Chirps from Center Ice

       vs.     

  2                                            3

–

I deliberately didn’t finish the words in the headline tonight to keep with the theme I am going with for this game story.

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins put up 41 shots on the last place Hartford Wolf Pack tonight and outshot the visitors 27-14 in the final two periods; 11-3 in the third and 6-2 in overtime.

The sense of desperation befell the team down 2-1 at some point when they just blitzkrieged the Wolf Pack with shots, shots and more shots.

The problem? They lack a finisher. Someone there to put the puck in the net at the time you need it the most. Teddy Blueger was that guy this year. Tom Kostopoulos last year. Jake Guentzel for a brief time, Dustin Jeffery, Joe Vitale, go back as far as you want. They don’t have a finisher on this team, just a group of supporting role AHLers and the Penguins are on the brink of missing out on playoffs for the first time in sixteen seasons.

It is what it is, however. It’s the price an AHL franchise pays when the NHL parent wins two Stanley Cups in the last three years. It’s the price of doing business. What you are left with here is some maybe prospects filled in with players in their twilight of their careers.

Penguins lose 3-2 in a shootout. No Penguin scored in the bonus round while Bobby Butler scored in the bottom of the second to give Hartford a point that the Penguins could have used. Providence and Lehigh Valley both won tonight.

Tristan Jarry opposed Brandon Halverson. Patrick McGrath drew in for the injured Ryan Scarfo, who left Wednesday with an injury. Chris Wideman is ill, so Jeff Taylor drew back in the lineup for the Penguins on defense.

Joseph Cramarossa scored in the first capitalizing on a bonehead Hartford line change.

Hartford would score two in the second when a Sean Day shot is deflected in by Drew Melanson that tied it, then a Ryan Gropp shot on a power play went in with Tim Gettinger screening that put the Wolf Pack out in front 2-1.

No GIFs of any goals tonight. They weren’t available.

After the Gropp goal, the Penguins took over the game with the multitude of shots but just were unable to get anything past Halverson before Ethan Prow finished off a shot from the point when the Penguins were on a two man advantage that tied the game at two a piece.

Frenetic, the Penguins pushed to end the game in regulation but the game would go to overtime.

Overtime was thrill a minute with both goalies coming up with huge stops, but it would end in a shootout with Hartford prevailing.

The Good: The point earned.

The Bad: Outside of what I mentioned above about the lack of a finisher, the Penguins are forced to scoreboard watch and cheer for two, maybe three different scenarios to play out in their favor. They didn’t get one with Hershey and Providence going to OT and the Bruins prevailing in a shootout, nor did they get it with Lehigh Valley beating Charlotte in regulation.

Turning Point: Prow’s goal on the two man advantage at least secured the point.

Around the Division: As mentioned, Lehigh Valley beat Charlotte 3-2 in regulation, Providence to Hershey 3-2 in a shootout. The other division games of no meaning were Bridgeport getting shutout 5-0 in Rochester and Springfield beating Binghamton on the Southern Tier 3-2.

Standings: Charlotte 83 — Bridgeport 77 — Hershey 69 — Providence 69 — Lehigh Valley 66 — Penguins 63 — Springfield 61 — Hartford 59

Wheeling wasn’t in action.

Here are highlights…

Hershey and Providence, Charlotte and Lehigh Valley all rematch tomorrow. Those are games you must watch.

Syracuse, fresh off of a 4-0 whitewash of rival Utica at home Friday, come in Saturday as the opponent. Gameday setup for that matchup hits the blog Saturday at 3.

       vs.     

  3                                            1

–

Apologies in advance for any editing / formatting errors, tonight was a work night home game and this game recap was done largely on my phone.

In a game of utmost importance for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins, against an opponent they will see the most here as the regular season winds down, there was a sense of urgency on the ice.

It belonged to the visitors tonight.

A 3-1 Lehigh Valley win. The Phantoms came in 3-6-1 in their last ten games but you’d never know that by watching because they totally dominated pace of play. The Penguins were flat all night, played on their heels and looked either totally uninterested in competing tonight or wholly unprepared.

My opinion? A combination of both. No excuse to play like that against a Phantoms team who is the model of inconsistency this season.

There’s more to it, but it’s a work night game and I gotta hurry here.

Tristan Jarry opposed Alex Lyon.

Lines were:

Lineup Notes: D pairings shook up. The graphic is wrong, Ben Sexton was out and Linus Ölund was in.

First Period: Penguins were on their heels for a large part of the period. They had a goal called back when Kevin Czuczman was called for charging when he trucked Lyon in his crease:

Connor Bunnaman would score on the ensuing power play.

Quick shot beats Jarry after Bunnaman digs the puck out of his skates.

Penguins had some late pressure to close out the period, but didn’t score.

Second Period: Collateral damage for the Pens who lost a defenseman (Chris Wideman) and a forward (Ryan Scarfo) to injury at some point early in the period. Their goalie however, was sharp. This despite getting scored on when Pascal Laberge scored his first goal of the season to put the Phantoms back ahead after Adam Johnson scored to tie the game at one.

Here is Johnson’s goal. Phantoms got sloppy and the Pens made them pay.

And Laberge:

Despite the score line, Tristan Jarry was dialed in and the sole reason that the Penguins faced just a one goal deficit heading into the….

Third Period: Pens had a great power play to open the frame, had some looks but couldn’t score. Game went on, time came off the clock and Wilkes-Barre got caught standing around in their own end when Byron Froese tapped in a puck that made it 3-1 Phantoms.

Pens pulled Jarry for the extra attacker with two minutes left but it didn’t help – Kevin Czuczman took a tripping penalty.

Three Stars: 3) Alex Lyon (27 saves on 28 shots) 2) Mikhail Vorobyev (two assists) 1) Pascal Laberge (goal)

The Good: Adam Johnson has seven goals against the Phantoms.

The Bad: Power play failed them again and whether or not they were prepared leaves much to be answered.

Turning Point: Laberge’s goal right after Johnson’s game the Phantoms the edge in a game where the Penguins were flat out dull.

Tom found out information on Wideman and Scarfo postgame:

–

Around the Division: They all watched us.

Standings: Charlotte 83 — Bridgeport — 77 — Hershey 68 — Providence 67 — Lehigh Valley 64 — Penguins 62 — Springfield 59 — Hartford 57

Wheeling Update: Nailers were in Fort Wayne and made a game of it with Trevor Yates’ hat trick, but lost 6-5.

If Coal Street runs a video highlight package, I will run it here.

Pens are back at it Friday at home against Hartford. Gameday setup runs here Friday at 3.

Let’s Go Pens!