Chirps from Center Ice

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins are battling injuries to their core players and the healthy core players that remain are either wholly ineffective or inexperienced or have been traded.

It does happen to every team. But it always seems to happen to this team.

They need to battle through it, because they are in the heart of the schedule now.

Music to Set the Mood…

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A Quote…

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
— Aristotle

The Setup…

A pair in Charlotte Friday and Saturday. Seems like all of their troubles started with the Checkers.

Last weekend, the Penguins were embarrassed in probably one of the worst games in franchise history and shutout 6-0 in Syracuse on Saturday. They were down 3-0 before the game was even five minutes old, losing 5-0 after the end of the first and only had four first period shots.

Thankfully, mercifully, that was it for action.

Charlotte was in Cleveland last weekend and were swept which is typical Charlotte. Against top tier teams they look like world beaters, against a fifth place in the North team like the Monsters, they look like punks. It’s mind blowing.

Records…

The Penguins are 22-9-1-2 and still lead the Atlantic Division for now with 47 points.

Charlotte is in fourth in the division with an 18-11-2 record, good for 38 points.

The Rest of Those Rascals…

Providence is 23-6-1 and tied with the Penguins in points with 47 but in second, for now. They beat the hapless Hartford Wolf Pack 4-1 on Friday, then hosted the Springfield Thunderbirds and won. Seems like the Bruins and Thunderbirds flip flop wins. The Bruins have a good old three in three weekend staring them in the face hosting Bridgeport and Lehigh Valley Friday and Sunday and traveling to Hartford on Saturday.

Lehigh Valley is 18-11-2-2 with 40 points and in third. The Phantoms were in Canada last weekend and beat Belleville on Saturday and then won against Toronto on Sunday. The Phantoms are in Springfield on Saturday and then Providence on Sunday.

Hershey is 16-14-1 in fifth in the division with 33 points. Hershey hosted the Rockford IceHogs this weekend and swept them. The Bears continue their homestead with the Cleveland Monsters stopping in this weekend.

Springfield is 12-14-4-2 and sixth in the division with 30 points. The Thunderbirds are playing a game of leap frog with the Wolf Pack and Islanders for last place. They beat Bridgeport at home Friday and then lost against Providence on Sunday. They took a midweek trip out to Utica on Wednesday and got throttled 5-1. They host Hartford Friday and Lehigh Valley on Saturday.

Hartford is seventh in the Atlantic with a 11-15-4-1 record with 27 points. The Wolf Pack lost to the Providence Bruins on Friday and beat the Bridgeport Islanders both by 4-1 scores. Hartford is in Springfield Friday, host Providence Saturday and are in Bridgeport Sunday.

Bridgeport is last in the Atlantic with a 12-16-2-1 record and 27 points. Bridgeport lost both games to Springfield and Hartford. They have Providence, Utica and Hartford this weekend.

Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?

Up: Zach Urdahl, Max Graham, Brayden Edwards, David Breazeale are on recall from the Wheeling Nailers.

Down: No one, as they are all up here. Ville Koivunen was returned to Wilkes-Barre Thursday morning which was a welcome sight.

Out: Aidan McDonough, Gabe Klassen, Avery Hayes, Daniel Laatsch, Sebastian Aho, Alex Alexyev are injured. Laatsch and Aho are week to week. I didn’t see any moves this week with guys getting moved to or from Wheeling as a tea leaf reading on a possibility of getting guys back.

What can we learn about the Penguins this week?

I would say that they should dig deep and grit points away, but it’s hard when every game someone is getting traded or getting hurt. It messes with chemistry, etc. but they are all professionals and hockey is a simple enough of a game.

They need to get guys back from injury and quickly if they want to stay at the top of the division. Otherwise, it’s a slow decent into second, then getting chased down for third, and then all of a sudden the regular season is over and you’re in another best of three with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms again.

The rest of them, specifically looking in the direction of Tristan Broz, Valtteri Puustinen and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, need to be better. They need to lead. They need to score points. Broz has been invisible since his recall. In his last ten games, a goal and two assists. That’s not going to cut it and I have no idea why Kirk MacDonald has him centering a top line with that putrid production. Getting Koivunen should help a bit.

Kirk MacDonald is a hell of a coach. You’d like to think he earns his money trying to coach the best out of his team.

They can beat Charlotte, as they proved the last time that they played here.

Who’s in Goal?

I would go with Filip Larsson if Joel Blomqvist can’t go for whatever reason and let Sergei Murashov have a game off. Hell, I would even give Murashov the entire weekend off. Perhaps he’s hitting a wall. He’s under immense pressure pressure to perform as they all him booked as Pittsburgh’s #1 goaltender for a decade or longer. Pressure busts pipes.

Cooper Black / Louis Domingue is the duo the Penguins will be facing in some combination this weekend.

Who’s Running the Show?

Ben Betker and Damien Figueira are the refs for the weekend. Luke Pye and Jake Rennert have the lines Friday, Brian Pincus tags in for Rennert on Saturday.

Looking Ahead…

The hits continue. The final trip to Providence this Wednesday followed by a pair at home against Hartford and then a Martin Luther King, Jr. matinee day game next Monday in Springfield.

Give us a bold prediction…

They manufacture two points out of the weekend and things start tightening up in the division. 😬