Chirps from Center Ice

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Look, I don’t care that the Lehigh Valley Phantoms are out of playoff spot. The Penguins and Phantoms slugged it out for 40+ minutes in a knock down, drag out goaltending duel for the ages.

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are trending upwards and have won six of their last seven games coming in to tonight contest. They shutout the Penguins the last time these two teams met with a goaltender up from the ECHL who posted a dazzling 40 save performance.

But on this night, it was the Penguins own ECHL goaltender that preserved the win and Jake Guentzel that scored a gritty, go ahead goal in the third period that propels the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins to second in the division with a 2-1 win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Friday night.

It was the aforementioned Casey DeSmith vs. AHL All-Star Anthony Stolarz.

Lines were…

Kael Mouillierat – Dustin Jeffrey – Adam Krause
Jake Guentzel – Carter Rowney – Tom Kostopoulos
Mattias Plachta – J-S Dea – Dominik Simon
Tyler Biggs – Teddy Blueger – Josh Archibald

Niclas Andersen – Steve Olesky
Tim Erixon – Ethan Prow
Will O’Neill – Barry Goers

Casey DeSmith – Sean Maguire

Lineup Notes: Barry Goers, Steve Oleksy and Tyler Biggs all returned to the lineup for the Penguins tonight. Brian Foster was sent to the Wheeling Nailers earlier in the day. Harrison Ruopp, Jarrett Burton, Patrick McGrath and Ryan Parent were the healthy scratches for the Penguins this evening.

First Period: Phantoms would jump out of the gates first when Lehigh Valley won an offensive zone face-off to Robert Hagg who wired it over DeSmith’s shoulder for a 1-0 Phantoms lead.

About two minutes later the Penguins would tie it on the shot by Will O’Neill and the deflection of J-S Dea…

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Some milestones on that assist by Will O’Neill…

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Then both goaltenders started making saves. DeSmith with a lunging save on Petr Straka and then denying Nicholas Aube-Kubel on a two-on-one rush.

Tyler Biggs had some drives to the net but Stolarz made the save.

Second Period: Was becoming the Anthony Stolarz and Casey DeSmith Show.

Stolarz was under bombardment early, denying Jake Guentzel off a nice feed from Tom Kostopoulos that kept it 1-1.

Stolarz would makes more saves with some saves on Ethan Prow in the high slot, then flicked out a pad on Adam Krause again and then again on Steve Oleksy. Barry Goers rang a post behind Stolarz.

Wilkes-Barre was looking for a dirty goal on the Phantoms netminder, throwing pucks at his feet and at his doorstep but he turned away all 14 shots sent his way in the period by the Penguins.

Casey DeSmith denied all seven shots sent his way.

Third Period: Stolarz made some more ridiculous saves, this time on his back, denying Dominik Simon on his back that kept the game tied at one a piece.

Pens were pressuring the Phantoms with everything. It was going to take a dirty or a deflection goal that was going to beat Stolarz.

So who better than the rookie, Jake Guentzel, with this deflection goal of a Carter Rowney shot that put the Pens ahead 2-1…

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Seth dropped this in after the goal…

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Teams traded power plays but neither took advantage. With Stolarz pulled for the extra attacker, the Phantoms never found the equalizer.

Three Stars: 3) Casey DeSmith (26 saves on 27 shots) 2_ Anthony Stolarz (40 saves on 42 shots) and 1) Jake Guentzel (game winning goal, even)

Around the Division: Hershey could have sewed up the Atlantic Division title tonight with the mess that is the Binghamton Senators. They didn’t. The B-Sens beat the Bears 4-2 up on the Southern Tier that keeps the door open for the Penguins or Bruins to slip in and take the Atlantic Division title….Hartford beats St. John’s 4-1 on The Rock to preserve their dim playoff chances, but those chances were extinguished for good as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers get a late goal by Bracken Kearns to beat the Portland Pirates up in Maine 3-2 that locks in the Eastern Conference playoff teams as the Sound Tigers are the last team to qualify. Springfield and Providence were idle.

Standings: Hershey (.635 percentage points) — Penguins (.615) — Providence (.615) — Portland (.588) — Bridgeport (.588) — Hartford (.567) — Lehigh Valley (.493) — Springfield (.392)

Wheeling Update: The Wheeling Nailers take Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Kelly Cup Semifinals over the Florida Everblades by a 6-3 score. Cody Wydo had a goal and three assists for first star honors. Andrew Ammon scored twice. Game 2 is tomorrow in Florida.

Wilkes-Barre closes out the regular season home schedule against a rested and hungry Providence Bruins team that will be gunning for home ice of their own. Gameday setup hits the blog Saturday at 3.

Let’s Go Pens!

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“A” for effort in this game, a 5-3 Pens loss to the Hershey Bears. A win today would have gotten the Penguins to within one for the Atlantic Division Championship but now the deficit is five with both teams having three games remaining including one in Hershey next Sunday in the regular season finale for both teams.

It was a valiant effort by the Penguins, scoring twice in the third period that tied things, but too many defensive gaffes at the end of the game doomed Wilkes-Barre / Scranton.

I know that some Clark Donatelli haters read the blog. So I offer this next tweet that flies in the face of your theory that he has no idea what he is doing…

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The Penguins were into their backups backup backup today as Casey DeSmith was called in and signed to a PTO Sunday morning which ushered in the recall of Tristan Jarry to Pittsburgh. Donatelli didn’t know how long Jarry would be up for but is confident in Foster and DeSmith.

If the Pens would have beat the Bears twice in this situation, it would cast serious doubts in the Bears minds moving forward.

It almost happened.

Justin Peters opposed DeSmith in the other goal.

Lines were…

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

Reid McNeill – Niclas Andersen
Tim Erixon – Ethan Prow
Ryan Parent – Will O’Neill

Casey DeSmith – Brian Foster

Lineup Notes: Other than in goal, Kael Mouillierat was back in the lineup after getting sent down Sunday morning and was in for Jarrett Burton.

First Period: Pens lost an offensive zone face-off and the Bears broke up ice on a two on one and Jakub Vrana passed to Ryan Bourque who scored to make it 1-0 Bears.

Pens couldn’t score on two power plays in the period and Justin Peters was dialed into the game, stopping everything coming his way in all forms. Pens were the better team in the period, outshooting the Bears 12-6.

Second Period: Oddest sequence of the season. J-S Dea was finishing off serving a high sticking penalty from the second period and went into the penalty box at the start of the third period without his helmet. The Penguins would kill off the remaining time of the Dea infraction but Dea was not allowed back onto the ice. Why? He didn’t have his helmet with him. Tom explains…

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Kostopoulos jumped onto the ice to “replace” Dea but the Penguins were assessed a too many men on the ice penalty as a result. Tom further clarified that Dea’s strap broke in the box as he was already there fastening it to his head right before the period started. Too much time passed to allow Dea to get his helmet replaced and back to him before his penalty expired.

Horribly odd sequence that nearly went the Bears way but the Penguins killed that too many men penalty and another penalty after that to keep the deficit at one thanks to nice stops by DeSmith in goal.

Pens would lose Reid McNeill to injury as he went in for a hit on the far boards and went down holding his knee. He needed assistance of two teammates to get off the ice, putting no pressure on his right leg.

Bears would double the lead on a turnaround shot by Garrett Mitchell that caught DeSmith off guard.

Pens would get on back on a late power play when Kael Mouillierat redirected one in that cut the Bears deficit to one…

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Pens got it even for the first time in the period when Dominik Simon raced past everyone and backhanded one in that tied the game at two a piece.

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Credit to the Bears, they had an answer for every piece of adversity that occurred in front of them.

1:01 later, Garrett Mitchell scored his second of the game when he scooped a puck off of DeSmith’s pad and flipped it in to give the Bears a 3-2 lead.

Pens would answer on a power play when a puck caroms off of a body right to Carter Rowney who put it in a gaping net that made it 3-3.

(no GIF of this one, sorry)

But the Bears would answer again a little over two minutes later when they beat out an icing call and Chris Bourque connects with Chandler Stephenson that put the Bears ahead for good at 4-3. Bourque would add the empty net goal that iced it away and made it 5-3.

Three Stars: 3) Will O’Neill (three assists, even) 2) Chris Bourque (goal, three assists, +4) 1) Chandler Stephenson (gaol, assist, +3)

Around the Division: Portland beats Hartford 3-2 which punched the Pirates ticket to the postseason….Lehigh Valley continues to play spoiler and beats Bridgeport 4-1…Providence edges Springfield 3-2.

Standings: Hershey (.644 percentage points) —  Penguins (.610) — Providence (.610) — Portland (.596) — Bridgeport (.582) — Hartford (.555) — Lehigh Valley (.500) — Springfield (.397)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers are preparing for their first round matchup against the Florida Everblades with Game 1 going off this Friday in Estero, Florida.

Coal Street infographic…

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I will update my charts later tonight then have the Week 27 AHL Power Rankings up on the blog Monday at 4.

Midweek, I am probably going to look at the remaining games for the Bears, Bruins, Pens and Sound Tigers to see where these teams could possibly end up seeding wise for the Calder Cup Playoffs and do my best to predict a first round opponent for the Penguins.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Benjamin Franklin said once that there were two guarantees in life.

Death and taxes.

If Franklin were around today, he would add a third.

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins qualifying for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

The Penguins were established in 1999. This is their 17th season of existence in the American Hockey League, which has been around for 80 years.

The Penguins have made the playoffs for the fourteenth consecutive season.

Teams have come and teams have gone, Norfolk, Saint John, Manchester to name three that have dismissed or defeated the Penguins en route to their own Calder Cup Championship. But one thing remains certain.

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The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins get knocked down, but they get up again. 13 straight years without a Cup? Whatever. We will get you stupid fools next year. Oh, you want to call up half the team when Pittsburgh regulars get hurt? Alright fine. Make it tougher on us. We will see through it.

Complain all you want about the price of a hot dog, the coaching, the goal song, whatever. The fact is this, there is a line the goes from the parking lot at the Mohegan Sun Arena to half way to Albany full of fans, media types and front office personnel that would trade places with you in a heartbeat. You want to know why? The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins are a model AHL franchise.

Like it or not, reality is, despite the lack of a Calder Cup Championship banner in the rafters, the Penguins are the envy of the league.

One of these years though, that lack of a banner in the rafters, will change.

Only question that remains is, is this the year?

The Penguins defeated the Hershey Bears on their own ice to lock up the 14th consecutive trip to the Calder Cup Playoffs winning tonight 4-3. Total team effort. Stellar display of goaltending by Brian Foster, yes, Brian Foster, to lock up the postseason berth.

Foster opposed Dan Ellis.

Lines were…

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

Reid McNeill – Niclas Andersen
Tim Erixon – Ethan Prow
Ryan Parent – Will O’Neill

Brian Foster – Tristan Jarry

Lineup Notes: Steve Oleksy was out of the lineup with a lower body injury sustained in Friday’s shutout loss to Lehigh Valley. Jarrett Burton slotted in for the recalled to Pittsburgh earlier in the morning Kael Mouillierat. Tonight was a scheduled night off for Tristan Jarry. With Matt Murray leaving the game in Philadelphia with an apparent head injury, Jarry’s status for tomorrow remains up in the air.

First Period: Excellent start by the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins. They pressed the Bears, limited opportunities at Foster and scored three goals in the process.

They killed a Ryan Parent trip then got the first of two goals from Dominik Simon in the period when Ellis, slightly out of position, allowed enough time and space for Simon to open the scoring.

They got the second goal of the night on a nice centering pass by Tom Kostopoulos to Carter Rowney who slipped it past Ellis to make it 2-0 Penguins.

They got burned by a defensive gaffe and miscommunication by Foster when Liam O’Brien knocked one in to cut the Bears deficit to one.

Undeterred, the Penguins went on a power play, didn’t score on it but Simon scored his second of the period on a nice redirect of a Josh Archibald slap pass in the slot.

Shots were 7-6 Pens at the end of one and compared to last night a great period by the Pens who came into this game losing three in a row.

Second Period: Pens went ahead 4-1 on a Reid McNeill shot that was tipped by a falling Jarrett Burton. That goal ended Dan Ellis’ night. Enter Justin Peters. That settled the Bears a bit because they got one back off the stick of Carter Camper on a next level redirection of a Ryan Stanton shot.

Special teams took over. Neither teams was able to score. Foster was solid on the penalty kill and the Pens only put one shot on Peters after he relieved Ellis.

Third Period: I noticed in the intermission that the Pens only had one shot on Peters in the second period. The Bears were riled up and ready for the third. After killing a penalty by the Pens the Bears were sniffing for the third goal. Then Tim Erixon knocked the net off deliberately resulting in a Bears power play. After two separate sequences where Brian Foster’s mask came off, Chris Bourque scored his 200th AHL goal on a wicked blast of a shot that Foster got some of, but not all of.

Pens needed to stop taking penalties but then Dominik Simon clipped Travis Boyd with a high stick and drew blood. 4:00 power play to the Bears. Here is where Foster came up big and won the game for the Pens. Several good chances by Hershey but they were unable to get it equal. After the Pens killed it, I head and felt a hush over the Bears crowd that that was it, the last bullet had been fired.

With Peters pulled and after a time out by Head Coact Troy Mann, the home team never found the equalizer.

Three Stars: 3) Chris Bourque (goal, even) 2) Tom Kostopoulos (two assists, +2) and 1) Dominik Simon (two goals, +2)

Around the Division: Bridgeport beats Lehigh Valley 6-4…Hartford beats Springfield 6-2…Providence beats Portland 6-1. 

Standings: Hershey (.639 percentage points) — Penguins (.618) — Providence (.604) — Portland (.590) — Bridgeport (.590) — Hartford (.563) — Lehigh Valley (.493) — Springfield (.403)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers were in Reading tonight and won 4-2 in their final regular season game. The Nailers now set their sights on the Florida Everblades in the first round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Coal Street infographic:

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And video highlights courtesy of the Bears….

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Rematch between these two teams Sunday at 4:05 from Wilkes-Barre. The Gameday setup hits the blog at noon.

Let’s Go Pens!!!

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Tonight’s Rapid Recap lede was too good to bury under the regular game story, so I am bringing it back. If you have already read these words, thanks.

Wilkes-Barre put 40 shots at Lehigh Valley Phantoms goaltender Martin Ouellette tonight and he didn’t flinch.

Wilkes-Barre had eight opportunities on the power play and the Lehigh Valley penalty killing unit didn’t flinch.

A 4-0 throttling at the hands of the Phantoms and all of a sudden the Penguins have lost three straight and have allowed an opponent to score a hat trick in two of the last three games. Adam Comrie did the honors tonight with a trio of goals.

Ouellette is a goaltender up from ECHL Reading. He has back to back shutouts after his Phantoms shut out the St. John’s IceCaps 4-0.

The reason the Penguins lost this game? The power play. I said this at the end of the first…

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It turned out to be true. The Penguins had three more opportunities on the power play in the second period and couldn’t cash on one then the Phantoms scored on a fluky, lucky shot when Adam Comrie toe dragged around a Penguin defender and put a shot that went bar down and in past Tristan Jarry, starting his eleventh straight game. It was Lehigh Valley’s ninth shot of the contest.

I said this at the end of two…

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I had a feeling that the Penguins were cooked. They played the perfect game, outshooting the opposition and dominating the play but trailed by one on a goofy shot that went in. They had one period to play and needed to play carefully, not to push the pace frantically but get the next goal.

For fifty-eight seconds of the third period, it worked.

Tim Brent scored on a rebound of a Chris Conner shot :59 in, and the rout was on.

Adam Krause had a chance shorthanded to make it 2-1, but Adam Comrie scored his second of the game on the power play from the high slot that made it 3-0 Lehigh Valley.

Comrie accomplished his hat trick with the Phantoms up two men in dramatic fashion. His shot broke his stick and still found the back of the net.

That was it. It was a game marred by penalties. The Phantoms scored on two of their eight tries. The Penguins played as the better team for 40+ minutes and could not score on any of their eight tries.

It happens.

The Penguins have lost three in row and now travel to Hershey for a home and home series beginning Saturday. If the Bears sweep, they win the Atlantic Division title.

Lineup Notes: Ethan Prow made his professional debut on the third defensive pairing. He didn’t look out of place jumping into plays and had a few good opportunities to score. He replaced Reid McNeill….Patrick McGrath was back in for the Penguins and fought Tyrell Goulbourne in the first period….Nic Andersen and Steve Oleksy were a combined -4 tonight. If you count the power play goals as part of the +/- equation, they were -7.

Three Stars: 3) Chris Conner (three assists, +2) 2) Adam Comrie (three goals, +1) and 1) Martin Ouellette (40 save shutout)

Around the Division: The Hershey Bears defeat the Bridgeport Sound Tigers 5-1. The Bears capitalized on a 5:00 major power play, striking twice…The Springfield Falcons cannot help the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins sew up a playoff spot as they lose 7-3 to the Hartford Wolf Pack….The Portland Pirates are up to third in the Atlantic after beating Providence 3-2 in Rhode Island.

Standings: Hershey (.648 percentage points) — Penguins (.613) — Portland (.599) — Providence (.599) — Bridgeport (.585) — Hartford (.556) — Lehigh Valley (.500) — Springfield (.408)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers punch a ticket to the Kelly Cup Playoffs thanks to a late goal by John McCarron and defeat the Reading Royals 4-3. The Royals also clinched berth tonight as well.

I’ll post any video highlights or infographics I see in a morning update.

Win and you are in. Penguins will try to accomplish that tomorrow in Hershey. I am actually making the trip to Chocolatetown tomorrow so if you are a Bears fan that happens to read the blog, stop me and say hi. I’m probably going to be the tallest person you see there.

Let’s Go Pens!

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The Penguins will probably clinch a spot in the playoffs this week. They could have today with a win. They didn’t. They lose 5-3 to the Portland Pirates. 

When they do, with the style of play that they have been exhibiting of recent, it doesn’t look like they will be in it for long.

Call ups. Injuries. Riding Tristan Jarry like a rented mule. No viable backup they trust. The beat goes on.

Hopefully the problem gets fixed and soon or else the Penguin will be looking at a very early exit out of the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Lines were…
Dominik Simon – Dustin Jeffrey – Kael Mouillerat
Jake Guentzel – Jarrett Burton – Tom Kostopoulos
Mattias Plachta – J-S Dea – Josh Archibald
Tom Sestito – Teddy Blueger – Adam Krause

Tim Erixon – Steve Oleksy
Will O’Neill – Barry Goers
Reid McNeill – Niclas Andersen

Tristan Jarry – Brian Foster

Lineup Notes: Jarrett Burton was in for Carter Rowney. Rowney is day to day with an upper body injury. He took warmups and was 50/50 to play and couldn’t. Head Coach Clark Donatelli shook up the lines a bit otherwise.

First Period: Had the feeling that if the Pens were going to reverse fortune from last night, they would need to strike first. That they did.

Tom Kostopoulos drove to the net and Brittain made the initial save. Jake Guentzel swiped home a rebound for his first goal as a professional.

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Later, Dustin Jeffrey busted down the near side, threw a pick at the net that deflected off of a Pirate skate and into the net for a 2-0 Penguin lead.

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That was Jeffrey’s 100th AHL goal.

Dylan Olsen cut the Penguins lead to one on a nice shot on the power play that made it 2-1 late in the first.

The Pens were the better team as played a better period. Shots after one were 9-5 Pens.

Second Period: Pens could score on a power play early on then could stop Portland from scoring on their second power play of the game when Connor Brickley finished off a tic tac toe play that tied it at two.

Pens would jump ahead when J-S Dea knocked one home on a nice rush by the Pens that made it 3-2.

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Pirates weren’t going away. Brett Olson scored when he finished off a cross ice pass on a shot that bled through Jarry that re-tied the game at three a piece.

The game hit a dangerous lull. Neither team was standing out. Then Logan Shaw got in behind everyone and scored to make it 4-3 for the Pirates.

Was that the death knell in the game for the Pens?

Third Period: Yes. The Pens could not score on a power play to open the period and Portland extended it to 5-3 when Shane Harper finished yet another cross ice pass. The Pens defense was getting worked.

Wilkes-Barre had the majority of shots in the period but never could get anything past Brittain to make a game of it.

Three Stars: 3) Logan Shaw (goal, +1) 2) J-S Dea (goal, assist, +2)  1) Connor Brickley (goal, two assists, +1)

Around the Division: The Hershey Bears sew up a Calder Cup Playoff berth with a 2-1 overtime loss up in Providence. Springfield beat Bridgeport 3-1. Hartford and Lehigh Valley were idle.

Standings: Hershey (.643 percentage points) — Penguins (.621) — Providence (.607) — Portland (.593) — Bridgeport (.593) — Hartford (.550) — Lehigh Valley (.493) — Springfield (.414)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers lost to the Toledo Walleye 2-1 in overtime. Anton Zlobin had the only goal for the Nailers in the loss.

Coal Street infographic…

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I’ll have an update to my charts tonight and the Week 26 AHL Power Rankings Monday at 4.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Dustin Jeffrey’s goal and two assists was what the Penguins needed to hold off a pesky Springfield Falcons team 4-3 on a Tuesday night home game in Wilkes-Barre.

It’s the type of game that probably eludes the Penguins two months ago with the lack of a dynamic playmaker like Jeffrey. Springfield has nothing left to play for but they came in and put up a heck of a fight against a Penguins team that has been elite pretty much all season.

Tristan Jarry, making his eighth straight start, opposed Marek Langhamer

Lines were…

Dominik Simon – Dustin Jeffrey – Adam Krause
Mattias Plachta – Carter Rowney – Tom Kostopoulos
Josh Archibald – Kael Mouillierat – J-S Dea
Tom Sestito – Oskar Sundqvist – Jarrett Burton

Tim Erixon – Steve Oleksy
Will O’Neill – Barry Goers
Reid McNeill – Niclas Andersen

Tristan Jarry – Franky Palazzese

Lineup notes: Teddy Blueger and Jake Guentzel were given the night off as Oskar Sundqvist and Jarrett Burton replaced them in the lineup. Reid McNeill was back and took the place of Harrison Ruopp.

First Period: Took the Pens about 90 seconds to get going, Steve Oleksy found Dustin Jeffrey skating down the slot and Jeffrey scored five hole on his old team to put the Pens up 1-0.

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Springfield got one back when Dominik Monardo parked himself in the driveway of Jarry’s crease and waited when Greg Carey put a shot in from along the far wall. Jarry made the initial save with the pad but Monardo swept it in to even the game at one.

Minutes later, Jeffrey and Dominik Simon worked a little give and go when and Simon tapped it in to restore the Penguin lead.

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Speedy period. Both teams were quick.

Second Period: :58 in, Greg Cunningham put a shot on Jarry that seemed harmless but it got by the Penguins goaltender that tied the game.

The Pens answered when the Falcons scored in the first and they did again in the second. This time, Nic Andersen had his shot blocked but still had enough on it to get it by Langhamer which made it 3-2 Pens.

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Both teams had chances via power play to capitalize but neither was able to. The Pens on back to back power plays and the Falcons with 1:01 of two man advantage.

A big scrum ensued at the end of the second period. Justin Hache and Steve Oleksy fought. Josh Archibald jumped into a pile of bodies.

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Third Period: The Penguins finally capitalized on the man advantage when Tom Sestito deflected a Will O’Neill shot from the point that went in to make it 4-2 Penguins.

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Falcons were spilling turnovers all over the place as the Penguins forechecked extremely hard. But, with less than a minute to play with Langhamer pulled got back to within one with a goal by Greg Carey that made it 4-3 with 54.4 seconds to play.

But with time dwindling and with Langhamer pulled, Springfield was unable to find the equalizer.

Three Stars: 3) Will O’Neill (two assists, even) 2) Dominik Simon (goal, assist, even) and 1) Dustin Jeffrey (goal, two assists, even)

The news of the day was that Pittsburgh signed defenseman Ethan Prow to a two-year deal that kicks in for 2016-17. He is headed to Wilkes-Barre on an Amateur Tryout Contract. Jonathan had some words on him here and Jesse Marshall from Pensblog broke it down here. Marshall is excited about the signing, given the fact that the majority of assets that Pittsburgh had were all traded away at some point or already in the system. Depending on when he gets here and how he practices, I’d expect Prow to see game action fairly soon.

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Around the Division: Bridgeport beat Portland in a morning kids day game by a score of 5-2….the only other game in the division was Hartford visiting Albany a game that the Wolf Pack lost 3-0. Box here. Everyone else was off.

The Magic Number to clinch is 4 on account of the Hartford loss and the fact that the Pens own a tiebreaker over them. Conceivably, Wilkes-Barre can lock up its fourteenth consecutive trip to the playoffs this weekend.

Standings: Hershey (.649 percentage points) — Penguins (.640) — Providence (.612) — Bridgeport (.596) — Portland (.575) — Hartford (.551) — Lehigh Valley (.478) — Springfield (.403)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers were off.

Coal Street infographic:

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Video highlights:

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Pens are off Friday, next game Saturday at home against Bridgeport.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Going with an abbreviated recap tonight as I was not at the game tonight, a 5-0 Providence Bruins win. I was driving back as the game was getting underway and got into radio range as the game was about 8 minutes old.

That’s when I should have turned around and went back to my Uncle’s house.

The Providence Bruins scored three times in the first period. Seth Griffith scored twice and was set up by ex-Penguin Max Talbot twice a and assisted on Talbot’s goal. From what I picked up on radio and in the Twitter play by play, the Penguins couldn’t get out of their own way in defending the Bruins, especially the line with Griffith and Talbot.

I saw Seth tweet during the blitzkrieg that Providence was outshooting the Penguins 8-0 during the stretch.

Providence is a hell of a team. When I was up in Binghamton last night, I caught up with Bob Howard, whose you may remember hosted the Power Play Post Show for many years. He and I were talking Atlantic Division and I told him that if this was mid-January and things were the way they are now in the division, that the Providence Bruins would be the odds on favorite to win the division.

The P-Bruins then went out last night and lost to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms who just came off an 8-0 pasting by the Hershey Bears Wednesday night and were on an eight game losing streak. You knew coming in that they were going to be extremely hungry and down right mad.

They took it out on the Penguins.

In the second, Colin Miller unleashed a bomb from the blue line that made it 4-0. Pens looked out of sorts. I was back home and in front of a TV at this point.

Pens had a power play to open the third and looked good on it but couldn’t score.

Max Talbot scored his second goal of the game when his shot redirected off of Will O’Neill’s skate and in to make it 5-0.

Pens couldn’t muster anything, despite outshooting the Bruins 12-9 in the third period, and went away quietly.

Only silver lining that could be taken from this game is that the Bruins have the leagues best power play and they did not score a goal against the Penguins tin bight and have not scored a goal against the Penguins on the power play at all this season.

Lineup wise, Dustin Jeffrey was back into the lineup. As a result, Jarrett Burton was the body who played last night that was scratched tonight. No changes on defense for the Pens.

Three Stars: 3) Seth Griffith (two goals, assist, +3) 2) Max Talbot (two goals, two assists, +4) and 1) Jeremy Smith (32 save shutout)

Around the Division: Lehigh Valley continues to play the role of spoiler as they defeat the Hartford Wolf Pack 2-1 at home tonight….Hershey beats Ablant in a shootout 3-2…Portland blasted Springfield 6-1… Bridgeport was off.

Standings: Hershey (.649 percentage points) — Penguins (.634) — Providence (.612) — Bridgeport (.590) — Portland (.583) — Hartford (.560) — Lehigh Valley (.478) — Springfield (.409)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers were in Kalamazoo tonight looking or revenge on last nights setback against the Wings but were unable to extract any kind of positive result and lost 5-1. Riley Brace scored the only goal for the Nailers.

I doubt there will be any infographic or video highlights from Coal Street tonight. If there are and I get a moment Sunday I will run an edit here.

Pens are back at it home Tuesday against Springfield.

I’ll have my charts updated sometime Sunday and have the Week 25 AHL Power Rankings Monday at 4.