Chirps from Center Ice

Probably the most hellacious stretch of travel for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins as they are in Hershey on Wednesday at 7 p.m., then in Charlotte on Friday at 4 p.m. then Saturday at the same time.

Good thing they took 5 of 6 points last week and have a bit of a buffer in case this travel week goes terrible.

Music to Set the Mood…

Just stay safe if you are traveling this week (like me) for Thanksgiving. Give people space. Just get there safe.

A Quote…

It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

They don’t go out to St. John’s, Newfoundland anymore and they only fly when they go to Charlotte, but this week could be good for them, or it could be the latter and another “consistently inconsistent” week we are used to.

The Setup

Trip to Hershey, then I don’t know if they are bussing back to Coal Street, staying in Hershey or bussing to Allentown to fly out the next morning. Travel day likely Thursday when everyone is coming and going with a destination to Charlotte, North Carolina. Then a Friday afternoon game against the Checkers at 4 p.m. then again Saturday at the same time.

The Penguins lost to these Bears at home last Wednesday in overtime then went to Providence and swept the P-Bruins in a pair of games and their goaltender in Alex Nedeljkovic scored them a goal. His second goal scored and the second goaltender goal in team history (Tristan Jarry)

Hershey, after beating the Penguins in OT back in Wilkes-Barre, nearly let slip a big lead against Bridgeport on Friday then went up to Bridgeport and shut the Islanders out.

Charlotte’s last six games coming into this week have been against Pacific Division teams. They were in San Diego this past weekend and beat the Gulls 3-2 and 1-0 respectively. They will host the Cleveland Monsters this week, Monday and Wednesday, before greeting the Penguins. Cleveland beat the Checkers 3-1 on Monday.

Records

Hershey leads the division with 24 points and a 12-4 record. The Penguins are 8-5-2, good for 18 points and the Checkers are 9-5 and also on 18 points coming into the week.

Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?

Up from Wheeling: Justin Addamo and Jordan Frasca.

Down to Wheeling: Justin Lee, Taylor Gauthier

On Recall: Vinnie Hinostroza, Alex Nylander and Jansen Harkins. John Ludvig went back up after his conditioning stint ended.

Back from Pittsburgh: Magnus Hellberg

Injured: Avery Hayes, Sam Poulin, Sam Houde, Colin White

Pittsburgh needed to recall Nylander and Harkins. They are dealing with injuries. Old teams like Pittsburgh will have injuries.

What can we learn about the Penguins this week?

I think a lot. Adversity. Toughness. How do they fare in hostile environments? Will they sleepwalk? Cut corners?

Can they win in Hershey? Yeah. Will they? They need to limit mistakes. Bears are good at home but can be beat.

Can they win in Charlotte? They have already (first game of the season) but the Checkers rarely lose back to back.

If they lay an egg and get two or less points out of a possible six, do you chalk it up to inconsistency? I don’t think I will. I think Joel Blomqvist is a really good goaltender and the defense looked about as good as it has all season in Providence this past weekend. You just don’t play better because you are in a different state or playing on different ice.

If they get four or more out of a possible six, then a reasonable expectation is that they can play in the top three in the division. I think they will.

Who’s in Goal?

I think you go Joel Blomqvist Wednesday and Friday, then Garret Sparks or Magnus Hellberg Saturday.

Hunter Shepard for the Bears, then one of Ludovic Waeber Matt Zenzola for the Checkers this Friday and Saturday.

Who’s Running the Show?

Alex Łepkowski and Patrick Hanrahan have the referee duties Wednesday in Hershey with Tommy George and Bob Goodman on the lines.

Friday sees Samuel Heidemann and Mike Dietrich in the orange arm bands with Dan Kovachik and Felix-Antoine Voyer manning the lines.

On Saturday, Heidemann takes a hike and is replaced with Beau Halkidis with Mike Dietrich again and Brian Pincus replaces Felix-Antoine Voyer on the line. Dan Kovachik will continue to skate off all that pumpkin pie from Thursday.

Looking ahead…

Wednesday at home against Hershey (what is it with Wednesday and the Bears?) before December gets here (wait, what?) and home and home with the Springfield Thunderbirds starting Friday in Springfield and concluding with a Saturday home game in Wilkes-Barre.

Give us a bold prediction…

They beat Hershey clean Wednesday, come back from two goals to beat the Checkers Friday then lose in a shootout Saturday. That’s 5 out of possible 6 points.

Music to Set the Mood

So I was in the food store this past Sunday and this song came on the loudspeakers…

Hello, you fool. I love you.
Come on join the joyride…

Got me to thinking, as I was still stewing over the Penguins blowout loss to the Syracuse Crunch the night prior in the bread aisle, would make a perfect song for this weeks preview.

Seems like every October we get welcomed back to another season of Penguins hockey. (Hello) We all love the team and hockey in general (I love you) so we show up with great expectations.

Who’s the fool, though?

Come on join the joyride, indeed.

Listen, I don’t think they are a championship caliber team. They are a group of prospects and aging vets so you are going to have clunkers like you saw last Saturday. Should we get mad? I am not going to tell you what to do with your hard earned dollar. But if you are there for the joyride and the entertainment value, you are doing yourself more harm than good to go and get upset when a group of players throw a clunker or two at you from time to time.

So just join the joyride.

A Quote…

Buy the ticket, take the ride.
— Hunter S. Thompsoon

Seems apropos.

The Setup

Home game with the Hershey Bears Wednesday then they hit the road for five straight starting with a pair in Providence this weekend.

Records

The Bears split a pair of games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this past weekend where the home team lost each game. (sound familiar?) Hershey got walloped at home Sunday 4-1 after beating Lehigh Valley 2-1 the night before (familiarity, anyone?) So the Bears will be extra surly when they come calling Wednesday with their 9-4 record, good for first in the Atlantic at 18 points.

Providence has turned it around it would seem, sweeping the weekend, and sit with a 6-4-1-2 record, in a tight one with the Penguins, Charlotte and Springfield. The Bruins beat the Springfield Thunderbirds 5-4 Friday then swept the Hartford Wolf Pack to a tune of 2-0 and 3-2 Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?

Magnus Hellberg and Vinnie Hinostroza are up in Pittsburgh. Hurt are Sam Poulin and Avery Hayes, I think.

Jonathan Gruden was recalled for four hours then sent back on Wednesday. Coal Street sent Taylor Gauthier and the rarely used Justin Lee down to Wheeling and recalled Justin Addamo and Jordan Frasca were recalled from the ECHL.

What can we learn about the Penguins this week?

Can they ever learn from their perpetual mistakes? The same mistakes over and over defensively? Coaching? I have no idea. I guess we find out fast Wednesday against Hershey, who doesn’t lose two in a row, and against a resurgent Providence team.

They have the vets and the talent inside of those vets to win or stay competitive in every game they play. But when the vets make the same mistakes as a rookie playing in his 10th game, its a recipe for disaster.

Come on join the joyride….

Who’s in Goal?

Joel Blomqvist will likely get the start Wednesday, Garret Sparks will likely get the start Friday then Blomqvist again on Saturday, I’d think. What of Taylor Gauthier? I think he goes back to Wheeling, but who knows.

Likely the freshly reassigned Hunter Shepard for the Bears. If something unforeseen happens then possibly Clay Stevenson, who started both games this past weekend with Hunter Shepard up in Washington at the time. For Providence, Michael DiPietro shut out the Wolf Pack with 34 saves on Saturday and Brandon Bussi stopped 35 of 37 on Sunday. The Penguins will be starting down both barrels guarded by these gentlemen this weekend. I’d venture Bussi goes Friday and DiPietro goes Saturday.

Who is running the show?

Graedy Hamilton and Andrew Bell are here Wednesday with the Bears and Patrick Dapuzzo and Ryan Knapp man the lines.

It’s also one of those weeks where they don’t post the referees for the weekend. Yet at least. They will, but I won’t work the edit in. I know that whomever is assigned is a highly capable individual.

Looking Ahead…

Thanksgiving Eve in Hershey, then they have to hop a plane and fly down for a 4 p.m. Black Friday game against the Charlotte Checkers and then do the same thing again the following day on Saturday. Seems like a brutal trip, so this weeks points are a must have.

Give us a bold prediction….

I won’t get mad at all this week watching them play and neither will you.

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins have a home and home against an old rival, the Syracuse Crunch. The Crunch and Penguins play four times this season and half of that season set will be burned off this weekend.

The Penguins were 33 seconds away from nailing down 4 of 6 possible points in the week but saw the visiting Belleville Senators tie it in regulation then win it in overtime. Wilkes-Barre settles for three points in what’s shaping up to be, if early returns are to be believed, an extremely competitive Atlantic Division. Every point is going to matter.

Music to set the mood…

I can’t tell if this is supposed to be funny, or just is what it is, a song about Syracuse.

A Quote…

The best part about Syracuse is leaving.
— Tom Grace

I am actually quite surprised Syracuse hasn’t had any snow yet because it’s Fall and it usually snows up there for six months out of the year. I have only been there a few times and while I think personally it’s a decent city, the fact it gets blasted a lot with lake effect snows isn’t for me.

The Setup

A home and home starting Friday in Syracuse.

Records

Syracuse is 5-2-0-2 and played the Penguins last opponent, Belleville, up in Canada on Wednesday and lost 3-2 in a shootout. They are third in the North Division.

Last weekend the Crunch split a home and home with the Rochester Americans 7-4 (win) and 5-4 loss in a shootout.

The Penguins are 5-4-1-0 and have 11 points and are currently fifth in the Atlantic Division.

Pens got drilled by Providence last Wednesday to a tune of 3-1, had a literal last second shot from Marc Johnstone go in Friday against Hershey and lost to the aforementioned Belleville Senators in the fashion I described above.

Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?

Recalled are Radim Zohorna and Magnus Hellberg. Injured are goaltender Garret Sparks and recalled from Wheeling is Taylor Gauthier. Joel Blomqvist went up because Tristan Jarry was injured Tuesday. In that same transaction, Pittsburgh sent Vinnie Hinostroza back down. Colin White got the hell beat out of him blocking a number of shots but finished the game Saturday. After a week, perhaps he is good to go but adrenaline and swelling may spin a different tale.

I saw Sparks at Penguins practice this week, if the photos the team posted on Coal Street are accurate, so maybe he is good to go. Coal Street has yet to make another recall from Wheeling, likely David Tendeck, if they need one.

Andreas Johnsson hasn’t appeared in a game yet (family issue) and his contract was terminated Thursday and he signed overseas. Mark Pysyk, signed to a PTO by Coal Street last week, hasn’t played yet for the Penguins.

I think we can consider Zohorna permanently recalled. I think they realized it was a mistake starting him in the AHL and they quickly corrected that error.

What can we learn about the Penguins this week?

If they sweep or take 3 of 4 points away from the Crunch, then they can hit at an above average clip and, as long as they stay consistent throughout (tough to do at this level) they could play as a 1 to 3 seed in the Atlantic. If they, which I am predicting, split the series with the Crunch this weekend, they will toil at the 4 to 6 seed the whole season and they are a rash of injuries / schedule of hot teams better than them from being a playoff contending team.

I don’t think that Coal Street gets caught with its proverbial pants down, with what you have seen with the signings to PTOs, veteran statuses be damned, so I think it’s in between both, but you never know.

I don’t think they are championship caliber, but I also don’t think they finish dead last in the division, save for an epic collapse or miracle.

You probably can say the same about the Crunch, all things considered.

Who’s in goal?

Well if Blomqvist goes up, it will be Taylor Gauthier probably both nights, depending on Sparks’ status. I can’t see J.D. Forrest having fourth string goalie David Tendeck, who’d likely be the recall from Wheeling if Sparks can’t go, start Saturday against the Crunch. For Syracuse, Hugo Alnefelt Friday and Pyotr Kochetkov on Saturday.

Remember Gauthier is made of glass and historically can’t stay healthy, so it’s only a matter of time before he gets hurt.

Who’s running the show?

Jordan Samuels-Thomas and Austin O’Rourke with Dylan Blujus and Spencer Knox on the lines Friday and Mathieu Menniti and Jim Curtin with J.P. Waleski and Chandler Yakimowicz Saturday.

Looking ahead…

Home against Hershey on Wednesday, then they take to the road for five straight beginning with a pair next Friday and Saturday in Providence.

Give us a bold prediction…

Wilkes-Barre sees its first foot of snow before Syracuse.

So full disclosure here I was looking for, “Jekyll and Hyde” themed YouTube videos and came across one, but it included shout rock and someone loading bullets into a gun. I’m a) not into shout rock and b) staying away from videos showing someone loading a gun.

Anyway, the idea here is that the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins are like Jekyll and Hyde. Great at home, lost on the road.

The good news is that they have three straight at home starting this Wednesday at home against the Providence Bruins. Hershey stops by Friday and Belleville makes their only stop of the season on Saturday.

A Quote…

Just as we have two eyes and two feet, duality is a part of life.
— Carlos Santana

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins are 3-0 at home, 1-3 on the road. That’s not good. But does that mean that these three games at home will be easy cakewalks? No, but the odds are better in their favor.

They won the first game of the season on the road in Charlotte. They followed that up with a clunker in the rematch. They then went to Hartford and got pasted by the then red hot Wolf Pack. They travelled to Hershey this past Sunday and out of the gate were down 2-0 before their goaltender registered a save and the game got away from them from there, which often happens to teams who travel to the Giant Center.

So how do you fix it?

I don’t think you do, really. I think it’s a matter of coincidence.

Charlotte in back to back games don’t lose two straight at home. It doesn’t happen that often. Hartford was a team on a hot streak to start and I don’t care where you are in the AHL, giving up your first two goals before the goalie makes a save is a recipe for disaster.

I guess what I am tryting to say is this is less of a concern for me at the beginning of November then say, the beginning of December. If the Pens are still junk away from the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in mid-December, then they are not just Jekyll and Hyde but extremely one dimensional and we have bigger problems.

The Setup

Providence comes a calling on Wednesday after getting swept by a resurgent Springfield team, losing 5-2 in Springfield and 3-2 in overtime at home in Rhode Island.

The Bruins are 1-3-1-2 and off to a bad start, for a team we thought would be at the top of the Atlantic Division all season.

Hershey is a good team, as we all know, and sit at 6-2 in the division good for 12 points. They crushed in-state rivals Lehigh Valley 4-0 and Wilkes-Barre 6-1 this past weekend. The Bears will rematch with the Phantoms on Wednesday before stopping by Wilkes-Barre on Friday.

Belleville will report into Wilkes-Barre looking to get out of the middle of the pack in the North Division. They beat the Toronto Marlies 2-1 in overtime last Friday and lost in a shootout to the Marlies on Saturday 4-3. They will be in Springfield Friday.

Records

Gave you Providence and Hershey’s above. Belleville is 3-2-0-1 and the Penguins are 4-3.

Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?

Colin White was day to day with an upper body injury last weekend. Magnus Hellberg, Vinnie Hinostroza and Radim Zohorna are up in Pittsburgh. Taylor Gauthier is up from Wheeling, presumably because either Garret Sparks or Joel Blomqvist are hurt. Andreas Johnsson has yet to play (dealing with a family issue) and Austin Rueschhoff, Justin Lee, and Matt Filipe are on the sides of milk cartons, having not played in I can’t remember when.

What can we learn about the Penguins this week?

Do they collect all six points? Do the road woes bleed over into home ice? Will the power play keep clicking?

They should beat Providence, hypothetically, because it seems like the Bruins can’t get out of their own way. They could beat Hershey because they have already once last week and Belleville remains an outlier because you don’t see many North Division teams that often because you have to play the likes of Hershey and Lehigh Valley 25,000 times in a given season.

Will they? If they play careless against the Bruins, Providence will kick their heads in. You almost need to play a perfect game against Hershey in order to even have a prayer of winning and who knows about Belleville in back to back nights in what will likely be Garret Sparks again in goal, or possibly Gauthier.

Leading to…

Who’s in goal? 

Joel Blomqvist was in the running for some October rookie goaltender awards I thought I heard in the third period on Sunday on the radio with Nick Hart then, but then J.D. Forrest put him in anyway in the hopes that the rookie netminder would somehow turn things around for the Pens. That didn’t happen and Blomqvist gave up two goals. It could have also been because Sparks was injured, we just don’t know yet.

You will probably see him out first Wednesday and Friday and either Taylor Gauthier or Garret Sparks Saturday against Belleville unless they do a switcheroo somewhere and Gauthier / Sparks goes Wednesday (unlikely) or Friday (I wouldn’t do it)

Brandon Bussi for the Bruins, probably Clay Stevenson (just a hunch) for the Bears on Friday and backup Leevi Merilainen for the B-Sens on Saturday, denying us a chance to see leviathan Mads Sogaard, all 6’7 of him.

Who’s Running the Show?

Bobby Jo Love and Peter Schlittenhardt are here Wednesday with Patrick Dapuzzo and Ryan Knapp on the lines.

Don’t know yet about Friday or Saturday’s crews. Sometimes the AHL updates them, other times (like this week) they don’t.

Looking ahead…

Friday up in Syracuse to visit the Crunch, then back home Saturday to pay off a home and home with the old rival from Central New York.

Give us a bold prediction…

Austin Rueschhoff returns, plays all three games and gets a hat trick in one of them. Pens win all three games by a combined 15-4.

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins are .500 and host the defending Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bears and the still undefeated Hartford Wolf Pack in a trio of games starting this Wednesday at home against the Bears. It’s a rare Friday off for the Pens, then a Saturday game against Hartford at home and then a Sunday afternoon trip down I-81 to visit the defending champs on Sunday.

Music to Set the Mood…

I’ll get to what this means in a second.

A Quote…

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.
Theodore Roosevelt

Sam Houde produced two points in his first game of the season Saturday against Springfield and was instrumental in the win over a sputtering Springfield team, helping set up Rem Pitlick for a power play goal in the third period and assisting on the Jansen Harkins empty net goal which sealed the fate and the win for the Penguins.

Meanwhile Valterri Puustinen has appeared in every game so far, has zero points and is a -6. Say what you want about the plus/minus stat, but he’s on the ice when goals are scored. He doesn’t play defense and I have noticed more and more that he takes liberties when the puck is on the edge of his stick.

It’s time to scratch him if the message isn’t getting through or at the very least sit him down and advise him in whichever language he understands best that what he is doing (or isn’t doing) is not cutting the mustard.

The Penguins were rebuilt, but Puustinen was a leftover from last years team. Sure, he was one of the offensive producers last year, but that team finished dead last. So far this year? It ain’t good enough, pal. Sam Houde is stewing in street clothes watching his team get their heads kicked in in game two in Charlotte two weeks ago and shutout last Friday in Hartford. He only goes out against Springfield and produces two assists and overall brought positivity for a team still trying to find itself in this very young season.

I’d make one or two lineup changes if I am J.D. Forrest. Scratching Puustinen and Alex Nylander is one of them and trying to find room on defense for Libor Hajek (if you can) for Taylor Fedun or one of your other defensive black holes.

Am I advocating for scratching the team captain and two of the bigger offensive threats? Yes I am, because it’s a two way game now. Hershey and Hartford are offensive juggernauts. You need forwards that play defense and not need to be pushed into the play (see the second goal scored against the Penguins on Friday) and get guys into the lineup who want to contribute on every inch of the 200 foot surface.

The Setup

Kind of gave it to you in the paragraphs above. Hershey at home Wednesday and on the road Sunday and Hartford at home Saturday.

Records

The Penguins are 2-2 and are .500 with 4 points. Hershey is 4-1 with 8 points and Hartford is still undefeated at 4-0 and good for 8 points at the top of the Atlantic Division.

The Wolf Pack will host Springfield Friday before traveling to Wilkes-Barre Saturday. They beat the Pens 5-0 last Friday then beat the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 5-1 Saturday. They have scored three or more goals in every game they have played thus far.

The Bears swept Providence in a pair of games in Rhode Island Friday and Saturday and then needed overtime to beat Bridgeport Sunday 3-2 on the road; after playing the Pens on Wednesday, they will also get Friday off and then host the Phantoms on Saturday before the Pens come knocking on Sunday.

Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?

Radim Zohorna is up and may stay there. Since last week, Coal Street never sent anyone else down to Wheeling and hasn’t called anyone up. I don’t know what’s up with the injuries. I think Corey Andonovski has something and so does Sam Poulin.

What can we learn about the Penguins this week?

Are you cool with .500 so far? I’m not. I’m also a realist. Do I expect the Penguins to win every game? No. Would I like for them to? Sure, I’m a fan. You don’t go into a contest saying, “ah, we’ve won enough, let the other team win.”

If the team gives their all and comes up short, I’m fine with that. But if they look like a bunch of losers and look lost every night, then no I am not cool with it. The loss in Charlotte was a power play problem. The loss in Hartford was a breakdown in execution and game plan. Both were blowout losses and the one in Hartford was a shutout. Will you have a few of those in a 72 game season? Of course. Is it asking too much, too soon to be perfect? In October, yes it is. But bad habits usually trend into bad teams, like you saw last year. Make changes while you still can, mix in Nylander and Puustinen when you can, but just not now.

Who’s in goal?

I still don’t know who number one is yet. I suppose we will find out this week. I’d go back to Joel Blomqvist Wednesday, go Magnus Hellberg against Hartford again Saturday then go Blomqvist Sunday again in Hartford. Or, swap Blomqvist Saturday and Hellberg Sunday. But that means Hellberg goes over a week without seeing live fire. So I don’t know. But he’s a veteran and should be used to this. Blomqvist is supposed to be your future. Get the kid reps so you know what you have in him.

Figure Mitch Gibson Wednesday for the Bears, old buddy Louis Domingue Saturday with Hartford and either Gibson again for the 12 time champs or Clay Stevenson.

Who’s Running the Show?

Mason Riley and Jack Young are here Wednesday with Ryan Jackson and Chandler Yakimowicz on the lines.

Saturday sees Beau Halkidis and Alex Lepkowski with J.P. Waleski and Jud Ritter on the lines.

Sunday in Hershey sees Lepkowski again with Patrick Hanrahan and on the lines it is Bill Lyons and John Rey.

Looking ahead…

Calendar switches to November. Three home games to start out the chute. Providence on Wednesday, Hershey again on Friday and Belleville stops in for their only visit this season on Saturday.

Give us a bold prediction…

Puustinen and Nylander combine for 9 points this week between them, Penguins win all three games and we quickly forget about the two losses and start inflating our unreasonable expectations about this hockey club.

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins continue their 25th season with a road trip Friday in Hartford then return home for their opener against the Springfield Thunderbirds. They went 1-1 in Charlotte last weekend.

Music to Set the Mood…

We will get to see in person how this retooled, new team does at home. The Penguins went 12-16-6-2 at home last season. They need to do better than that, as that was last in the Atlantic, the Conference, and 29th overall last year.

Only way is up.

A Quote…

There is no such uncertainty as a sure thing.
Robert Burns

They went 3-1 in preseason, but went 1-1 against live fire against a really good Charlotte team and 0/9 on the power play, still searching for their first power play goal.

I neglected in the last game recap to give a turning point. I’m still working out the bugs of sitting in front of a computer screen and hammering out these blog posts after a long summer.

The Penguins had a power play down 2-0 about midway through the third period. The game had that getting away from you feel and play by play man Nick Hart said that the upcoming man advantage wasn’t exactly gotta have, but it would have been nice if the Penguins could cash and cut the lead to one.

The Checkers killed it, then later scored, essentially putting the game away. That’s your turning point.

Two games in and they haven’t scored a power play goal yet. I don’t go to practices, but you have to think that special teams was a huge sticking point this week at practice, one would hope.

The Setup

A trip to Hartford Friday then the opener Saturday against Springfield.

The Wolf Pack were impressive last weekend, beating a very good Providence team 3-2 on the road in a shootout then defeating the Springfield Thunderbirds on the road 3-1. Hartford opens it’s home campaign Friday against the Penguins.

The Springfield Thunderbirds played a pair at home last weekend against the aforementioned Wolf Pack Saturday and the Providence Bruins on Sunday. They lost 3-1 to Hartford Saturday in their home opener and scored :09 into the third period Sunday to beat the Bruins 4-3.

Records

The Penguins are 1-1 in the Atlantic. The Wolf Pack are 2-0 and are in the Atlantic and the Thunderbirds are 1-1.

I thought about giving you the standing position but these are early days. Maybe in November.

Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?

Lots. They traded Ty Glover and Mark Friedman to Vancouver in exchange for Jack Rathbone and Karel Plasek, whose contract was terminated so he can return back overseas. They signed Libor Hájek to an AHL deal after a PTO with Pittsburgh then sent Isaac Belliveau to Wheeling on Thursday.

What can we learn about the Penguins this week?

Are they going to score a power play goal this weekend? Will it benefit them? How much will they play from behind? Will they ever score a goal in the first or second periods?

Hartford is as good as a test you can find in the third game of the season and the second weekend of the same. Don’t discount Springfield either, but the Penguins could and should beat these teams.

They still have a veteran issue, having to cycle out players because of the rule. I had a few of you this week say that this could be a problem because you never have the same lineup as the night prior. Good points, you have to see how J.D. Forrest navigates through these tough lineup decisions.

Who’s in goal?

Figure Magnus Hellberg again Friday in Hartford and Joel Blomqvist, still in search of his first AHL win on Saturday at home. Is it a confidence thing with Blomqvist? If so, send him to Wheeling? I think it’s too early to have these discussions, quite honestly. Blomqvist can’t quarterback a power play, after all.

Old pal Louis Domingue will probably get the start for Hartford Friday and Vadim Zherenko is possible in the opposing net against the Penguins this weekend.

Who is running the show?

Don’t know yet. League hasn’t posted this weekends referees yet. I’m sure they are competent enough, I’d hope.

Looking ahead…

Wednesday home game against the Hershey Bears, a Friday off, then Hartford stops in next Saturday then the Penguinsn travel down to the home of the defending champs and play Hershey next Sunday at 3.

The book then closes on October and the page flips to a busy November.

Give us a bold prediction…

The team, on paper, is too good to get blanked on the power play, it would seem. They get a power play goal a piece in each game, but go 1-1 again leaving us all scratching our heads at a .500 hockey team heading into the final week of play in October.

Back for the (checks calendar) 13th season of the blog, hope everyone had a good summer. Mine is always too short. There’s nothing I like about cold weather, wearing shoes, being perpetually cold all the time and sunsets at 7. Give me sunsets after 8:30, flip-flops, humid weather, mid 80s, a heatwave sprinkled in and call it a season.

You may have noticed the lack of updates here this past summer. Well, I was outside.

There wasn’t any type of preview this season either. Sorry! I was outside.

I’ll take a stab though.

1 Providence – I think the Bruins will be good again this year.
2 Hershey – Bears are defending champs and may have gotten better in the offseason.
3 Hartford – I think they are for real this year, really.
4 Springfield – I think they will be fine, not a door mat and not a contender.
5 Charlotte – Same as Springfield but slightly worse.
6 Penguins – I don’t think they miss the playoffs this year because the new management won’t allow it. More on that in a minute.
7 Lehigh Valley – Flyers are a mess, and that crap runs down hill.
8 Bridgeport – see Lehigh Valley, Islanders aren’t that much better either.

Music to set the mood…

Poison was such a good band.

A Quote…

High expectations are the key to everything…
– Sam Walton

This offseason, the Coal Street signed a bunch of guys to AHL contracts. With every signing, I just said, “Sign a bunch of guys, but make it a different year.”

Part of me wants to thing that its more crap coming in for the crap that was going out.

I think there is hope, but we were fooled last year thinking that that team was going to build off of their fourth place showing and compete. Quickly, it was discovered that the team was one dimensional and when the injuries and callups happened, what faint hope of a late push went straight down the drain.

I think Garret Sparks is just another Dustin Tokarski. A good goalie from yesterday playing out what’s left of his career here in Wilkes-Barre. The rest of the signings (made by Wilkes-Barre) are just a bunch of guys. We’ll see.

I do think that new GM Kyle Dubas did a good job of supplying NHL contracted players destined for the AHL. I don’t like, however, the amount of waiver claims (thus far two) by Pittsburgh because in the tea leaves it reads to me that there is a pile of junk at the AHL level that can’t help the NHL team. Trying to solidify your NHL franchise dumpster diving in waivers claims is a bit of a bold move. We will have to see how it pays off.

The AHL Penguins could be good and historically start strong. But we have all seen this fish before.

Also, on coaching, I think J.D. Forrest escaped the housecleaning by Pittsburgh but if the AHL team stumbles out of the gate he’s out of here by December.

The Setup

Two in Charlotte this Friday and Saturday. A good test for this Penguins team, I’d say.

Records

Everyone is undefeated. These are the first games of the season.

Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?

Full strength, I think. Again, I haven’t paid much attention because I was outside.

Wheeling got a boatload of players Tuesday.

At the end of last season, those guys are probably our top six. Somewhat surprised to see Svejkovsky get sent down, but he will get the reps he needs vs. 12-15 minutes a night buried on some fourth line.

What can we learn about the Penguins this week?

Discount everything you saw in preseason. It doesn’t matter. Sure, they went 3-1 and only lost 1-0 to Hershey with an ECHL lineup, but as a famous wresting promoter said once, “we’re live, pal.” None of that matters. If they run out to a 2-0 start, then sure, there’s promise. But remember, this last place team from last year was the last AHL team to be dealt a regulation loss, and that wasn’t until November. I don’t want to say October is meaningless, but there’s no way you can tell if you have a championship caliber team after two games in Charlotte, much less in the month of October.

Who’s in goal?

Unless they send Joel Blomqvist down, we are doing the whole carrying three goalies thing again. Magnus Hellberg and the aforementioned Garret Sparks are here also. My guess is Blomqvist is their horse and Hellberg and Sparks are the veteran backups. Blomqvist starts Friday and Hellberg goes Saturday.

For Charlotte, I have no idea. It took me 15 minutes to how to learn how to embed a tweet since Elon bought Twitter and renamed it X, or whatever. Bear with me.

Who is running the show?

Morgan McPhee and Harrison O’Pray are your debut referees Friday with Sean D’Loughy and Felix-Antoine Voyer on the lines. On Saturday, MacPhee, O’Pray and D’Loughy are back and Tyler Willie replaces Voyer on the lines.

Looking ahead…

Leaf raking, daylights saving time, having to turn the light on at 4:30 to see the last half hour of your work day. Snow. Oh wait….

Visit to Hartford next Friday then the home opener against Springfield.

Give us a bold prediction…

Three power play goals scored by the Penguins and a shutout and we will quickly forget that sorry abomination of last season.