Chirps from Center Ice

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The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins concluded their road trip with a midweek trip to the division leading Providence Bruins, who have been on a better form then the Penguins of late and who still have a bunch of games in hand on the Penguins.

You wouldn’t know it if you watched the game Wednesday, as the Penguins, with a huge assist from services and skills of their goaltender Sergei Murashov, win 4-1 to reclaim first place in the Atlantic Division and first place in the Eastern Conference.

Tristan Broz had a pair of goals, Joona Koppanen and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard also had goals.

Murashov stopped 36 and was 1:36 away from a shutout.

Here’s how they lined up:

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Lineup Notes: Aidan McDonough returned from injury. Tristan Broz was sent back from Pittsburgh right as my Weekend Preview went up this morning around 10:30. Max Graham was returned to Wheeling. Rafaël Harvey-Pinard drew in also, replacing Brayden Edwards and Zach Urdahl up front. Caleb Jones made his WBS debut on his conditioning stint, Finn Harding drew in. David Breazeale and Ryan Graves.

First Period: Good start for the Penguins, as a Gabe Klassen shot was stopped by Michael DiPietro, but then batted in from out of the air by Joona Koppanen that gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead before the game was two minutes old.

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But then, the Bruins heavily leaned on Sergei Murashov who made saves like this, that kept the Bruins off the scoreboard in the period.

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The Bruins carried play for the last 12 minutes but ran into Sergei Murashov.

Second Period: Bruins continued to pile up the shots and were aided by two power plays awarded to them by refs Jim Curtin and Austin Rook, but Sergei Murashov and the Penguins penalty killing unit kept them off the score sheet.

Had a feeling that the next goal (if it were to come) would be a big one.

Hey, Tristan Broz!

NHL caliber snipe for the Penguins leading scorer here gives the Penguins a 2-0 lead.

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This gave the Penguins an obvious cushion heading into the…

Third Period: Penguins had two cracks at the power play and let’s just say they didn’t do well.

Bruins, feeling the heat, pull DiPietro for the extra attacker but Dans Locmelis bounced a pass off the boards for a player that wasn’t there. The puck then slid harmlessly all the way down and into the unguarded net.

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Tristan Broz was credited with the goal.

The Bruins tried it again, and this time Rafaël Harvey-Pinard was credited with the empty net goal.

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Michael Callahan scored through a Murashov screen that spoiled the shutout bid with under two minutes to play.

(it’s late on a work night, I’m not sticking around to see if the Bruins post a GIF or not)

Three Stars: 3) Valtteri Puustinen (two assists) 2) Tristan Broz (two goals) 1) Sergei Murashov (36 saves)

The Good: This was a statement win, if there ever was one. I think both the Penguins and Bruins have their flaws. Charlotte exposes those flaws on the Penguins and the. Penguins expose those flaws on the Bruins.

I liked how Murashov stayed unnerved after the barrage the Bruins set off on him for about 40 minutes of play.

The Bad: Caleb Jones, returning from injury and here on a conditioning stint from Pittsburgh, was injured in the second period and didn’t return.

Also, for goodness sakes try to get your goaltender a road shutout, willya?

Turning Point: The Broz goal in the second gets it here. It gave the Pens confidence, a two goal road lead, and gave some cushion to Murashov. Providence wasn’t the same after.

Around the Division: Hartford beats Hershey on the road 3-2 in overtime and Charlotte creams Springfield on back to back nights, winning 8-2.

Standings: Penguins and Bruins 51 — Charlotte 44 – Lehigh Valley 42 – Hershey 37 – Springfield 32 – Bridgeport and Hartford 31

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off.

Video Highlights: AHL VideoCenter is your best bet.

The Penguins return home to host the all of a sudden pesky Hartford Wolf Pack for a pair this Friday and Saturday.

Let’s Go Pens!