Chirps from Center Ice

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So when the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins miss a chance at the division championship or a first round bye or, let’s say a playoff spot by three points or less, we can point to this week.

They lost clean in Belleville with 2.2 seconds left on Sunday.

On Wednesday, they had a 3-0 lead in Laval and lose 4-3 in overtime.

Now, granted, it was a backup goaltender making his AHL debut which hasn’t seen live fire in a game in over a month, but the points count all the same.

Let’s get into it since it’s 10 p.m. on a Wednesday and I have work in the morning.

Here’s show they lined up:

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Lineup Notes: Jesse Puljujuarvi was officially re-assigned this week and joined the team. They are over the vet limit so Valtteri Puustinen drew the short straw for Puljujuarvi and Corey Andonovski was in for Marc Johnstone. On Defense Isaac Belliveau was in for Nikolai Knyzhov.

Waiver Wire: Tristan Jarry is back on waivers and will be assigned to Wilkes-Barre if no one claims him. I don’t think any other NHL team will because of the size of his contract. As a result, Jaxon Castor backed up Filip Larsson as Joel Blomqvist will go up tomorrow after 2 p.m.

First Period: Pens get a pair of goals in the period, one from Avery Hayes on a nice two on one rush with Rutger McGroarty and then a shorthanded goal by Jonathan Gruden, the second shorthanded goal of the trip. Goals are highlighted below:

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One item that came out of the period is that Filip Larsson was taking a bit of a beating. Death by a thousand paper cuts, if you will. A tap here, a shove there. He seemed okay.

Second Period: But then Jaxon Castor was out for the second period in relief of Larsson. Well, he acclimated himself nicely into the affair with this save after the Rocket came out full barrel to start the second period…

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The Penguins had a bunch of opportunities late in the period and had 1:25 of a two man advantage but failed to score. I didn’t particularly like this series of events.

Oh, it was Castor’s AHL debut.

Third Period: I didn’t particularly care for the penalties the Penguins were taking. This wasn’t a cause to question the calls that Mathieu Menniti or Will Kelly were making on the ice as the officials, they were fine.

Wilkes-Barre’s penalty kill was tested but was okay. The Penguins get what appeared to be an insurance goal off the stick of Emil Bemstrom that made it 3-0.

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Seemingly, you would think that this game was in hand.

Wrong.

Laval would start their comeback with a goal from William Trudeau at 12:04, then another at 14:40 from Florian Xhejaj and then the tying goal at 16:42 from Gustav Lindstrom. Three goals in the span of about four and a half minutes.

Laval didn’t GIF any goals I figure worthy for your perusal, so just trust me here.

Implosion? You bet. It was a snowball that rolled down hill and took out a village. All three goals I think beat Castor five hole. I am not blaming him for the loss because he’s thrust into his AHL debut in a hostile environment in Laval.

I mean if anything, it’s a bit of adversity that Kirk MacDonald, whom we have all sung the praises of this season, can help guide them out of.

Oh yeah, the game. They made it to…

Overtime: But had to kill a 4:00 Mac Hollowell double minor which carried over. They managed to to that but at the expiation of the penalty, Jared Davidson comes flying in from the point to slam home a loose puck and give the Rocket a 4-3 overtime win.

Three Stars: 3) Luke Tuch (two assists) 2) William Trudeau (goal, assist) 1) Jared Davidson (goal, assist)

The Good: The assumption is that they will hypothetically work on why they all of a sudden can’t close out a damn hockey game. Getting a point seems like an afterthought.

The Bad: I don’t know if having Filip Larsson in the net really would have made a difference. It felt like an artificial lead the whole game and you were just waiting for Laval to erupt. It happened way too late with little time to adjust.

Turning Point: I think that the William Trudeau goal that started the comeback should get it here because there was no looking back for the Rocket from there who come all the way back and win the game.

Around the Division: Kind of a busy night for the AHL for a Wednesday with 11 games. Springfield shuts out Bridgeport 4-0….Charlotte beats Milwaukee 4-2….Providence beats Syracuse 3-2 vis-a-vis shootout….Hartford loses 7-3 in Utica….Lehigh Valley beats Belleville 3-2. Hershey was the only team off.

Standings: Hershey 49 – Penguins 44 – Charlotte 44 – Providence and Lehigh Valley 42 – Springfield and Hartford 35 – Bridgeport 20

Wheeling Update: The Nailers were idle. There was news yesterday that they have a new team in the ECHL. Say hello to the Greenville Gargoyles. I don’t know if the Nailers will play the Gargoyles next year, but I am getting Beast of New Haven vibes from the newest ECHL team, which will begin play this Fall. If they go with glow in the dark jerseys I may just move there.

Video Highlights: With work in the morning, the AHL VideoCenter is your best bet.

No games this weekend with the postponement, so I will be back Monday with the AHL Power Rankings. Enjoy the time off.

Let’s Go Pens!