Chirps from Center Ice

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I could pick it up in warmups and it was enough for me to tweet this…

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/577195407681449986]

Hartford is in a battle with about five teams, the Penguins included, for a playoff berth. Coming into this weekend, the Wolf Pack were on a six game losing streak. They needed this weekend, a three game road trip, to turn things around and get back into the playoff discussion.

Across the hall, the Penguins are coming into just the second game of the weekend after cooling off their biggest rival in two straight games. The thought may have slipped into the Penguins minds of just go through the motions and things will happen.

Well, it didn’t work. As a matter of fact, it blew up in their faces.

A 5-2 whipping today at the hands of the Hartford Wolf Pack who all of a sudden have won three straight. Not only that, the Penguins were outshot by a total of 40-13. No, that’s not a misprint. Forty to thirteen were the shots on goal including 13-3 at the end of one and 31-10 at the end of two. The Penguins were steamrolled from the drop of the puck today and the Wolf Pack never looked back.

Jeff Zatkoff opposed Jeff Malcolm today. The reason the Penguins lost was not because of the play of their goaltender. It could have easily been 7-2 tonight without the play of Zatkoff.

One line up change for the Penguins, J-S Dea was out for Josh Archibald. Derrick Pouliot did not dress, despite being sent down yesterday in the Andrew Ebbett transaction.

First Period: Penguins weathered the early Hartford storm, got a power play out of it, didn’t score. Hartford got a power play and scored immediately. It was executed perfectly. Faceoff win. Pass to point. Cross ice pass to far dot. Pass in front for a tip in goal. Red lights and fist pounds.

The assault continued. Penguins were being freight trained. Mike Kostka flipped a shot on net that Zatkoff never saw. 2-0.

Second Period: The pushback that the Penguins wanted never came. Reason? Had to kill essentially three straight penalties. First was a Scott Wilson double minor for high sticking that they were successful on. The second was a Josh Archibald slash that Conor Allen scored on from the blue line. 3-0. Shots to this point were 24-4.

Scott Harrington had a terrible game. A turnover behind his own net resulted in a shot and then a rebound to the wrong guy. His name was Chris Bourque. 4-0.

Seventeen seconds later, Josh Archibald scored on a rebound that finally gave the Penguins some life. It was 4-1.

Third Period: Exact copy from the start of the second, but it was Hartford taking penalties. Jayson Megna finally cashed from the slot to make it 4-2 cut the lead in half. After that, there was nothing that even resembled an offensive shift for the Penguins even with the benefits of a few power plays. It seems like, when the Penguins are on the power play, they don’t know how to enter the offensive zone from the blue line. If you were at the game today and saw that late third period power play, you know what I am talking about.

With time dwindling down, Jeff Zatkoff was pulled and who else but ex-Bear Chris Bourque would hit the empty net, therefore sealing the win for his team and indirectly helping his old team an hour south of Wilkes-Barre in the Bears by keeping the three point cushion intact for Hershey.

Three Stars: 3) Jayson Megna (goal, -1) 2) Chris Bourque (two goals, +2) and 1) Conor Allen (goal, assist, even)

Around the Division: Norfolk lost in Providence 4-1. Hershey and Lehigh Valley were idle. Binghamton won a crazy one, 8-7 in overtime in Adirondack.

Standings: Hershey 81 — Penguins 78 — Lehigh Valley 65 — Binghamton 60 — Norfolk 52

Conference: 1) MCH (84) 2) HER (81) 3) SYR (80) 4) WBS (78) 5) PRO (77) 6) POR (74) 7) HFD (74) 8) SPR (73)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers were idle.

SendToNews Highlights: Are here. Nothing much to see.

Week 23 AHL Power Rankings will go live on the blog Monday at 4. Check them out then. Otherwise, the Penguins next game is this Friday up in Syracuse. Hershey plays Wednesday, in Worcester. That will bear watching.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Andrew Ebbett was recalled to the Pittsburgh Penguins before the start of the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins game and that left Head Coach John Hynes with a decision to make.

Who was he going to insert on the top line with Conor Sheary and Tom Kostopoulos?

The answer was Jayson Megna. It was at the right one.

Fueled by a two point performance by Megna and a 26 save performance by Matt Murray, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins draw to within three points of the rival Hershey Bears with a 3-1 win Saturday night at home. The Penguins burn off their game in hand on the Bears tomorrow afternoon vs. the Hartford Wolf Pack.

Ebbett was recalled because Sidney Crosby got sick before the start of the Pittsburgh game this afternoon and Evgeni Malkin took a bump and left the game due to injury. The lines looked like this…

Conor Sheary – Jayson Megna – Tom Kostopoulos
Tom Kuhnhackl – Carter Rowney – Dom Uher
Scott Wilson – J-S Dea – Adam Payerl
Pierre Leblond – Matia Marcantuoni – Bobby Farnham

Brian Dumoulin – Taylor Chorney
Scott Harrington – Barry Goers
Nick D’Agostino – Danny Syvret

Matt Murray – Jeff Zatkoff

First Period: Megna made his presence felt early with a goal at 1:48 to put the Penguins on the board early finishing a nice pass from Tom Kostopoulos on the backhand. Penguins continue with pressure with Carter Rowney nearly scoring off a Bears turnover. Teams would trade power plays. Late, Conor Sheary scored on a shot that beat Bears starting goaltender Philipp Grubauer short side to put the Penguins ahead 2-0.

Second Period: You knew that Hershey was going to make a push, it was just a matter of when. The answer came in the second period. The Bears badly outshot the Penguins and were finally rewarded with a goal from Mike Moore from the high slot that beat a screened Murray and in for a 2-1 Penguin lead. Wilkes-Barre didn’t have to wait long to establish a two goal lead again though. Matt Murray made a big save, then right back down the other end the third line of Tom Kuhnhackl made a pass to Carter Rowney who shot the puck, Grubauer never controlled the rebound and a trailing Dominik Uher deposited the rebound for a 3-1 lead.

Third Period: Grubauer kept his team in it early and often, making a save on a Rowney breakaway, but the Penguins played shutdown defense the whole period and didn’t give the Bears much. What they did get to Murray he stopped. Bears couldn’t get anything past Murray even with Grubauer vacated with about two minutes to play.

Three Stars: 3) Matt Murray (26 saves on 27 shots) 2) Conor Sheary (goal, +1) and 1) Jayson Megna (goal, assist, +1)

Quite the opportunity for Megna and a blessing in disguise for both he and Hynes. That top line of Kostopoulos, Ebbett and Sheary was one of the best but with Megna it looks equal if not better.

Around the Division: Binghamton hosted tomorrow’s competition, Hartford, and lost 4-3. Lehigh Valley was in Connecticut and won 4-2. Norfolk lost 2-0 to Portland up in Maine.

Standings: Hershey 81 — Penguins 78 — Lehigh Valley 65 — Binghamton 58 — Norfolk 52

Conference: 1) MCH (84) 2) HER (81) 3) SYR (78) 4) WBS (78) 5) PRO (75) 6) POR (74) 7) HFD (72) 8) SPR (71)

Wheeling Update: Wheeling lost 4-1 to the Elmira Jackals at home. Eric Hartzell started and took the loss, stopping 32 of 35 shots.

SendToNews HIghlights: Not up yet. I will look again and probably run in the morning edits.

Penguins burn off their game in hand on the Bears tomorrow with a 4:05 start against Hartford. A win would put the Penguins just a point back of the Bears, with the same amount of games to play. Gameday setup hits the blog at high noon Sunday.

Let’s Go Pens!

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I tweeted a stat last night that I’ll bring back here on the blog because reflecting on it, given the rivalry between these two teams, it really is something:

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/575458504099520512]

Edit: It’s actually December 7-12.

Well, start the clock again, because the Penguins beat the Bears by a score of 5-3 tonight. Wilkes-Barre scored three goals in the third period to seal up the two points and draw to three points of the Bears for the division lead. The rematch is Saturday night in Wilkes-Barre, not before the Bears travel to Binghamton Friday.

The Penguins have points in 17 of their last 19 games and are 15-2-1-1. Hershey has all of a sudden lost two straight, and three of four. Are they cooling off? No. I don’t think so. It’s a regression to the mean that you see in mathematical speak from time to time.* Does it benefit the Penguins? Heck yeah, dude, because we now have a realistic chance to take the division and possibly more.

Anyway, Matt Murray opposed Phillipp Grubauer.

Lines and stuff were the same. New guy Danny Syvret was in for Harrison Ruopp on the third pairing with Nick D’Agostino. D’Agostino’s usual D partner Barry Goers moved up to the second pairing with Scott Harrington.

First Period: Penguins penalty kill was put on early and easily killed a Brian Dumoulin high stick. Then Jayson Megna makes a move on Philipp Grubauer and appears to hit the crossbar and bounce out. Referee Terry Kowarski was right on top of the play and washed it out immediately. Play continued to the point where Dumoulin found Andrew Ebbett with a thread pass that sprung Ebbett on a breakaway. Erik Burgdoerfer hooked him and a penalty was called. Replay showed that the Megna shot actually hit the inside of the crossbar and bounced out and the goal was awarded. The time was put back on the clock but the Burgdoerfer penalty stuck. Reason was it’s in the rules. Rule 79.1 of the AHL Rule Book:

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/575801317760729089]

So I was confused, but VP of Communications Jason Chaimovitch was kind enough to tweet in and clarify:

[tweet https://twitter.com/JChaimo/status/575813335930826754]

[tweet https://twitter.com/JChaimo/status/575814597069905920]

We here at Chirps from Center Ice aim to educate as well as inform.

Oh, Connor Carrick tipped a Dustin Gazley shot past Matt Murray and in for a tie game heading into the….

Second Period: Penguins started to clamp down on the Bears, forcing them into many icings and Hershey Head Coach Troy Mann into using his time out. But Gazley scored on a two on one to make it 2-1 for the Bears anyway shortly after. The first time that Murray has allowed more than one goal since January 31 against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Barry Goers got his first goal of the year off a nice deflection shot from a pass from Jayson Megna to make it 2-2. Tight checking hockey in the first half of the game followed by wide open end to end theatrics with two goals scored.

Third Period: Mike Moore got space, made a couple of moves that shook Murray down and scored to push the Bears ahead 3-2.

Thirteen seconds later, Pierre Leblond puts a shot in on Grubauer. A trailing Matia Marcantuoni scores on the rebound to make it a tie game yet again.

Time dwindled down to under five minutes. Finally Tom Kostopoulos scored on a tip shot from a Conor Sheary pass to make it 4-3 Pens.

Oh, now would be a good time to explain my silly headline. The Bears were caught with too many men on the ice on three separate occasions. The third time really cost them because they were trailing 4-3 late and were looking to pull Grubauer for the extra man when they got caught with one too many for the third time. Conor Sheary scored on his own rebound with under a minute to ice it away and guarantee the two points for the Penguins.

Three Stars: 3) Dustin Gazley (goal, assist, +1) 2) Jayson Megna (goal, assist, +2) and 1) Tom Kostopoulos (goal, assist, -1)

Around the Division: Lehigh Valley was the only other game in the division and they were in Toronto taking on the Marlies and won 4-3.

Standings: Hershey 79 — Penguins 76 — Lehigh Valley 61 — Binghamton 58 — Norfolk 51

Conference: 1) MCH (81) 2) HER (79) 3) SYR (74) 4) WBS (76) 5) PRO (72) 6) WOR (70) 7) POR (70) 8) SPR (70)

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off. The Penguins recalled Alex Boak before the game for some reason though.

SendToNews Highlights: YouTube instead….

[youtube https://youtu.be/W04GbXon6Q0]

Pens off until Saturday and will actually have a game in hand on Hershey come Saturday but will quickly burn it off Sunday against Hartford. Unless there is anything breaking, look for the next blog update either Friday night after the action in the East Division concludes or Saturday afternoon for the Gameday setup for the rematch.

Let’s Go Pens!!!

* – I am no expert. Trust me.

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Late in the third period, with the game already well decided to the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins, Springfield forward Dana Tyrell cherry picked a Penguin turnover from the blue line and skated across center ice and towards Matt Murray on a breakaway. Brian Dumoulin was trailing.

Tyrell made a few moves and backhanded the goal past Murray and in. It ended a record that Matt Murray had set for shutout minutes. The number? 304:11, breaking the old record set by Barry Brust a few years ago of 268:17.

Out of all the saves that Murray made, 130 in total during this remarkable, remarkable run, he will probably say that the seemingly weak and savable shot that Tyrell made was one he could have saved 99 out of 99 times.

304:11. A new record in the 79 year history of the American Hockey League. Good luck breaking that one.

The Penguins won the game 4-1 and continue to rack up points to the good and for the run to the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs.

Murray opposed Oskar Dansk

Lineups were essentially unchanged from last night. Josh Archibald skated the warmups but was scratched. Last night in Manchester is was J-S Dea.

First Period: Springfield started with jump, with old pals Brian Gibbons and Ryan Craig buzzing about generating chance after chance. Penguins then started to take control of the period and got a power play. Tom Kostopoulos scored this goal that counted…

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/574651978913030144]

.. my first retain, and you can hear my voice at the end of the video, was that Kostopoulos kicked it in. Referee Darcy Burchell disagreed with me and the goal stood. It was on a power play.

Falcons came alive after that goal and started to generate more chances with Gibbons and Craig continuing to pressure. Matt Murray shut the door.

Second Period: Berfore history was made, it almost never came to fruition. Sean Collins broke in on a break but Murray made the save. Gibbons with a shot from far, Murray a cool glove save. It was just a matter of time before Murray made history and he did, with the Falcons bearing down.

Adam Payerl scored off of a rebound of a Scott Wilson shot that made it 2-0. No video of this one. Sorry.

Andrew Ebbett scored this ridiculous goal being hauled down. Take a look at this one…

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/574667821046718465]

Just nasty.

Third Period: Matt Murray continued to make history. He had a sequence of unreal stops on a Springfield power play. I would have got video of that, but I am sure that Brian Coe and the Penguins brain trust on Coal Street will have a video montage of Murray’s history making run. You will want to check that out if they every put one out.

Wilkes-Barre continued to control the period. Time was dwindling… then Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond did this…

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/574679550262669314]

Tyrell scored on the breakaway with about a minute or so remaining bringing the shutout streak to an end. It was the first goal scored by the Springfield Falcons against the Penguins in true four meetings.

By the numbers….

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Three Stars: 3) Andrew Ebbett (goal, assist, even) 2) Tom Kostopoulous (goal, assist, even) and 1) Matt Murray (32 saves on 33 shots)

Around the Division: Hershey lost 5-1 to the Portland Pirates at home. Charlotte beat Norfolk 4-2 in North Carolina. Binghamton beat Syracuse 4-2.

Standings: Hershey 79 — Penguins 74 — Lehigh Valley 59 — Binghamton 58 — Norfolk 51

Conference: 1) MCH (79) 2) HER (79) 3) SYR (74) 4) WBS (74) 5) PRO (72) 6) POR (70) 7) SPR (70) 8) WOR (68)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers were in Evansville, and lost to the IceMen 2-1.

SendToNews Highlights: Are here.

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Penguins finally home and host the Hershey Bears Wednesday and Saturday this week. My Week 22 AHL Power Rankings will hit the blog Monday at 4. I’ll get started on the chart refresh Sunday night. Check back.

Let’s Go Pens!!!

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It’s becoming a trend.

Whenever Matt Murray skates out to the net the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins are defending at the beginning of the game, the Penguins have a chance to win.

What does a goaltender do? Stops shots. Helps the team win. Murray has done his job, masterfully. His #1 status in Wilkes-Barre, the AHL Goaltender of the Month Award for February backs up that statement.

But he is on another planet. Another shutout today, his ninth overall and fourth in a row, breaking a Wilkes-Barre / Scranton team record for consecutive shutouts with four.

But wait, there is more. Murray can make AHL history tomorrow if he skates out to the net the Penguins defend tomorrow afternoon in Springfield and does his job for another 23 more minutes.

That would be the AHL record for consecutive shutout minutes, set by Barry Brust of the now defunct Abbotsfoird Heat a few years ago. The record is 268:17. Murray’s streak is 245:22.

You think Murray is aware of this? You think he cares? You think Head Coach John Hynes is aware of this, you think he cares?

My money bets no. The Penguins are in a playoff battle and are chasing the Hershey Bears for the East Division lead and 6 other teams in the Eastern Conference for a playoff berth. Murray, Hynes and Company are probably more focused on just winning tomorrow against the Falcons and nothing else. The rest is gravy. The Penguins won the game today 3-0.

Murray opposed Patrik Bartosak today in net.

Lines were….

Conor Sheary – Andrew Ebbett – Tom Kostopoulos
Scott Wilson – Jayson Megna – Adam Payerl
Tom Kuhnhackl – Carter Rowney – Dominik Uher
Pierre Leblond – Matia Marcantuoni – Bobby Farnham

Brian Dumoulin – Taylor Chorney
Scott Harrington – Barry Goers
Nick D’Agostino – Harrison Ruopp

Matt Murray – Jeff Zatkoff

Lineup Notes: Josh Archibald was scratched. J-S Dea took warmups but was scratched. I had a booster club member tweet in and tell me that they saw Reid McNeill with a cast on his left hand in the elevator, thus Harrison Ruopp was in for him today. Obie said on the broadcast that he is week to week.

First Period: Penguins opened with a slower pace to start and got physical after every whistle that stopped play. The game plan worked. Forechecking pressure by Dominik Uher caused a turnover by the Monarchs right to Matia Marcantuoni who was parked right in the slot, collected the puck, fired and scored….

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/574308974939533313]

Penguins limited the Manchester chances, let the game come to them, and led the Monarchs in shots 12-8 after the first period.

Second Period: Penguins kept the Monarchs to the outside, played a team centric game and at times smothered the Monarchs, who remember are one of the AHL’s best teams at home and one of the best teams in the AHL all season long. Conor Sheary kept his eye on the puck….

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/574316534170058752]

… and doubled the Penguins lead.

The Penguins continued to pressure the Monarchs. What little momentum they did build was halted when they took a penalty late in the period. The Penguins continued to smother Manchester late.

Third Period: If Murray does make AHL history should he start tomorrow in Springfield, point back to this period as the period that helped him get the record…

1) The Penguins started out on the penalty kill with a late second period penalty to Adam Payerl. Manchester had 1:58 of power play time on clean ice to work with. The Monarchs have the top unit in the AHL.

2) Brian Dumoulin was nabbed for elbowing, putting the Monarchs back on the power play. The Penguins did a good job of holding off the Monarchs power play the last time, but did an even better job this go around because Tom Kuhnhackl scored just the second shorthanded goal of the season for the Penguins here….

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/574330342577934336]

3) Scott Harrington was caught closing his hand on the puck in the crease when there was a mass of bodies in front of the net. After discussion, referees awarded a penalty shot. Sean Backman took it and missed.

4) Monarchs got yet another chance on the power play, but did not capitalize.

Penguins took just five shots in the third. Manchester had seventeen. They threw everything they had at Murray, had the benefits of three power plays and a penalty shot, and came up empty. Remember this is the same Manchester team that subjugated the Penguins the night before.

Three Stars: 3) Tom Kuhnhackl (shorthanded goal, +1) 2) Matia Marcantuoni (goal, +1) and 1) Matt Murray (32 save shutout)

Around the Division: Hershey beat Hartford 5-3 so the lead between Hershey and Wilkes-Barre remains seven to the Bears…Portland beats Lehigh Valley 5-4 in Allentown. Binghamton and Norfolk were idle.

Standings: Hershey 79 — Penguins 72 — Lehigh Valley 59 — Binghamton 56 — Norfolk 51

Conference: 1) HER (79) 2) MCH (77) 3) SYR (74) 4) WBS (72) 5) PRO (70) 6) SPR (70) 7) WOR (68) 8) POR (68)

Wheeling Update: Nailers win 4-3 against Indy in Indiana. Alex Boak had a goal. Big win for Wheeling.

SendToNews Highlights: Manchester doesn’t send them. Click on my replays of everything for all that you need.

Will Murray get the net tomorrow? Will he make history? Tomorrow’s game in Springfield is a 3 p.m. start. Remember to set your clocks ahead one hour!

Let’s Go Pens!

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A couple of questions will surround this Penguins team tonight into tomorrow, after a 6-3 loss to the Manchester Monarchs in New Hampshire tonight….

— Can the Penguins run with the elite teams? Manchester has a great home record (24-6-1-0) and just doesn’t lose at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
— Is Wilkes-Barre a one-dimensional team that, with proper personnel and scouting, you can shut down? The Penguins were out shot 28-18 tonight and had just 11 shots through 40 minutes of play.
— Is this the end of the Jeff Zatkoff as we know him? Zatkoff has been insulated by the stellar play by February’s AHL Goaltender of the Month Matt Murray and is basically the backup for the Penguins coming down the stretch.

As I was watching this one on AHL Live tonight, with the game already decided, I wondered if Head Coach John Hynes will even sleep tonight, with the teams rematching Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.

The answer to my third question really wouldn’t have mattered and you are silly if you pin the loss 100% on Jeff Zatkoff’s shoulders. The Penguins lost this game tonight because they played bad as a team, not because of the play of the goaltender tonight.

We don’t have to wait very long to see how the Penguins respond to this loss, which snaps a 10game point streak.

The aforementioned Jeff Zatkoff vs. Jean-Francois Berube.

Lines were…

Conor Sheary – Andrew Ebbett – Tom Kostopoulos
Scott Wilson – Jayson Megna – Josh Archibald
Tom Kuhnhackl – Carter Rowney – Dominik Uher
Bobby Farnham – Matia Marcantuoni – Adam Payerl

Brian Dumoulin – Taylor Chorney
Reid McNeill – Scott Harrington
Nick D’Agostino – Barry Goers

Jeff Zatkoff – Matt Murray

Harrison Ruopp skated the warmups but was a scratch. J-S Dea and Pierre Leblond did not participate in warmups and were the other healthy scratches.

Nick Drazenovic (upper body) and Bryan Rust (lower body) are still week-to-week and are not on the trip.

First Period: There are a few teams in the AHL that you just cannot make a mistake against. The Monarchs are one of them. After a really bad turnover by Taylor Chorney to Jordan Weal, Manchester jumped out to the quick 1-0 lead. They quickly made it 2-0 off a Brian O’Neill slam dunk far post. The Penguins were trapped on the ice for an icing, got caught trying too hard to get the puck out of the zone and forgot that O’Neill was camped out far post.

Penguins got one back on the power play off of Scott Harrington’s first of the season….

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/574004355470352384]

It was also the eighth straight game that Wilkes-Barre has scored a power play goal.

Manchester re-established the two goal lead on a power play goal from Colin Miller.

Second Period: Frustrating period for the Penguins, who managed just one shot on goal for the first ten minutes/ They didn’t do themselves any favors, gift wrapping the Monarchs a long 5-on-3 power play that Vincent LoVerde scored on at the very end of to make it 4-1. The Monarchs continued to contain the Penguins. Finally, late, the Pens had two consecutive power play opportunities and scored on this one from Taylor Chorney…

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/574019023819702273]

Just when you think the tide is turning for the Penguins, Andrew Bodnarchuk scores to make it 5-2 for the home team in the final minute.

Felt like that whenever the Penguins took a step forward, they followed it up with two steps backward.

Third Period: Penguins opened with a sense of urgency and got this goal from Dominik Uher to draw back within two…

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/574025418166157312]

Carter Rowney set that play up by cycling the puck low and threw the puck on Berube. Uher was there to clean up the rebound.

Josh Archibald took his first of two tripping calls in the period and that ended any hope of a Penguins comeback because the Penguins needed to kill a penalty. They were successful, but then Jordan Weal picked up his fourth point of the night when he deked Nick D’Agostino out of his jock and scored to make it 6-3.

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/574030543261732864]

Yikes.

Credit to Manchester. Every piece of momentum that the Penguins countered with they responded to. That needs to be cleaned up quickly and should.

Three Stars: 3) Zach O’Brien (two assists, +3) 2) Brian O’Neill goal, assist, +3) and 1) Jordan Weal (two goals, two assists, +2)

Around the Division: All wasn’t lost from a Penguins perspective because Hershey lost 2-1 to Providence. Binghamton beat Norfolk 3-2 in overtime and Lehigh Valley beat Bridgeport 2-1 also in overtime.

Standings: Hershey 77 — Penguins 70 — Lehigh Valley 59 — Binghamton 56 — Norfolk 51

Conference: 1) MCH (77) 2) HER (77) 3) SYR (74) 4) WBS (70) 5) SPR (70) 6) WOR (68) 7) HFD (68) 8) PRO (68)

Wheeling Update: After playing four games in five games this week, the Nailers had a much needed Friday night off.

SendToNews Highlights: Are not up yet. Doubt you’d want to look anyway. If I remember at some point tomorrow I will link in. No promises.

Gameday for the rematch vs. these Monarchs will be up at 11 a.m. for the 3 p.m. start.

Let’s Go Pens!

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The Penguins as a team rolled to a 7-0 win Sunday afternoon vs. the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in Southern Connecticut. The two teams are two teams that are going in opposite directions.  The Penguins haven’t are 8-0-1-1 and the Sound Tigers have lost now nine straight. Two trains passing in the night, if there ever was one.

The only real issue after the end of the first period wasn’t whether the Penguins, up 2-0 at the time, were going to win the game but whether Matt Murray was going to earn his third straight shutout, and eighth overall.

He did.

Just some of his statistics for you to gnaw on…

— Three straight shutouts.
— A streak of 185:22.
— Last five starts: 127 saves on 128 shots, 5-0-0, 0.20 GAA and a .992 SV% with four shutouts.
— Murray takes over the Penguins franchise lead in shutouts for a season, passing Brad Thiessen in that category.

Murray is one shutout shy of tying himself with Wade Dubielewicz (2003-04) and Gordie Bell (1942-43) for all time shutouts made by a rookie goaltender.

A remarkable, remarkable run for the first year goaltender.

He will tell you that it is a team effort and will downplay any attention paid in his direction.

But the stats, and the company he is in so far, bears the attention.

The Penguins just dominated the Sound Tigers today. Bridgeport only had 18 shots on goal today playing the third game in three games. The Penguins were the rested and better of the two teams and this was on full display today.

Matt Murray vs. David Leggio

Lines were:

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

Brian Dumoulin – Taylor Chorney
Reid McNeill – Scott Harrington
Nick D’Agostino – Barry Goers

Matt Murray – Jeff Zatkoff

Alex Boak skated the warmups as the extra defenseman but was scratched. Adam Payerl was swapped out for Tom Kostopoulos.

First Period: Sound Tigers opened with some pressure. Brett Gallant had a nice hit on Matia Marcantuoni. As he was coming off the ice with his team pressuring in front of Matt Murray, he was confronted by Bobby Farnham. They tumbled right to the ice and it wasn’t much of a fight at all. Very smart play by Farnham to stop play and start something.

Then the Penguins went on a power play and, despite what the caption says, Tom Kuhnhackl finished this…

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/572129818990395392]

Pierre Leblond nearly scored from the high slot as the Penguins continued to pressure. Bridgeport then had a chance n a power play but couldn’t sneak anything past Murray.

While the teams were four-on-four, Jayson Megna did this…

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/572133170394447872]

That’s Josh Archibald that finished off that play. His first AHL goal since November 21 against Albany.

Penguins continued to pressure the Sound Tigers and outshot them 16-5.

Second Period: Was actually running a bit behind coming up the steps as the second period started as Jayson Megna did this…

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/572143751230988288]

It was off of a gaffe of a turnover by Cory Conacher.

Brian Dumoulin hasn’t had a power play goal at all this season, but finally got one off of this play…

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/572145944675807232]

There really wasn’t much to this period, the Penguins really dominated the Sound Tigers in all facets in this period. The Penguins had five shots in the period but scored two goals off of them, while the Sound Tigers only had seven.

Third Period: Sorry about the lack of video for the fifth goal, which was a Scott Wilson shot from the long side of the left circle that made it 5-0.

The Sound Tigers wouldn’t stop taking penalties. The Penguins made them pay. This was on repeat twice more in the period.

First, Andrew Ebbett…

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/572161220276461568]

And then Josh Archibald…

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/572161852836225025]

It was Archibald’s second of the game and again, first goals since November. I would say that the stint in Wheeling paid dividends for Archibald, who was the footnote to Murray and the Penguins dominating day.

The only issue was would Murray hang on for the shutout, and he did.

Three Stars: 3) Matt Murray (18 save shutout) 2) Jayson Megna (goal, assist, +3) and 1) Brian Dumoulin (goal, two assists, +1)

Around the Division: Binghamton lost in overtime to the Albany Devils, 4-3 in overtime. Hershey keeps winning too, beating Lehigh Valley 2-0. Goaltender Philipp Grubauer with his sixth shutout of the season as well.

Standings: Hershey 77 — Penguins 70 — Lehigh Valley 57 — Binghamton 52 — Norfolk 50

Conference: 1) HER (77) 2) MCH (75) 3) SYR (74) 4) WBS (70) 5) SPR (70) 6) HFD (68) 7) WOR (66) 8) PRO (66)

As long as the Penguins keep winning, there really is no sense in keeping up with what other teams in the Conference are doing win / loses wise. So let’s juts move past this…

Wheeling Update: The Nailers played today but due to bad ice at WesBanco Arena, the game was delayed until tomorrow with the Greenville Road Warriors.

SendToNews Highlights: Are here.

Depending on the trade deadline, Monday at 3 p.m., I may run a summary post of what it all means for the Penguins and the teams in the East Division. The Week 21 AHL Power Rankings will hit the blog at some point, I just haven’t decided when yet. Also, the Third Quarter Grades are going to be later on this week also, so be on the look out for those.

Latest on Twitter as always.

Let’s Go Pens!