Chirps from Center Ice

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Good things come to those who wait, I suppose.

Needing just one point to clinch a playoff berth in the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs, Wilkes-Barre / Scranton gets no out of town help and lay an egg in Laval, QC, a place they have not won in since 2018 and lose 5-1.

Game was decided, in my opinion, in the first six minutes. Laval goaltender plays like he has ants in his pants whenever he has the puck on his stick or nearby him. He played way too fast and loose in the games opening stages and the Penguins were not able to capitalize on this loosey goosey-ness and Laval settled in and methodically turned the game into a rout.

The Rocket lead the North Division and have the second best home record for a reason. They wear you down.

Gabe Klassen had the lone goal for Wilkes-Barre / Scranton, his 15th of the season.

Here’s how they lined up…

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Lineup Notes: Alex Alexeyev and Finn Harding for Jack St. Ivany and Scooter Brickey.

First Period: Shots 9-1 for the Penguins to start, Laval goaltender Kaapo Käkhönen swimming in his crease making ridiculous out of position saves but then a neutral zone hooking call against Aidan McDonough stops that momentum and the Rocket start to catch up. Then a careless too many men on the ice call against Wilkes-Barre sees Jared Davidson score :09 into the ensuing Rocket power play.

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Shots ended up 11-9 for the Penguins.

Second Period: Penguins went down a pair of goals and returned only two shots on Käkhönen in the process.

Sammy Blais catches a long lass from ex-Penguin Nate Clurman, deep in his own zone, and Blais steps in and scores on the breakaway.

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Then, a pass from Joshua Roy bounces off of the elbow pad of Josh Jacobs and caroms to Sean Farrell who scores to make it 3-0.

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I mean that’s just ugly puck luck.

Third Period: I liked the initial response here and this is where Gabe Klassen scored at the 2:55 mark and I liked the vibe they came with but was troubled by the, “just turn it on and go” mantra they have won games with in the past with.

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But the Rocket continued to wear down the Penguins, but not without more goalkeeping adventurism by Kaapo Käkhönen. Sebastian Aho was unable to score, however.

Joshua Roy scores late as the Penguins stared desperation in the face and then Florian Xhekaj scored into an empty net with Sergei Murashov pulled.

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Three Stars: 3) Joshua Roy (goal, assist) 2) Kaapo Käkhönen (29 saves) 1) Sean Farrell (goal, assist)

The Good: Gabe Klassen is warming up again.

The Bad: Three players were even on the +/-, the rest were all -1 or worse. Finn Harding and Atley Calvert were -2’s. That’s the definition of wearing a team down.

They clearly miss Ville Koivunen, Tristan Broz and Avery Hayes. They are rudderless offensively and whatever Kirk MacDonald is doing (or not doing) doesn’t seem to be working.

Turning Point: The Blais breakaway goal gets it here because that opened the Rocket floodgates.

Around the Division: Can’t rely on Providence for jack. They needed to beat the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the Penguins to back into the Playoffs. They didn’t. Phantoms win 6-3. Hartford sweeps Charlotte with a 5-2 win Wednesday after beating the Checkers on Tuesday. Forget quantum mathematics. I will never figure out how a team like Charlotte that gives the Penguins fits it swept by a Hartford team that was booed 7-0 by Providence last weekend.

Standings: Providence 92 – Penguins 82 – Charlotte 75 – Hershey 62 – Lehigh Valley 58 – Springfield 56 – Bridgeport 56 – Hartford 54

Wheeling Update: The Nailers had the night off.

Video Highlights: The Rocket’s YouTube page they put game highlights is here. Tonight’s package isn’t up yet at 10 p.m. on Wednesday.

Talk to you Friday.

Let’s Go Pens!