So Kirk MacDonald lost out on the possibility to coach the Atlantic Division All-Stars by .005 percentage points when the Geordie Kinnear’s Charlotte Checkers beat the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on New Years Eve.
Had MacDonald’s Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins team had just one extra point (37) that would be good enough for a .685 percentage and the discussion would have been over on Saturday, when the Penguins last played and the announcement from the AHL made already.
It’s the points that get you.
It’s a meaningless job really, because of the souped up three-on-three tournament that the All-Star Classic event is, but a nice honor nevertheless, having your team playing the best of all teams as the calendar switches to a new year.
Music to Set the Mood…
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A Quote…
Don’t miss out on something that could be amazing just because it could also be difficult.
I don’t know who wrote that. I just Googled, “quotes about just missing out” and that was the first thing to pop up.
The Setup
Two more home games Friday and Saturday against, hey wouldn’t you know it but the aforementioned Charlotte Checkers Friday and the hapless Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday.
The Penguins beat the Lehigh Valley Phantoms clean 3-2 on last Friday then lost narrowly to the Hershey Bears 3-2 in overtime where the Pens never led but battled back to tie each time.
Charlotte lost to Lehigh Valley 2-1 Saturday, shutout the Bears 1-0 Sunday then beat the Phantoms again on New Years Eve 6-3. Prior to the Lehigh Valley game Saturday going back to the prior Sunday where the Checkers lost 4-1 to the last place Bridgeport Islanders, the Checkers offense mustered just one goal a game.
That doesn’t sound like, “best overall team in the division” to me, but if I was running things I would just make it about points and scrap percentages altogether, but I digress.
Hartford lost to Springfield last Friday 5-2, then Providence 4-1 Saturday before shutting out the Thunderbirds 7-0 on New Years Eve. The Wolf Pack won’t play on Friday.
Records
Checkers are second in the division with an 18-8-1-2 record and 39 points.
Penguins are fourth, 17-8-2 with 36 points.
Hartford clocks in at 14-13-2-1, good for fifth place and 31 points.
The Penguins have the fewest games played in the division with just 27.
Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?
We may get Jesse Puljujarvi down from Pittsburgh after he cleared waivers Tuesday. Mac Hollowell should be back from playing in Switzerland. Don’t know the statuses of Sam Poulin or Valtteri Puustinen. Pittsburgh sent Nate Clurman back January 1 and Coal Street signed Chris Ortiz to another PTO January 2.
I think they should be heavily favored against both Charlotte and Hartford. You take what has ailed the Checkers offense and use that against them to get the win Friday and deal with a struggling Hartford team who should be feeling good after blowing out an equally struggling Springfield team.
I think that a case can be made that the Penguins are the best team in the division overall, and this weekend should, in theory, prove my point.
Who’s in Goal?
I think they go Blomqvist – Larsson but was wrong about it last week, as I usually am in this space making these predictions.
Ken Appleby, who has been a tough nut to crack for Charlotte Friday, and anyones guess for the Wolf Pack, as they have been dealing with injuries to their goaltenders. Talyn Boyko had 32 saves Tuesday against Springfield in his AHL debut.
Who’s Running the Show?
Alex Lepkowski and Austin Rook have the assignment Friday with Shawn Oliver and John Rey on the lines. Saturday sees THE SAME REFEREES and linesman Shawn Oliver again, but Patrick Dapuzzo tags in for John Rey.
Seriously? Are we doing this again? Is Wilkes-Barre some type of Atlantic Division black hole?
Again, there are 88 of these dopes on skates putting their arms in the air with each their own interpretation of what goaltender interference is. Get rid of half of them or send us a different crew on back to back nights.
Looking Ahead…
The Canada trip is upon us. I was wondering why Belleville is on there twice but then remembered they only play Providence four times. I’m not complaining because trying to blog a road game from Providence is next to impossible, but there is your answer.
Toronto Wednesday, Belleville Friday, off Saturday then Belleville again Sunday at 3. Laval isn’t until the following Wednesday.
Give us a bold prediction…
Charlotte won’t get a first round bye in the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs.
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Chirps from Center Ice 