Chirps from Center Ice

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A methodical takedown of a struggling Hartford Wolf Pack team on Friday sees the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins win 4-1 to close to within three points of the first place Hershey Bears.

Didn’t want to mention it in the Weekend Preview, but if the cards fall right now that the Penguins have won Friday, Wilkes-Barre could hypothetically wake up Monday morning in first place in the Division.

But let’s get there when we get there, if we get there.

Here’s how they lined up. Hartford never posts lines.

https://twitter.com/WBSPenguins/status/1893081968675275229

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Lineup Notes: Vasily Ponomarev returned from his one game suspension and replaced the recalled Emil Bemstrom. Isaac Belliveau replaced Scooter Brickey on defense. Filip Larsson got the start, which surprised me.

First Period: It got ugly for the Wolf Pack and quickly.

Louis Domingue lets in the first shot he sees at :29 off the stick of Rutger McGroarty.

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Hartford got in penalty trouble, taking consecutive penalties putting their 27th ranked penalty kill against the #1 ranked power play in the Penguins (still feels weird typing this) and Avery Hayes made them pay that made it 2-0 on a hack and whack job in the crease.

https://twitter.com/WBSPenguins/status/1893096158261612910

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The Penguins made it 3-0 when Ponomarev, Ville Koivunen and Boris Katchouk played pitch and catch with the puck which saw Katchoukl score.

https://twitter.com/WBSPenguins/status/1893097302497051104

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Second Period: I didn’t like the response at all by the Penguins out of the room. Hartford scored and the Penguins only had two shots for the first 15 or so minutes of the period. They couldn’t do anything wrong in the first and everything was going in, but in the second Filip Larsson was under bombardment, stopping 12 of 13 shots. The one goal he allowed came off of the stick of Maxim Barbashev.

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Third Period: Teams traded a Filip Kral delay of game and a Connor Mackey high sticking penalty but neither team notched a power play goal. At no point was it a, “next goal is important here” because it was a much more even period.

With Louis Domingue pulled, Marc Johnstone scored an empty net goal.

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Have to feel for Louis Domingue. He had some great saves for his team and without him it’s probably a five or six goal win for the Penguins.

Three Stars: 3) Maxim Barbashev (first AHL goal) 2) Filip Kral (two assists) 1) Rutger McGroarty (goal, assist)

The Good: I liked the start. A goal :29 in? Let’s go!

The Bad: I didn’t like that second period. If a better team makes adjustments it could have been a lot worse. Oh no!

Turning Point: That Katchouk goal seemed like a back breaker.

Around the Division: Light Friday as a theme here in the Atlantic. Lehigh Valley is out in Western Michigan taking on the Griffins and lose in a shootout 5-4. Providence hosted Utica and wins 4-2. The rest of them were off.

Standings: Hershey 65 – Penguins 62 – Providence 61 – Charlotte 59 – Lehigh Valley xx – Springfield 53 – Hartford 46 – Bridgeport 29

Wheeling Update: Tulsa Oilers are in for a visit and shutout the Nailers 3-0. Luke Lush, which is a hell of a name, had a 17 save shutout.

Video Highlights: Bookmark the AHL VideoCenter this weekend on your browser as that’s likely your best bet.

Talk to you tomorrow after the Springfield game.

Let’s Go Pens!