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Maybe I should shut up and just buy into the hype. Maybe it’s just one game in fourteen more that the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins have to win, but Kasperi Kapanen’s two goals out of the three scored by the Penguins in 1:40 in the second period is enough to propel the Penguins to a 5-1 win and a 1-0 series lead. Game 2 tomorrow night in Wilkes-Barre.

I say that, because after his dazzling debut against Lehigh Valley a few weeks ago, one where he scored on his first shot on his second shift, Kapanen hasn’t done many things memorable since. He was scratched last weekend due to injury but maybe that was a godsend to step back and regroup and take things in on video and learn. Tonight he was spectacular.

The rest of the Penguins team wasn’t to shabby. Matt Murray made 22 saves on 23 shots to pick up his first postseason win. The Penguins played a disciplined game and beat a good Syracuse side that has not lost 10 of their last 11 games.

The aforementioned Matt Murray vs. Kristers Gudlevskis. Here’s a look at the lines….

Conor Sheary – Andrew Ebbett – Tom Kostopoulos
Josh Archibald – Jayson Megna – Kasperi Kapanen
Tom Kuhnhackl – Carter Rowney – Dominik Uher
Pierre Leblond – Matia Marcantuoni – Bobby Farnham

Scott Harrington – Barry Goers
Reid McNeill – Nick D’Agostino
Ryan Parent – Danny Syvret

Matt Murray – Jeff Zatkoff

Notes: Scott Harrington was re-assigned by Pittsburgh yesterday. Ryan Parent made his Penguins debut. Sean Escobedo took warmups but was scratched. Reid McNeill was back too.

First Period: I said in the Gameday setup that the first period was going to be crucial. You can’t if you are the Penguins give an opponent with a negative goal differential who lost 9 of their last 10 games any breathing room or life in Game 1 of a best of five series.

Well, halfway though, a feeling out process. Scoreless and each side had six shots. Crunch had a power play come and go.

Then the Penguins got what they were looking for. The goal to put them ahead.

Tom Kuhnhackl set up Dominik Uher from smack dab behind the net and Uher smashed it in to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. Penguins I noticed, really ran at the Syracuse defensemen on the breakouts. Went right at them and caught them flat foot. Evidenced by a Conor Sheary two on one late. Sheary was waiting for a trailing Kostopoulous but took it himself and shot it right into the belly of Gudlevskis.

Second Period: Boom.

Kasperi Kapanen scored to make it 2-0 off of a Jayson Megna offensive face-off win. Kapanen corralled a puck around bodies and roofed it past Gudlevskis for a 2-0 Penguin lead.

Barry Goers cross ice to Carter Rowney perched on the far side low dot for a one timer and in for a 3-0 Penguins lead.

Penguins could smell the blood in the water. Rob Zettler used his time out to try and calm his Syracuse team down.

It didn’t work.

Barry Goers with a pass off the pads to the wrong man at the time, Kapanen, for a 4-0 Wilkes-Barre lead. Floodgates open. Rout on. That would end Gulevskis night and enter Adam Wilcox, all of two games prior of professional hockey experience.

It actually worked, because the Crunch finally settled, the Penguins fell into a lull that always happens at the euphoria of a multi-goal outburst at a given moment and the Crunch got on the board at fourteen minutes on the dot with a Matthew Peca crash of the net goal that slipped under the pads of Murray to make it 4-1.

Third Period: Syracuse controlled the opening eight minutes until a Slater Koekkoek hold that put the Penguins on a power play. The Crunch would kill it but Danny Syvret would score to make it a 5-1 game which basically iced it away. The Crunch would muck it up after every whistle, but the Penguins held on.

Three Stars: 3) Carter Rowney (goal, two assists, +3) 2) Dominik Uher (goal, assist, +2) and 1) Kasperi Kapenen (two goals, +1)

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference: Hershey gets three goals on a 5:00 major power play late to ice the Worcester Sharks in Game 1 of that series by a score of 4-1. Game 2 goes tomorrow from Massachusetts. Hartford is up 1-0 in their series with Providence and Manchester is up 1-0 in theirs with Portland. Game 2’s all tomorrow there.

Wheeling Update: The Nailers lost 4-1 to the Toledo Walleye in Game 4 which ties that series at two games a piece. Eric Hartzell made 25 saves on 29 shots. Game 5 of that series is Saturday at 7:35.

By now you have heard that the Pittsburgh Penguins lost in overtime to the New York Rangers 2-1 in Game 5, essentially ending their season. I would expect that Taylor Chorney, Brian Dumoulin, Scott Wilson and Derrick Pouliot be reassigned to Coal Street most likely Sunday. Pouliot may take longer because he is recovering from injury. I wouldn’t rule out the Penguins just sending him home and him not coming here, to be honest. I’d be shocked if Chorney, Dumoulin and Wilson are re-assigned and in town for Saturday’s Game 2 vs. Syracuse. You have to give them time to get back to Pittsburgh with the rest of the team, decompress and go through the exit interview process. I would say that if Wilkes-Barre is going to get any help from Pittsburgh in the form of reinforcements, that it comes in time for Game 3 in Syracuse next Wednesday. Who knows.

Gameday for Game 2 vs. Syracuse hits the blog at 3 p.m. as the Pens look for the commanding 2-0 series lead.

Let’s Go Pens!

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  5                                       1

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If you follow the Penguins, even casually, you know that Head Coach John Hynes and Assistant Coach Alain NAsreddine are all about defense. The Penguins as a team, pride themselves on it.

Well, for the fourth time in five years, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins will have the best defense in all the American Hockey League.

And it was, interestingly enough, a defenseman, that stole the show today. Sean Escobedo had a career day today, scoring a goal and assisting on two others. The Penguins close out the regular season on a winning note, with a 5-1 win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The Penguins now turn their attention to the Syracuse Crunch, and open up the Calder Cup Playoffs Friday night in Wilkes-Barre.

Jeff Zatkoff opposed Rob Zepp. Here was a look at the lines….

Conor Sheary – Jayson Megna – Josh Archibald
Tom Kuhnhackl – Carter Rowney – Dominik Uher
Bobby Farnham – J-S Dea – Adam Payerl
Pierre Leblond – Matia Marcantuoni

Nick D’Agostino – Barry Goers
Sean Escobedo – Alex Boak
Danny Syvret – Clark Seymour
Steven Shamanski

Jeff Zatkoff – Matt Murray

The Penguins gave Tom Kostopoulos and Andrew Ebbett the afternoon off and went 11 forwards and 7 defensemen.

Prior to the game, the Pens made official the signing of Ryan Parent. Parent is a veteran defenseman with a lot of experience and experience is what the Penguins need, especially on the back end with all of these ECHL guys playing defense. Parent is a great add.

First Period: The Penguins, with pretty much nothing to play for, probably wanted to get a quick lead and give the ECHL rich defense some run. It worked.

Penguins found themselves on a 5-on-3 power play. After a few cycles with nothing, John Hynes called his time out.

J-S Dea cleaned up this rebound….

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/589901400878014464]

… that made it 1-0.

Then Tom Kuhnhackl zipped this shot past Zepp as the 5-on-4 power play expired…

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/589902069546536960]

It was the first AHL assist for Sean Escobedo.

Pens would successfully kill two consecutive penalties.

Second Period: Bobby Farnham made it 3-0 with this nice side step and back hand off of the wall…

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/589915632726048769]

Sean Escobedo had his second assist of the day with that Farnham goal.

Phantoms got on the board with an Olivier Lauridsen shot that beat Zatkoff short side.

Penguins got a power play, but it came and went. Wilkes-Barre bottled up the neutral zone. Jason Akeson tried a shot through bodies that hit too many that deflected away.

Third Period: Escobedo would finish a perfect cross ice pass from Carter Rowney on this power play…

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/589928036176437248]

The Penguins continued to pile on the offensive pressure. Josh Archibald took a puck in the corner that drew two men to him. Jayson Megna picked up the loose puck and zipped one home for the 5-1 Penguin lead…

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/589932306376351744]

Penguins would have to kill an Adam Payerl double minor for high sticking and did so perfectly. At this point, with the game decided, it was all about not getting hurt and the Penguins came out of it unscathed.

Notes: Tom Kuhnhackl is 5-6-11 in his last nine games. What a surge to end the season by Kuhnhackl….The Penguins ended the season with a 45-24-3-4 record, good for 97 points. That is better than last year when they were 42-26-3-5 and 92 points and was a 6 seed.

Three Stars: 3) Oliver Lauridsen (goal, even) 2) Jeff Zatkoff (28 saves, 29 shots) 1) Sean Escobedo (goal, two assists, +1)

Around the Division: Everyone else was off.

Standings: Hershey 100 — Penguins 97 — Binghamton 76 — Lehigh Valley 74 — Norfolk 64

Conference: 1) MCH (109) 2) HER (100) 3) HFD (95) 4) WBS (97) 5) SYR (92) 6) PRO (91) 7) WOR (88) 8) POR (87)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers come home for Game 3 of the Kelly Cup Playoffs Wednesday with the series tied 1-1.

SendToNews Highlights: May be up later and I may link in then.

Content wise, busy week. Final AHL Power Rankings hit the blog tomorrow. Fourth Quarter Grades will go up at some point this week. Western Conference and Eastern Conference Previews and a Preview of the Syracuse series all coming this week.

Let’s Go Pens!!!