These teams will rematch this coming Saturday in Hershey.

Here’s how they lined up:

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Lineup Notes: Jonathan Gruden and Boko Imama for Valtteri Puustinen and Sam Poulin up front. No changes on defense. Back to the standard 12F/6D setup so that means no Justin Lee.

Defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov signed a standard players contract with the Penguins on Saturday.

Sam Poulin is day to day with an injury and Valtteri Puustinen has an upper body injury which needs to be evaluated. That, “needs to be evaluated” part is never a good thing.

First Period: Not a lot of shots. Boko Imama fought. I think that’s his fifth or sixth fight. Four more and he’s suspended a game. Bears had a later power play which carried over to the…

Second Period: Penguins got out of that penalty kill clean and received a bit of a charge under them as Tristan Broz cleaned up the loose change in front of Hunter Shepard’s net and scored his tenth goal of the season here:

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The Broz, Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty line was by far the best line of the night for the Penguins thus far, generating chance after chance.

Third Period: Penguins had a late power play to ice it away but couldn’t get anything going and then the Bears had an even later power play with Hunter Shepard pulled to tie it but the Penguins did not break and Larsson stood tall in net to preserve the lead and the win.

Three Stars: 3) Tristan Broz (goal) 2) Hunter Shepard (24 saves) 1) Filip Karsson (33 save shutout)

The Good: Nice to get a tough road win in Hershey, a place that has given the Penguins fits as of late, but they are now 2-0 in Giant Center this season.

The Bad: Let’s skip this, given the shutout win.

Turning Point: Seemed like there were a ton of them but that late penalty kill down two men gets it here as well as the win, most importantly.

Around the Division: Charlotte lays an egg at home against hapless Bridgeport and lose 4-1. The Checkers could have closed to within two points of Hershey’s lead in the division….Springfield loses 3-1 in Laval.

Standings: Hershey 39 – Charlotte 35 – Penguins and Providence 33 – Hartford and Lehigh Valley 29 – Springfield 27 – Bridgeport 16

Wheeling Update: Nailers lose in Kalamazoo 2-1. Taylor Gauthier took the loss with 28 saves. Peter Laviolette had the lone goal for the Nailers in the loss.

Video Highlights: Save for a few saves here and there, I don’t know what much else you could expect here but if I see them I will run the edit here.

Power Rankings Monday afternoon. Have a great holiday otherwise.

Let’s Go Pens!