Chirps from Center Ice

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins have 10 games in the month of March, so a light schedule in comparison to the other teams that have games in hand on them.

A chance to heal sore bodies while other teams run the risks of injury.

Scoreboard watching season has begun!

Music to Set the Mood…

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I spent longer than I should have trying to see if there were any songs that had “March” in them on Hair Nation, this was the best I could come up with, sorry.

A Quote…

March is the month of expectation, the things we do not know.
–Emily Dickinson

The Setup…

Home against Springfield tonight then a Friday trip to Syracuse. The rest of the weekend off!

Wilkes-Barre got three out of four points from Cleveland in Ohio after winning Friday and losing in overtime Saturday.

Syracuse beat division leader Laval last Saturday then thumped a reeling Rochester squad on Sunday. The Crunch are in Laval on Wednesday.

Springfield got three out of four points out of Charlotte at home this past weekend. The Thunderbirds need all the help they can get, sitting outside of a playoff berth at this time.

Records

Wilkes-Barre is 36-13-4-2 with 78 points in second place in the Atlantic Division.

Springfield is 21-25-5-2 with 49 points in seventh place in the Atlantic Division.

Syracuse is 32-17-3-1 with 68 points in second place in the North Division.

The Rest of Those Rascals…

Providence rebounded after dropping two last weekend with a pair of 3-2 wins over Bridgeport, one in a shootout.

Providence plays too many cupcake Atlantic Division teams and doesn’t play many North Division games. Nick Hart said over the weekend that the Bruins and Monsters played for the first time ever last season and that shocked me. They don’t travel and would rather feast on bottom dwelling teams year after year. I am trying hard not to believe that the Bruins are a paper tiger, but going undefeated against an Islanders team they play 12 times this season so far is making it difficult for me.

They may be second overall in the AHL behind Grand Rapids, but I do not see them as a top five team. Some combination of the Penguins, Griffins, Crunch, Laval, and/or Colorado/Ontario would get my vote.

The Bruins are an inflated 41-10-1 with 83 points and lead the division and play more divisional heavies in last place Hartford on Wednesday, Bridgeport on Saturday and a more respectable Hershey on Sunday.

Charlotte may be in danger of losing the three seed, just one point in Springfield this past weekend then a rare Monday / Tuesday meeting in Hershey where they lost Monday in OT and then was able to win in regulation on Tuesday. They sit third with a 31-18-8 record and 67 points. The Checkers are in Allentown this weekend.

Hershey is next with their 26-21-6-2 record and 60 points and before they hosted the Checkers for the rare Monday-Tuesday games, they thumped the Rockford IceHogs out in Illinois Friday and Saturday. The Bears are in Hartford and Providence this weekend.

Lehigh Valley took three out of four points from the visiting Hartford Wolf Pack this past weekend and then lost in Utica on Tuesday. They are 24-24-2-3 with 53 points and have a three in three this weekend where they host Charlotte for a pair and then bus up to Bridgeport Sunday afternoon.

Next is Bridgeport who took a shootout loser point home with them this past weekend in Providence. They are defending the last playoff spot in the division with a 22-24-3-5 record with 52 points. The Islanders are in Hartford Friday then will lose again to host Providence Saturday and Lehigh Valley on Sunday.

Gave you Springfield’s past weekend above with their record, they host the Iowa Wild this weekend for a pair of games.

You think Iowa would make use of their rare trip out east and hit Providence maybe? Yeah, no. That would require reciprocation with the Bruins spending money and heading out to Des Moines, but I bet the Bruins are kicking themselves because they can feast on some more last place divisional dreck against the last place overall team in the Wild.

Hartford took just a point out of Lehigh Valley after a 12 round shootout loss Saturday and a straight up loss against the Phantoms on Sunday. The Wolf Pack are 20-26-4-2 with 46 points and last in the division. Hartford have five straight at home, where they host Providence Wednesday, Bridgeport Friday and Hershey Saturday.

Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?

Up: Avery Hayes is on recall to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Wilkes-Barre recalled defenseman Scooter Brickey as well as forwards Nolan Renwick and Zach Urdahl on Monday.

Down: Forward Ryan McAllister, defenseman Emil Pieniniemi and forward Raivis Ansons are down in Wheeling.

Out: I didn’t like all those Wheeling recalls. Melvin Fernstrom is the only “official” injured Penguins with an day to day upper body injury, Tristan Broz left the game in the second period on Saturday in Cleveland.

Zach Gallant returned from injury and played Friday.

Player of the Month

Ville Koivunen. Six goals, ten assists in just 11 games. Impressive and well deserved.

What can we learn about the Penguins this week?

Can they defense or goaltend their way to more wins? They defended their way to a win Friday and to some extent on Saturday which got them a point. Right now it’s an offensive Sahara. Power play isn’t clicking, only four goals in Cleveland against a middling North Division opponent. Scoring eight against Springfield and only one against Syracuse isn’t impressive because it’s two teams on different ends of the spectrum.

Where will they end up this week? You hope it’s in between. It’s March now. They are in striking distance of the division lead and on the doorstep of punching a postseason ticket. The defense and goaltending are perpetual, it would seem, so get the offense going now and keep it rolling into late Spring.

Who’s in Goal?

I think you go Joel Blomqvist tonight and Sergei Murashov in Syracuse Friday.

Vadim Zherenko for Springfield and Brandon Halverson for the Crunch is my guess.

Who’s Running the Show?

Rob Hennessey and Matt Mannella have the Wednesday assignment with John Rey and Bill Lyons on the lines.

Friday in Syracuse sees Riley Brace and Jared Cummins working the discipline with Chris Martenet and Jason Brown on the lines.

Looking Ahead…

A three in three? A three in three! They don’t have to go far though, home against Hershey Friday, Lehigh Valley Saturday and then in Allentown on Sunday.

Give me your NASCAR pick…

I think you have to keep picking Tyler Reddick until another team steps up and beats him. The 45 23XI team has been head and shoulders above the rest of the field for three straight races now. No driver has won three straight to open the season until Reddick did it in impressive fashion Sunday in Austin. I don’t see any reason why he can’t contend and maybe win again Sunday in Phoenix.

Come on, City!

NYCFC will host Orlando and will win 2-0.

Give us a Bold Prediction….

They finally make Brandon Halverson look pedestrian and keep changing the questions on us, winning big in Syracuse on Friday.