Chirps from Center Ice

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It’s not something to be that proud of, but the Penguins with this win Saturday night, are solidly in sixth place in the Atlantic Division after a dominating 3-2 win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Wait. Dominating? A one goal win if dominating? Since when?

Penguins outshoot the Phantoms 35-22. They didn’t take a penalty. They clearly were the better team from the jump.

It sets up a huge midweek showdown in Charlotte Tuesday and Wednesday. The Checkers currently hold the five seed in the Atlantic.

Tommy Nappier opposed Kirill Ustimenko.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup: Filip Hallander was out with a non-COVID illness. I guess we have to highlight COVID vs. non-COVID from here going forward. Sam Houde went to the top line. Will Reilly went in on defense for Cam Lee.

First Period: No scoring. No penalties. Pens showed flashes with under five to play highlighted here on the splay by Nathan Legare.

Shots were 13-4. Pens were good, but Ustimenko was better.

Second Period: Two goals :34 apart to open the period for the Penguins and it looked like the rout was on.

Taylor Fedun got the party going just :51 into the period.

Then :34 later, Nathan Legare with a pass to himself then a shot that bleeds through Ustimenko to give the Pens a 2-0 lead.

Lehigh Valley made a push late. Hayden Hodgson lays a big hit on Taylor Fedun which set up Cal O’Reilly scoring to cut the Phantoms deficit in half with a flick of a wrist.

(no GIF of it)

Referees Jordan Samuels-Thomas and Jeremy Tufts stayed out of the way and didn’t call any penalties.

Third Period: P.O. Joseph scored his 8th goal of the season, tying him for the lead in that department among  defensemen.

That is an NHL caliber wrist shot. If you want another example, scroll down to the Rochester recap and check out his goal in that one. He’s not long for the AHL if he keeps doing this.

The Phantoms though, stuck around and scored on a redirect by Maksim Sushko that brought them to within one yet again.

(no GIF of this one either)

The Phantoms called timeout and pulled Ustimenko but Nappier and the Penguins defense kept them out. They never found the equalizer.

Three Stars: 3) Maksim Sushko (goal) 2) Taylor Fedun (goal) 1) P. O. Joseph (goal)

The Good: Was a little shocked to see Nappier go in back to back, but having two good goaltenders is a great problem to have. Also good to see the Penguins bounce back and take two clean points out of an in-state rivals rink.

The Bad: Clearly the better team, let the opponent stick around to a one shot possibility. That formula isn’t going to work the later we go.

Turning Point: Joseph’s goal gets it here. Phantoms were better as the period wore on. Plan coming out of the third was not to let the Penguins score another to go back up two.

Around the Division: Checkers shutout Bridgeport 2-0.…Springfield blows up a depleted Providence side 5-1….Hershey wins a close one at home against Belleville 5-4….Hartford needs overtime to beat Rochester 2-1.

Standings: Springfield .622 percentage points — Hartford .619 – Hershey .614 – Providence .579 – Charlotte .558 – Penguins .500 – Lehigh Valley .476 – Bridgeport .467

Wheeling Update: Nailers win in overtime 4-3 against Fort Wayne. Sean Josling with the game winner in that one.

Video Highlights: If the pens post em I will edit them in.

Big one Tuesday against Charlotte. I’ll work on the Power Rankings Sunday and they will be up Monday. Weekend Setup looking at Charlotte and Springfield next Saturday Tuesday morning.

Let’s Go Pens!

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You always wonder if treading away a prospect meant to come through your hallway is the right move or not.

Filip Gustavsson was that prospect.

He started in goal Friday for the visiting Belleville Senators and stole the show for the away team as the Senators win 2-1. 31 saves for Gustavsson earned him second star honors.

With that out of the way, this is a game that the Penguins would have easily won last week.

Thing is, the game evolves and teams get film on you. Troy Mann, the head coach of the Senators, is a hell of a coach and a guy I would take in a heartbeat to run my team. He had his team prepared tonight and while the Penguins were in the home black jerseys, everywhere they went on the ice, they were followed by a white shadow.

You could maybe make the same argument for Wednesday in Rochester too. Teams get film on you and if you don’t evolve, you get left behind.

Tommy Nappier opposed the aforementioned Gustavsson.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Valtteri Puustinen and Michael Chaput were returned by the Pittsburgh Penguins Friday morning. Jan Drozg and Sam Houde came out of the lineup.

First Period: Parker Kelly wasn’t on my sheet I print off the AHL on game day mornings. Neither were Puustinen or Chaput. That’s because Kelly was also sent back to the minor leagues by his parent team Ottawa today. He scored in the first period on a rush that put the Senators on the board.

Someone told me walking out that it could have been 5-0 at the end of the first. With shots being 15-5 Belleville, they may have been onto something.

Second Period: Ex-Penguin Andrew Agozzino scores this dart to double Belleville’s lead:

Shots evened up in the second period a bit. No penalties to speak of either.

Third Period: Penguins finally break through on a power play goal by Puustinen.

The Penguins had a few more chances on the power play but couldn’t find the equalizer,

Back to my point about scouting. Late, the Penguins couldn’t even get Nappier off because they couldn’t gain entry into their offensive zone. That’s excellent coaching.

Three Stars: 3) Tommy Nappier (31 saves) 2) Filip Gustavsson (31 saves) 1) Andrew Agozzino (goal)

The Good: Power play is warming up…

The Bad: …not warm enough though. Could have used more than one tonight.

Turning Point: Keeping with the theme, down a goal late in the third with under 7 to play the power play didn’t come through.

Around the Division: Bridgeport beats Charlotte 4-3…Springfield beats Hartford 4-2. James Neal (yeah, him) with a pair of goals….Lehigh Valley beats Hershey 6-3…Providence beats Rochester 3-2 in a shootout.

Standings: Springfield goes back top with .614 percentage points. Hartford .610 – Hershey .605 – Providence .595 – Charlotte .548 – Penguins and Lehigh Valley .488 – Bridgeport .477.

Wheeling Update: Nailers win in overtime 3-2 over Atlanta. Josh Maniscalco with the game winner.

Video Highlights: 

Back at it Saturday in Allentown.

Let’s Go Pens!

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So if you read the Weekend Preview earlier today (below this post) you read that the Penguins are building their success from the inside out. Goal and defense is good, offense is iffy.

That was on full display Wednesday night up in Rochester as the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins lose 3-1 and see their five game point streak end.

Penguins scored the only goal in the first, then clamped down defensively. Hard.

Four shots against in the second. Three in the third.

The bad news? One of them went in in the second and two of them went in in the third. One of them was an empty net goal.

It happens. The Penguins will win a heck of a lot more games then they will lose if they follow this blueprint.

Alex D’Orio opposed Aaron Dell.

Here’s how they lined up…

Rochester didn’t post lines.

Lineup Notes: Sam Houde and Nathan Legare were back for the recalled Valtteri Puustinen and Michael Chaput. Another note was the news that Niclas Almari is returning back overseas. The Penguins reassigned him back to Finland. Consider his North American career over. A fifth rounder who never really panned out stateside. He’s a free agent next year. That’s why you never buy stock in European players. You never know what you will get. A good majority of them never pan out.

Anyway.

First Period: Just 1:09 in and P.O. Joseph takes a nice pass from ex-Amerk Alex Nylander to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.

Pens were outshot 13-12 in a high flying period otherwise. Rochester had the only power play in the period.

Second Period: Through a minefield of penalties called in the middle of the period, Brett Murray scores what will go down as an even strength goal.

Goal came four on four.

Wilkes-Barre only allowed four shots against in the period but sadly one of them went in.

Third Period: Ex-Penguin Ethan Prow scores on a saucy feed from JJ Peterka to put the Amerks up 2-1.

Nothing you could do about that one.

Penguins had a power play but had a few shots but none that were worthy enough to beat Aaron Dell.

Peterka scored an empty net goal to ice the game away. The Penguins did have a great chance to score with D’Orio pulled.

Three Stars: 3) JJ Peterka (goal, assist) 2) Aaron Dell (32 saves) 1) Ethan Prow (goal)

The Good: Give me more of this defensive effort.

The Bad: The Penguins badly missed Valtteri Puustinen tonight.

Turning Point: When the Penguins couldn’t score on that power play in the third, you had the feeling it was curtains for Wilkes-Barre.

Around the Division: Only other team in action tonight was Springfield, who hand the Utica Comets a clean loss 3-2.

Standings: Pens back to .500 and will hold in sixth. That matchup next week with currently fifth place Rochester looks like it may be important.

Wheeling Update: Nailers with a 4-1 win in Kalamazoo. Nick Hutchinson with a pair of goals.

Video Highlights: 

Belleville at home Friday. More after then.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Said at the beginning of the week that if they took 5 or 6 points that the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins will have officially turned the corner.

As obvious as it has been for about a month or so now, the have officially turned the corner.

This game, a 2-1 overtime loss at the hands of the Providence Bruins, wasn’t so much about the result as much as it was about the way that they game was played.

They were competitive. They showed resolve. They didn’t cave.

Blitzkrieged by an 11-3 shot total in the first and a 10-5 shot total in the third, the Penguins gritted out a point against Providence who was the better team on the ice slightly. It’s a game that I think a month and a half ago they lose 6-1 or 7-3 or some crazy score like that.

Alex D’Orio opposed Jeremy Swayman. There were no lineup changes for the Penguins from last night but for who started in goal. Tommy Nappier from THEE Ohio State University backed up.

First Period: 11-3 shot disadvantage for the Penguins who also were on the penalty kill twice. No scoring. D’Orio performed well in the period.

Second Period: Roles reversed, the Penguins outshot the Bruins 15-5 in the period, had two power plays and scored at the expiration of one of them when Jonathan Gruden scored the only goal for the Penguins.

Third Period: P-Bruins opened with fire, got an early power play and Zach Senyshyn scored to tie the game at one early in the period.

(no GIF of the goal here, Providence does the bare minimum on social media)

Lots of back and forth. Take away the running total of shots and the teams looked to be dead even.

Overtime: Pens had a few good looks, then Providence, then the Pens for a minute but never could get set up. .It would be a Swayman save that set up Jesper Froden’s goal that thankfully the AHL tweeted in a video here:

They were scrambled eggs in their own end and the Bruins were laser focused. Ballgame.

The Good: You want a competitive game. If you expect them to win every game you are a maniac. They have been competitive. That’s all you can ask for. Carry this into Rochester next Wednesday.

The Bad: Providence comes to Wilkes-Barre on the skids and in front of the Penguins in the standings, seems like a golden opportunity to get all two points, clean, but it didn’t pan out.

Turning Point: Froden’s goal gets it here.

Around the Division: Hershey wins in Cleveland 4-1…Hartford gets four goals in the second to cruise to a 6-4 win against Lehigh Valley….Syracuse beats Charlotte 3-1 and Utica thumps Springfield 5-1.

Standings: Hartford .625 percentage points — Hershey .619 — Springfield .595 — Providence .583 — Charlotte .561 — Penguins .513 — Lehigh Valley .487 — Bridgeport .465

Wheeling Update: Nailers lose big to the Iowa Heartlanders 4-1.

Video Highlights:

Power Rankings Tuesday, Weekend Preview for Rochester (Wednesday) Belleville (Friday) and Lehigh Valley (Saturday) up on Wednesday morning as well.

Let’s Go Pens!

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I want to say they have turned the corner, but they have a game Saturday yet to play.

But four wins in a row, in an array of ways of getting them, has me believing that they have turned the damn corner.

4-3 win over a game Bridgeport Islanders club tonight. If I was going to give you a hot take, it would be that the Islanders make the playoffs. They are a good team.

Tommy Nappier opposed Cory Schneider. A rare night off for Alex D’Orio.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Filip Hallander was back in after missing Wednesday, Nathan Legare came out as a healthy scratch. Sam Houde was upgraded to day to day. Michael Chaput was also back as well after being slashed badly Wednesday.

First Period: Penguins started out like a house on fire, jumping out of a 2-0 lead just 3:27 into the game.

Sam Poulin drops a pass to Alex Nylander for a 1-0 Penguins lead.

Great heads up work by both players.

Then, a shot from Taylor Fedun is dug out of the pads of Cory Scheider by Jan Drozg and put in for a 2-0 lead.

They were off to the races. Then stopped and let the field catch back up to them.

Bridgeport would tie the game.

Kyle MacLean digs a pass out of his skates and beats Tommy Nappier to make it 2-1.

https://twitter.com/ahlislanders/status/1489758541145645058?s=21

Then a shot from the point is deflected in by Erik Brown.

https://twitter.com/ahlislanders/status/1489763347478286337?s=21

Oh boy.

Second Period: Needed a response coming out of the intermission and Anthony Angello gave it to you.

Just 1:49 into the period. Pick off a lazy pass from the defender and re-establish the lead.

The Penguins made Cory Schneider work, outshooting Bridgeport 20-4 in the period. One of those shots went in, and no one knew it at the time.

Ex-Penguin Paul Thompson with the shot that they thought went out of play. But upon further inspection, the puck was stuck behind the bar inside the net.

Yeah, that was a weird one.

The 20 shots in the period were the most in a period by the Penguins this season.

Third Period: Mitch Reinke shoots, Cory Schneider makes the save, Sam Poulin there for the rebound but spots a streaking P.O. Joseph for a goal that puts the Pens ahead again 4-3.

Bridgeport would come alive and would pepper Tommy Nappier but Nappier and the Penguins defense would withstand the charge.

With Schneider pulled, the Islanders would never find the equalizer.

Three Stars: 3) Anthony Angello (goal) 2) Sam Poulin (two assists) 1) P.O. Joseph (goal)

The Good: They continue to roll, four wins in a row and they didn’t take a penalty which gave the Islanders a power play.

The Bad: It should have been a runaway after those first three minutes, but the Islanders stuck around like an unwanted house guest. But the Penguins did get the job done and got two clean points from a team chasing them in the Atlantic Division.

Turning Point: The Joseph goal gets it here, but Nappier’s stops right after, that sequence there where Bridgeport was buzzing, gets it as well.

Around the Division: Hershey beats Cleveland 4-1. Lehigh Valley thumps Providence 5-1. Springfield beats Hartford in overtime 3-2. Charlotte dismantles Rochester 5-2.

Standings: Hartford .615 percentage points – Hershey and Springfield .610 – Charlotte .575 – Penguins .513 – Lehigh Valley .500 – Bridgeport .465

Wheeling Update: Nailers beat the Indy Fuel 3-1. Nick Hutchinson with a goal and an assist.

Video Highlights:

6:05 start against Providence Saturday. Chance to sweep the week and further climb the standings.

Let’s Go Pens!

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The corner, the corner, the corner. We have been talking for a few weeks whether the Penguins have turned the corner.

Well, this week you will find out. Tonight, they are off to a positive start, a 4-3 overtime win off Jordy Bellerive’s game winner.

I didn’t like giving away a point to a team that you are chasing in the standings, but that’s discounting the opponent and you should never do that.

After falling in a 2-0 hole, they battled back to take a 3-2 lead but gave away an extra attacker goal with under a minute to play.

Alex D’Orio got the start, looked like he was getting shelled when they went down 2-0, but shut it down and made key stops to keep the Penguins in it.

Wilkes-Barre got an influx of talent back from Pittsburgh. P.O. Joseph, Kasper Bjorkqvist, Michael Chaput and Juuso Riikola all were returned this morning.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Jan Drozg for Filip Hallander. I saw on Pens social media a photo of him practicing in a red sweater. He’s day to day.

First Period: Tommy Cross beats Alex D’Orio to give the Thunderbirds a 1-0 lead then Calle Rosen went bar down on a cannonading shot for a 2-0 lead. The Penguins were sleepwalking to start and the Thunderbirds were off to the races.

P.O. Joseph scores this coast to coast goal on a power play to give the Penguins some jump going into the second period:

Second Period: No scoring in this period but the Thunderbirds took back to back to back penalties and the Penguins weren’t able to score on any of them.

Third Period: Michael Chaput 8 seconds in. If you were late back to your seat at the Arena you missed it.

Chaput would be lost to the locker room with an apparent injury. I think it was in the area of the upper body.

They went back and forth for a bit, then Jan Drozg scored on a rebound to give the Penguins a 3-2 lead.

(Pens didn’t GIF that one….slackers)

But then with Joel Hofer pulled for Springfield, a puck pinballs around near D’Orio to Will Bitten left unmarked on the far side. Bitten slams it home to tie the game with under a minute to play.

If that would have held up as a game winner the headline would have read, “Bitten off more than you can chew.”

Thank goodness it didn’t, your puns are bad and you should feel bad.

Here’s the goal:

Overtime: I had a feeling a few seconds into the session that the game would be decided here. Springfield had a chance but then Bellerive ended it.

Three Stars: 3) P.O. Joseph (goal) 2) Michael Chaput (goal, assist) 1) Jordy Bellerive

The Good: I like they way they battled back. Springfield is good, but the Penguins were resilient and got timely saves from their goalkeeper when needed.

The Bad: I think you all know where I am going here, the power play went 1/5, but three straight in the second getting one, maybe two, would have buried the Thunderbirds and you could have gotten those clean points you were after when you came in.

Turning Point: In a game that chased it all night, it settles on Bellerive and his game winner.

Around the Division: Bridgeport beats Lehigh Valley 4-1 in a kids day game in Connecticut…Hartford clips Hershey 3-2 in a shootout…Rochester thumps Charlotte 5-1.

Standings: Hartford .618 percentage points — Springfield and Hershey .600 — Providence .588 — Charlotte .564 — Penguins .500 — Lehigh Valley .486 — Bridgeport .476

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off.

Video Highlights: 

Bridgeport in for the first time all season on Friday. Don’t underestimate this Islanders team, please.

Let’s Go Pens!