The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins enter Thanksgiving week leading the Atlantic Division and take on the last team they have yet to face twice this week. Who? It’s the Hershey Bears.
Music to Set the Mood…
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Not that kind of Turkeys!
A Quote…
Thanksgiving Day. Let us all give humble, hearty, and sincere thanks now, but the turkeys.
— Mark Twain
Twain? Again!?!?
The Setup…
Two with Hershey in Hershey, Wednesday and Saturday, and a Black Friday home date with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Penguins laid a turkey egg in Hartford, couldn’t get out of their own way and lost 5-2 then went into Providence, a place that hasn’t been kind to them against a team that gives them fits and a first period unassisted shorthanded Rutger McGroarty goal was all they needed. Joel Blomqvist made 27 saves.
The Bears split a pair in Cleveland and will host Laval Sunday.
Lehigh Valley beat Rochester at home on Wednesday, lost in Providence and then beat Hartford. After the Pens Friday, the Phantoms will host Laval.
Records
The Penguins lead the division with a 13-4-1 record and 27 points.
Lehigh Valley is third, with a 11-5-1-1 record and 24 points.
Hershey is fourth with a 10-5-1 record and 21 points.
The Rest of Those Rascals Turkeys…
Providence beat the Phantoms Friday then lost to the Penguins. They sit second with a 13-3 record good for 26 points and are in Toronto Wednesday then Belleville for a pair this weekend.
Charlotte has been out of conference for the past four games. They spent the weekend in Grand Rapids and took three out of four points from the Griffins, including handing Grand Rapids their first regulation loss Friday. They return home to host Toronto for a pair. They are fifth in the division with a 9-4-2- record and 20 points.
Then the drop off…
Bridgeport visited the North Division with a loss in Rochester Friday and then a loss in Syracuse. They will play a home and home with the Thunderbirds this weekend and have a 6-9-1-1 record good for 14 points and sixth in the Atlantic.
Hartford, in the midst of a six game home stand, beat the Pens and lost to the Phantoms. They wrap the homestand with a Thanksgiving Eve game with the Thunderbirds before heading to Cleveland the weekend for a pair. They sit seventh in the division with a 5-8-4 record and 14 points.
Springfield had one game this weekend, a 2-0 shutout of the Utica Comets and close out November with a stop in Hartford Wednesday and then the home and home with the Islanders. They are last in the Atlantic with a 3-10-2-1 record and 9 points.
Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?
Avery Hayes returned from injury and played in both games last weekend.
Lots of news this week though.
Tristan Broz was recalled Monday and will make his NHL debut this week. Philip Tomasino was re-assigned to the AHL after clearing waivers.
Harrison Brunicke and Jack St. Ivany were sent down for conditioning stints. They last 14 days.
Because the Pens have a glut of defensemen, two really good ones in Wilkes-Barre were elbowed down to the ECHL. Finn Harding and Scooter Brickey were sent down this week. Wheeling is a very good ECHL team that just got better.
Sam Poulin was re-assigned Tuesday afternoon to the AHL, arguably their pound for pound best player.
What can we learn about the Penguins this week?
They can hang with Providence, beat Lehigh Valley, Charlotte, play tight with Bridgeport, can beat Hartford and Springfield.
What we don’t know yet is how they fare against Hershey, their biggest rival.
The Bears are young. The Bears lost a lot in the offseason. The Bears don’t rebuild, they reload. It’s going to be an interesting week to see how the Penguins are against the Hershey Bears.
One would expect either a close game like with Providence or perhaps running them off the ice like we saw in flashed last season and in parts this season. If they fall down multiple goals like they did against Bridgeport a few weeks ago, do they muster five goals in the third against Hershey on the road? I can see it, but I wouldn’t expect it.
So what? You don’t want to get too amped for a November game, but it’s two points all the same. Expect a tight game and for the Penguins to be placed in a position to win the games this week when the third period rolls around.
Who’s in Goal?
Filip Larson figuratively has to get a game, which one? I’ll select Lehigh Valley Friday and say Joel Blomqvist gets both games against the Bears.
I’d expect Clay Stevenson for the Bears in both contests and Aleksei Kolosov for the Phantoms.
Who’s Running the Show?
Mike Campbell and Andrew Bell have the Wednesday assignment in Hershey with J.P. Waleski and John Rey on the lines.
Mike Campbell will be sticking around and will work the Friday game with Will Kelly. Jud Ritter and Dylan Lewis will work the lines.
Kelly will follow them down to Hershey and will be joined by Jordan Deckard. Tommy George and Kevin Briganti will work the lines.
Looking Ahead…
December. Oof.
The start of a really busy month for the Penguins who have the same two opponents, Phantoms at home next Friday, Bears on the road Saturday. Twelve games for the Penguins this month.
Give us a bold prediction…
Penguins and Bruins will continue to play leapfrog but the Pens need to be careful, Belleville is a good but not great team and the Bruins are there for a pair this weekend. One slip and the Pens are probably looking up at the Bruins (or Phantoms or Bears) in no time.
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Chirps from Center Ice 