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Regular season accomplishments are fine and all, but when the playoffs start, all of the regular season accomplishments, records and what have you don’t mean a thing. Playoffs are their own animal.

For the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins, they started the animal in the eye tonight, and it blinked.

A Carter Rowney overtime goal at 1:09 is enough to give the Penguins a 1-0 series lead and a 3-2 overtime win tonight.

The Penguins still need to win at least a game in Providence. Games 3 and 4 are there and if there is a Game 5 it is in Rhode Island as well.

Even if the Penguins would have lost this game tonight, they were only one or two adjustments away from completely turning the series around. Now that they have the series lead, they can really focus on putting the Bruins down for good when the series restarts for Game 2 Thursday.

It was Casey DeSmith vs. Jeremy Smith tonight in goal.

Lines were…

Kael Mouillierat – Dustin Jeffrey – Dominik Simon
Jake Guentzel – Carter Rowney – Tom Kostopoulos
Mattias Plachta – J-S Dea – Josh Archibald
Tom Sestito – Teddy Blueger – Daniel Sprong

Niclas Andersen – Steve Oleksy
Ryan Parent – Barry Goers
Tim Erixon – Will O’Neill

Casey DeSmith – Tristan Jarry

Lineup Notes: Patrick McGrath took warmups but was scratched. Tristan Jarry was reassigned by Pittsburgh in the morning and was the backup tonight and is pegged as the Game 2 starter.

First Period: Pens set the tone early getting the first four shots of the period. Providence quickly caught up on the shot board but DeSmith was up to the challenge. Much like Saturday the physicality and hitting was dialed up with the Pens dishing out the majority of the blows.

Carter Rowney won a face off to Will O’Neill. O’Neill put it towards goal and Jake Guentzel got a stick on it and it was 1-0 Pens.

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It was the perfect reward for the Penguins who matched Providence’s speed. DeSmith played a solid 20 minutes with some tough saves.

Question was, could the intensity be sustained?

Second Period: The second period started out very well for the Penguins. :18 in, Dustin Jeffrey knocked one past Jeremy Smith to double the Penguins lead.

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Casey DeSmith continued his sorcery in net denying Max Talbot twice in quick fashion.

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But Providence is too stacked of a team to go one, no less two periods without scoring. The Pens were caught in a miscommunication and Seth Griffith knocked one in far post for an easy tap in and the Bruins were dangerously back within one.

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The final five minutes were crucial here for the Penguins to either re-establish the two goal lead or take it to the break as it was and not get scored on again. They escaped up 2-1 heading into the…

Third Period: Penguins played well, but got bit on a shorthanded goal by Colby Cave that tied the game at two:

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The Bruins were trying to slow the game down and it worked. They were looking for their spot and found it when Cave scored shorthanded. Again, the Pens played well, but could not muster another one past Smith and it was heading to…

Overtime: Carter Rowney.

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Pens chipped a puck in deep. Tom Kostopoulos got to it, centered to Rowmey who knocked it in. I don’t think Providence touched the puck once in the overtime only just to knock it out of their zone.

Three Stars: 3) Casey DeSmith (31 saves on 33 shots) 2) Dustin Jeffrey (goal, even) 1) Carter Rowney (overtime game winning goal, assist, +1)

Video highlights….

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I do not think that there is any doubt that Clark Donatelli goes to Tristan Jarry for Game 2. Casey DeSmith did what he was supposed to do, stop pucks while the starting guy was on recall to Pittsburgh. He did a fine job of it and if Jarry were to fall ill or get recalled back to Pittsburgh at some point down the line I have the full faith in his abilities. But Pittsburgh wants Jarry to get the playoff experience and that is what they will get.

Expect Providence’s best Thursday. They did not play a great overall game and at times were frustrated by the Penguins physicality. Expect them to crank it up looking to even the series up heading back to Rhode Island Saturday for Game 3.

Gameday for Game 2 hits the blog Thursday at 3.

Let’s Go Pens!

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In a game that meant nothing to Hershey seeding wise and a game that still had substance to a Penguins team who needed to win and get outside help to overtake the Providence Bruins for the two  seed in the Atlantic Division and home ice, it was the play of Bears ECHL callup Vitek Vanecek that helped the Hershey Bears defeat the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins 2-1 in a shootout.

Vanecek is a name that Penguins fans need to get familiar with as he is next in the Hershey pipeline of excellent goaltenders that have gone through there. With half of a team in front of him with the Bears resting regulars like AHL MVP Chris Bourque, he stopped 25 of 26 shots and was perfect in the shootout round to help his team win a meaningless points game for them but showed a preview of coming attractions of sorts for the Bears fans, coaching and management.

He opposed Casey DeSmith.

Lines were…

Kael Mouillierat – Dustin Jeffrey – Dominik Simon
Jake Guentzel – Carter Rowney – Tom Kostopoulos
Mattias Plachta – J-S Dea – Jarrett Burton
Josh Archibald – Teddy Blueger – Patrick McGrath

Ryan Parent – Steve Olesky
Tim Erixon – Ethan Prow
Will O’Neill – Barry Goers

Casey DeSmith – Sean Maguire

Lineup Notes: Tom Sestito was sent down from Pittsburgh in the morning. Niclas Andersen and Harrison Ruopp played Saturday but were out of the lineup for Ethan Prow and Ryan Parent. Adam Krause and Tyler Biggs were out as well with Jarrett Burton and Patrick McGrath in for Krause and Biggs. Casey DeSmith started his third game in a row, making it the first time since John Curry did it for the Penguins back in January 2011.

First Period: No scoring but the Penguins had two power plays they couldn’t do anything with on Vanecek making is AHL pro debut up from South Carolina in the ECHL. Pens looked like they carried the momentum in the period but couldn’t get anything past. Shots after one were 10-5 Penguins.

Second Period: It was shaping up to be one of those games where the only thing that happened was a team taking a penalty. The Bears took one, the Pens took three. Neither team scored. The Penguins only had two shots on goal through about 11:30 played in the period. One sequence that happened was Ryan Parent chipping a puck past a Bears defensemen and centering to Patrick McGrath that nearly chipped one past Vanacek.

Third Period: Riley Barber finally broke the scoreless deadlock with a rocket of a shot on the power play…

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…that game the Bears a 1-0 lead.

J-S Dea took a penalty and Vanecek denied Dustin Jeffrey shorthanded.

Then a moment which may be a bit of a concern for the Penguins going forward, Madison Bowey took a shot that clipped DeSmith up high…

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…DeSmith would finish out the shift but at the next stoppage was replaced by Sean Maguire who was making his pro debut. Talk about getting tossed out of the frying pan, into the fire, right?

Casey DeSmith would go to the locker room and was not seen at all the rest of the game.

Dustin Jeffrey scored on a nice drop pass by Josh Archibald that tied it and spoiled the Vanecek shutout…

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Pens took two penalties late which gave the Bears a 5-on-3 power play heading into…

Overtime: Wilkes-Barre was able to kill it all off then after a stoppage played three on three with 1:40 to play. No one scored.

Shootout: Christian Djoos and Riley Barber scored in Rounds 2 and 3, Carter Rowney and Dustin Jeffrey were both denied in their attempts and the Bears took home the extra point.

Three Stars: 3) Casey DeSmith (21 saves on 22 shots) 2) Jakub Vrana (power play goal, even) and 1) Vitek Vanacek (25 saves on 26 shots)

Donatelli to Tom postgame on the status of DeSmith:

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Around the Division: Lehigh Valley beats Syracuse 5-2…Providence beats Bridgeport 6-1 and as a result are the two seed…Portland beats Springfield 3-1.

Wheeling Update: The Nailers were actually pulling into Wheeling, West Virginia just as the Pens / Bears game went final. They took a sleeper bus down and back to Estero, Florida. Game 3 is this week between the Nailers and Everblades.

Note: Daniel Sprong’s junior team was eliminated from the playoffs tonight. Sprong is tabbed to join the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins fairly soon.he was 4-11-15 in 12 games for his Charlottetown Islanders side.

Here is the first round playoff schedule for the Penguins and Bruins:

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AHL only makes teams travel once in the first round. It must be a building issue for the Bruins with the Penguins opening up playoffs Wednesday.

Anyway, if I see video highlights of tonight’s game and can work in an edit, I will put them up later.

I will update my charts for the final time this regular season and have the final AHL Power Rankings up on the blog sometime Monday. I haven’t decided when. I would like to do a quick AHL Calder Cup Playoff Preview for all the teams and offer predictions before the full workup for Pens / Bruins on Tuesday. Stay tuned here on the blog.

Let’s Go Pens!

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The Providence Bruins and the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins better get used to one another. They will be seeing a lot of one another in the coming weeks.

That is because with a Hershey Bears win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms tonight, the Bears win the Atlantic Division and the Providence Bruins and Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins are playing for second place and home ice in their five game series which should begin next weekend.

So tonight, a 3-1 Bruins win, was a playoff preview.

Long and short of things, this was a competitive game that the Penguins were in until the very end. The issue that doomed the Penguins besides the fact that they faced a well coached team with its full compliment of players was the 0-f0r-6 on the power play. The Penguins could not score on the power play tonight in a close game and it cost them. How many times is that said, seen or heard in these types of games?

So tomorrow decides home ice. Pens are in Hershey facing a Bears team with nothing left to play for in their final game of the regular season as division champions and the Providence Bruins head to Bridgeport where the Sound Tigers are still jockeying for playoff positioning. Here is how the scenarios can play out on the AHL’s final day of the regular season:

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For this game, Casey DeSmith opposed Jeremy Smith. No lineup changes were made for the Pens but for Harrison Ruopp in for Etahn Prow on defense.

Pens had their awards pregame, here is who went home with what:

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First Period: Providence jumped out early and took control but it was Casey DeSmith that made a diving save to keep the Pens in it and the game goalless. Pens had a power play that they couldn’t score on but had many looks. Then, Jake Genteel led Carter Rowney up ice on a two on one and Rowney finished to give the Pens a 1-0 lead…

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Every whistle was met with pushing and shoving. The Penguins were the more physical team on the ice and it was frustrating the Bruins.

Shots at the end of one were 20-9 Penguins. Wilkes-Barre subtly dominated the period.

Second Period: But with a lineup full of starts like Austin Czarina, Alex Khokhlachev and Frank Vatrano, in a one goal game, that isn’t enough.

Through two consecutive power plays, the Pens only had one shot on the board.

Finally the Bruins were moving their skates to a point to where they forced a Penguin power play. It did not take long for Providence to finally break through and score on their first power play of the season against the Penguins. Austin Czarink scored on the far dot off of a one timer and it was a tie game.

DeSmith came up big denying Co-Rookie of the Year Frank Vatrano on a breakaway.

It was 1-1 going into the third. Tom had this observation…

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And this was a period where it was 10-3 in shots favoring the Bruins.

Third Period: Czarnik again. Quick transitioning play and it was 2-1 Bruins.

Pens had two more chances to score on the power play in the period but couldn’t. With DeSmith eventually pulled for the extra man, the Penguins never found the equalizer.

I tweeted this with 18.2 seconds left…

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What a jinx I am.

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Three Stars: 3) Alex Khokhlachev (two assists, +1) 2) Carter Rowney (goal, -1) 1) Austin Czarnik (two goals, +1)

Around the Division: Hershey beats Lehigh Valley 4-2 to lock up the Atlantic Division Championship…Bridgeport loses in Albany 3-0 in a game that had 280 penalty minutes. No, that’s right, two hundred and eighty penalty minutes….Hartford loses in St. John’s 2-1…Springfield beats Portland in overtime 3-2.

Standings: Hershey (.640 points percentage) — Providence (.620) — Penguins (.607) — Portland (.587) — Bridgeport (.580) — Hartford (.559) — Lehigh Valley (.487) — Springfield (.400)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers lost 4-1 in Game 2 of the Kelly Cup Semifinals to the Florida Everblades that ties the series 1-1. The series shifts to Wheeling April 20. Anton Zlobin had the goal for the Nailers in the loss.

Pens and Bears go off Sunday at 5. Gameday setup for that hits the blog Sunday at 1.

Let’s Go Pens!