Chirps from Center Ice

A fan blog about the AHL's Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins

Player Grades, Kinda…

1 Comment Posted by on April 16, 2023

So they are packing up to go home and go their separate ways here either today or sometime early this week. With the compressed schedule of getting the Calder Cup Playoffs going as early as this Tuesday, this piece is up now for your perusal.

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins had 43 players put a jersey on for them in the 2022-23 season, and here’s blurbs on every single one of them.

I’ve decided to group the players instead of going through each one. I find this to be easier to group them all vs. grading, because what difference does a B+ make from a B?

The Best of What We Got Division

Valtterri Puustinen, Drake Caggiula, Alex Nylander

All scored 50 or more points with Puustinen’s 59 leading the team. He was the only one in this group to not earn an NHL game with Pittsburgh and the only player to play in every single game for the Penguins this season. Caggiula is 28, so hardly a prospect by any stretch and the argument could be made that he was the most consistent everyday player. Nylander got called up late in the season, but well after it was a foregone conclusion that the Penguins were playoff pretenders instead of contenders.

The OK to be Average Division

Filip Hållander, Tyler Sikura, Jonathan Gruden, Mitch Reinke

Hållander missed time due to a scary injury which saw him stretchered off against Charlotte in January, was recalled and saw some NHL games. Sikura was a training camp AHL contracted savior who scored big goals in high contest situations. Jonathan Gruden took a good step and may have a future as an NHLer at some point, Mitch Reinke was mercurial and sometimes a sore spot on defense but was good on the Pens power play. 

They all get grouped here because the team, as a whole, was extremely average throughout the season and just got passed. You run the speed limit on the interstate, get to your destination on time, but the guy that left half an hour after you did speeds past you and gets there before you and eats all the fruit cup. 

I’d be OK with bringing Sikura back. 

(if you are wondering, I’ll have a contract status thing here for the blog at some point)

The I’d Like to See More Division

This is a big group.

Ty Smith, Sam Houde, Corey Andonovski, Lukas Svejkovsky, Ty Glover, Colin Swoyer

Houde, Andonovski, Svejkovsky, Glover and Swoyer are rookies. They get passes, somewhat, but if they, say, increased their overall point production by a quarter or so more, the Pens are a playoff team and likely in the running for a first round bye. 

Ty Smith was here because P.O. Joseph needed waivers to get sent to the AHL and Pittsburgh didn’t want to risk losing him to waivers so they buried Smith in the AHL. He started strong, stalled, got hurt, then played like crap on a team full of it.

The They Are What They Are Division

Jon Lizotte, Jack St. Ivany, Raivis Ansons, Kyle Olson, Josh Maniscalco

St. Ivany and Ansons are rookies here so they get a curve. 

Lizotte isn’t someone who is asked to put up goals or sauce out assists. He blocks shots on the penalty kill and gets his nose dirty. Maniscalco is an ECHL all star defenseman who is average on a team full of just average. Kyle Olson is a dime a dozen body you find on any team. Pens didn’t make playoffs this season. These guys aren’t the reason why.

The I’m Extremely Disappointed In You Division

Taylor Fedun, Jamie Devane, Nathan Légaré

I actually moved Légaré down here from “I’d Like to See More”

Nathan Légaré is a lesson to anyone who thinks kids coming out of juniors with gaudy numbers will just rip through the AHL. It’s men you are playing with now who are better than you in all facets. Légaré didn’t even get to 20 points (he had 19) and frankly that’s a disappointment. Nathan Légaré is no closer to full time NHL work than you or I.

Two of the worst players on the team pegged as leaders were Taylor Fedun and Jamie Devane. Fedun wore the C and we get him again next season. Devane is a black hole and plays a one trick pony enforcer role in an era where they are trying to do away with fighting. Fedun’s work on the defensive side was exposed as the season wore on. 

The I Wish You Were Here Division

Drew O’Connor, Sam Poulin, Xavier Ouellet

O’Connor earned himself a full time NHL role. His AHL days in Wilkes-Barre are over. Poulin left the team for personal reasons, returned, worked his way back but had little impact on a team which was already eliminated. Ouellet was injured and ruled done for the season after ankle surgery right around the All Star break. Are things different if all three played a full 72 games? Yeah, probably, but that isn’t how this developmental thing works. Good thing is Ouellet will be back next season as will Sam Poulin.

The Who Are You Again? Division

Chris Ortiz, Max Newton, Brooklyn Kalmikov, Jagger Joshua, Andrew Nielsen, Adam Smith, Justin Lee, Jordan Frasca, Sean Josling

Off the top of my head…Ortiz was an ECHL D man pressed to fill in when the injuries / call ups hit…Newton played one game as a filler…Kalmikov was a hyped up player who was buried in the ECHL all season and couldn’t carve out more work for himself at the AHL level…Joshua just signed so we will see more of him next year maybe…Nielsen was brought in from ECHL Utah, did OK for himself, was released and then Cleveland signed him…Adam Smith and Justin Lee played five and eight games respectively and scored no points…Frasca was another ECHL burial and Sean Josling managed 12 games and no points.

The I Took It Apart, But Don’t Remember Where These Parts Go!? Division

Mark Friedman, Justin Addamo, Peter DiLiberatore

Maybe I am not being fair here because Addamo played well enough to earn himself an AHL contract for next year. DiLiberatore actually did quite well for himself with the Penguins after the Teddy Blueger trade to Vegas. Friedman was a defender who played in 20+ games but bounced between being injured and the NHL. Ty Smith couldn’t get the call instead? He’s not a better option?

The This is Your Future Division

Jami Krannila, Owen Pickering

Have heard a lot of good things about Krannila who could look like an impact player for the Pens in 23-24. Pickering is either NHL or back to juniors next year because of his age. How he develops over the next two years is vital. Does he develop like a Drew O’Connor developed or does he develop like a Nathan Légaré and find that playing with men is tougher than playing with teenagers who aren’t as good as you? Time will tell.

The Protect the Net Division

Dustin Tokarski, Filip Lindberg, Taylor Gauthier, Tommy Nappier, Joel Blomqvist

The goaltenders. I would have thought that Nappier would have seen more than one game since he was the goaltender the Pens used in playoffs last season. Lindberg has an injury problem he’ll carry with him as the guy can’t stay healthy. He ran into this same problem last season. That leaves Taylor Gauthier and Dustin Tokarski, the latter in Tokarski who saw the lion share of starts in net for the Pens. Tokarski is sadly past his prime and only a small reason why the Pens didn’t make playoffs and finished last in the division. I think the jury is still deliberating as to whether or not Taylor Gauthier is a capable enough horse you can ride to a playoff spot in 2023-24. I think that Joel Blomqvist just opts to return back overseas next year instead of involve himself in this smoldering dumpster fire heading into 2023-24.

The Hey Coach Division

Head Coach J.D. Forrest, Assistant Coaches Sheldon Brookbank and Kevin Porter

I think they are back next year. It wasn’t all a coaching problem as much as it was a player problem. Call it 70/30 player / coaching. Some of Forrest’s decisions were mind numbing (giving Fedun as much ice, same for Devane, no changes to the blowing of leads in the later stages of the season, lack fo holding guys accountable) but again, the best coach in the AHL wasn’t getting this team any higher than a 6 seed I don’t think, and where would that get them against the likes of Charlotte, Hershey or Springfield? Probably not far. So that’s a  case for keeping Forrest on. But in the end, you don’t fire players, you fire coaches.

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So that’s it. I think that’s everyone who played. If it isn’t drop me a comment. If you disagree with where I put a guy let me know. 

WBS

Season Finale — Pens LOSE 5-4 (OT)

1 Comment Posted by on April 15, 2023

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The Charlotte Checkers didn’t lead at all in the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins season finale game except for when Anthony Bitetto scored at 2:21 of overtime to give the Checkers a 5-4 win over the Penguins Saturday night in overtime. Charlotte goes on to the Calder Cup Playoffs as the three seed in the Atlantic, the Penguins are going home for the summer.

Bit of a fitting end to a forgetful season. The Pens were up 3-1 to start the third, Charlotte scores two power play goals to tie it, then they yo-yo back and forth to force overtime. Just when you think they have the victory in hand to send the fans who attended (I didn’t, my niece’s 5th birthday party was my evening) home for the summer happy, Charlotte snatches victory from the jaws of defeat.

Here’s how they lined up…

Lineup Notes: Charlotte dressed a younger lineup…Dustin Tokarski in likely his swan song as a pro got the start in goal for the Pens. Jamie Devane was in for Lukas Svejkovsky.

First Period: Ty Glover scored when a Jamie Devane shot goes off of J-F Berube’s mask and back to Glover for a goal.

Nathan Légaré picked up a game misconduct for cross checking in the first period and was dismissed for the evening. What a fall from grace for the once highly touted Légaré. I’ll have more on him this week on the season wrap up on Sunday.

Second Period: Wilkes-Barre goes up 2-0 on a Valtteri Puustinen goal. For Puustinen, he was the Penguins Ironman this season, appearing in every game.

Anthony Bitetto scores his first of the night to bring Charlotte back to within one.

Sam Houde could have made it 3-1, but shoots the puck off Berube’s ass instead. Here that wild sequence is…

Ty Smith with his second goal of the night on the power play makes it 3-1 for the Penguins.

I liked how they played give and go with the puck, almost toying with the opponent there. Fun stuff.

Third Period: Four power play goals scored in the first 6:18, three by Charlotte, one by the Penguins.

Santtu Kinnunen, Connor Bunnaman, Jonathan Gruden and Grigori Denisenko in that order. Here they are.

So that was a dart.

Pens were put right back on the penalty kill because Dustin Tokarski said something to referees Patrick Hanrahan and/or Jordan Watt they didn’t like. Bunnaman makes them pay here…

Watt and Hanrahan were a mess all night, and I wasn’t even at the game. Par for the course for Hanrahan, always late to the play, can’t skate the right way. Mix in a salad, dude.

Here’s the Gruden power play goal which was an obvious makeup call from Watt / Hanrahan, who should both be skating in their last games of the season after tonight’s performance.

But the Checkers even the affair yet again with a baffling third power play goal of the period on the Denisenko shot that makes it 4-4.

Things calmed down from there because Jordan and Patrick must have realized that the fans paid to see the players, not the officials as, but for an Ethan Keppen interference call, there were no other penalties.

No scoring, neither, so it was off to…

Overtime: Pens possessed for the first two minutes or so, but then Charlotte got the puck and Bitetto skated in and, well…

See you in the Fall.

Three Stars: 3) Valtteri Puustinen (goal, two assists) 2) Ty Smith (goal, two assists) 1) Anthony Bitetto (two goals, over time game winner)

The Good: This sorry season is over?

The Bad: They went 2/5 on the kill, and Charlotte scored three power play goals setting up the….

Turning Point: Checkers three power play goals in the third guarantees them a home ice in the first round of the playoffs.

Around the Division: Here’s the scoreboard for the night. If anyone at Coal Street reads the blog, please go back to the 7:05 starts on Saturday. As always with whatever comes out of the Pens offices, it’s a half baked idea that’s forced on folks and forgotten about, sort of like the mottos they used to use (Feel the Excitement, Black and Blue, etc.) there’s no point in 6:05 starts if yo aren’t going to do a concert, a comedy act, etc.

Standings: Spoiler, the Pens finished last in the division.

Wheeling Update: Nailers aren’t making playoffs either and are playing in their finale out in Iowa. Box here.

Thanks again for reading and following along with me this season. On Sunday afternoon, I’ll have a player grades feature. On Monday I’ll revisit my predictions I gave way back in October and on Tuesday I will have a Calder Cup Playoffs Preview and prediction for a champion.

They should be back better than this year (hopefully, I’d hate to see what worse is) so keep the faith, and Let’s Go Pens!

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Packing It In — Pens LOSE 4-0

Comments Off on Packing It In — Pens LOSE 4-0 Posted by on April 14, 2023

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Yikes.

Shutout. Again. Just when you think that the season couldn’t get any worse, they are shutout in back to back games.

They scored eight goals in Bridgeport last Saturday. Nothing in two games since. Shutout in 121:05 of action. Shutout in Laval last Monday. Back to back 4-0 losses when they lose Friday night in Hartford, who have won eight straight games.

Like two trains passing in the night. Here’s a fun fact about me, sometimes I like to watch videos of fright trains at night to help me fall asleep. Shoutout Wide World of Trains.

Anyway, one more game for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins Saturday against the Charlotte Checkers before they are put to bed for the 2022-23 season.

Here’s how they lined up…

(Hartford didn’t post lines)

Lineup Notes: So Svejkovsky was injured, which explains his absence. I was in the Virginia backwoods so didn’t see / listen to the last game agains Laval, so I don’t know who replaced who. Taylor Fedun and Jamie Devane were not in the lineup. Mitch Reinke, too.

Other News: Pittsburgh cleaned house this morning, firing GM Ron Hextall, Brian Burke and AGM Chris Pryor. I’m quite surprised that the coaching staff didn’t get the boot but I would assume that they are on short leashes. Nothing yet on what will happen with the staff here in Wilkes-Barre. GM Erik Heasley keeps his job (which is baffling to me) and will actually assist in the search of the new regime in Pittsburgh.

First Period: Both teams didn’t do jack shot wise at five on five, the Penguins didn’t have any shots on their only power play in the period, Hartford scored on their second attempt on the power play when Tim Gettinger fired one off Ty Smith and past Blomqvist and in for a 1-0 Hartford lead at the end of the period.

Second Period: Pens get a bit of puck luck when Joel Blomqvist makes a fantastic save, Anton Blidh takes a whack at the loose puck, it gets behind Blomqvist and in the no mans land between he and the inside of the net. The puck flutters but Justin Lee is there to sweep the puck away and out of the Penguins net.

But later Turner Elson woulds score to double the Wolf Pack lead and make it 2-0.

I don’t know what any of them are doing here. Elson is left alone in a prime area of the ice and just picks a spot and scores. A player of Elson’s quality will score there unmarked like that 9 times out of 10. Just a mind boggling loss of a man in front which costs you a goal.

Jagger Joshua and Louis Domingue got into a scuffle. Joshua was out at the top of the crease near Domingue. Louis didn’t like some of the antics and actually was called for holding (which is hilarious to me) and they scuffled a bit. Joshua was given an extra penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. I dunno, just doing your job out of the blue paint and then to get held and rushed by the goaltender of the other team seems unsportsmanlike to me, but who am I.

Third Period: So a 2-0 lead isn’t insurmountable, but getting the next goal is vitally important.

They did not, in fact, find that next goal. Sadly, the opponent did.

Turner Elson again.

And here’s the kicker, there isn’t anything they could have done different there I don’t think. Just a great setup by a Wolf Pack team that just can’t lose.

Later, salt in the wound when Adam Edström turns Josh Maniscalco into a pylon and scores to make it 4-0 and that essentially salts the game away.

Microcosm of the season for the Penguins here.

Three Stars: 3) Adam Edström (goal) 2) Turner Elson (two goals) 1) Louis Domingue (28 save shutout)

The Good: Joel Blomqvist looked fine. Nothing he could have done differently on the goals he allowed. The team in front of him played like crap.

The Bad: Going 0/6 on the power play. Dare I say they missed Mitch Reinke’s puck moving prowess on the power play?

Turning Point: Elson’s second goal, the only goal you can’t really pin on anything bad (the first goal went off Ty Smith, the second goal there was no one around Elson and the fourth goal was an embarrassment) was the back breaker here. You needed a response coming into the third, down two, and you have that goal by Elson that nips you.

Around the Division: Charlotte beats Lehigh Valley 5-2…Bridgeport beats Hershey 5-1…Springfield blows out Providence 7-2.

Standings: Hershey 95 – Providence 94 – Charlotte 84 – Springfield 82 – Hartford 81 – Lehigh Valley 80 – Bridgeport 76 – Penguins 65

Wheeling Update: Nailers are out in Iowa taking on the Heartlanders. Box here.

Back at it for the home and season finale against Charlotte. More then. Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

Weekend Preview: Thanks for the Fish!

1 Comment Posted by on April 13, 2023

Thanks for following with the blog for another year. Every time I get an inkling that I want to give it up, one of you come up to me from out of no where and thank me for my work that I put into it. So I guess I will keep going for a bit here. It’s appreciated. Especially in a day and age where the beats are long gone and the two papers send, “Staff Report” to every game, which is sad in a way. Where have you gone, Jonathan Bombulie, a valley turns its lonely eyes to you…

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins won’t make the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs. They are going to finish last in the Atlantic Division. It’s been an abject failure of a season success wise for the Penguins. I don’t know what you can say on the developmental side. Since I have all this time on my hands now till October, perhaps I’ll give myself a summer writing assignment.

  • Quips on every player that played for the Penguins.
  • A Calder Cup Preview.
  • A revisit of the predictions I made at the start of the season.
  • Whatever offseason changes they make.
  • Whatever offseason signings they make.

I expect a housecleaning. The GMs of both Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre to be fired, coaching staffs from both fired as well and a down to the studs rebuild starting in the front office as soon as this coming Monday.

Does this make them Penguins Stanley and Calder Cup contenders next season? Hardly. Does it stop the plummet from once respected NHL / AHL franchises? Depends on who the new leadership is. Are they capable? How much stock do they put towards developing and winning at the AHL level? That stuff matters. Pittsburgh stinks because they emptied the cache at the expense of winning back to back Stanley Cups, which you do if you can, but did little to restock (hard to when you give away draft picks) and tried to replenish with retreads that fall apart just like the retreads you see on the sides of interstates when the tractor trailers which pound by at 70 mph on a daily basis lose them trying to get to their next destination.

What’s the destination for the Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins in 2023-24 and beyond? I guess that’s why they tell you to stay tuned.

Now to the matter at hand, a road trip to the playoff bound Hartford Wolf Pack and then a home game Saturday night for a summer send off against the Charlotte Checkers.

Hartford is a team I wouldn’t want to draw in the first round if I’m one of the higher seeded Atlantic Division clubs. I think they are capable of winning a playoff round.

Charlotte is a three seed and if the playoffs started today (the Wednesday afternoon I am writing this and not the Friday morning or whenever you are reading this) the Checkers and Wolf Pack would square off as the 3 seeded Checkers would play the 6 seeded Wolf Pack.

I like Hartford’s chances there. Which doesn’t bode well for the Penguins as the Wolf Pack are still outside contenders for as high as the three seed in the division, if everything breaks their way.

Perhaps I’m discounting the Checkers though, as rarely does a #1 seed run the table (exception being Chicago last season) and win it all, but that battle is out in the Western Conference this season and not here in the East. Charlotte has been a consistent three seed all season. They could surprise, win a few rounds and who knows.

That still doesn’t bode well for the lame duck Penguins, who will probably play a bunch of kids to round out the 72 game season.

Conor O’Donnell and Rob Hennessey run the show up in Hartford this Friday with Kirsten Welsh and Matt Heinen on the lines. For Saturday, Patrick Hanrahan and Jordan Watt make sure they play within the rules and Jud Ritter and J.P. Waleski will make sure they stay on sides.

That bulleted list up top isn’t in order. It’ll probably be a revisit of the predictions, a Calder Cup Preview, a blurb on each player, who got fired, who got hired and who they signed in that order, depending on how the news breaks.

Here’s one final song to play this venture out. I’ll probably have a write up of sorts for you both nights, my niece’s 5th birthday party falls Saturday evening in Nanticoke so I don’t know if I’ll be able to catch my scratch off for a McDonalds small fry and watch other folks I never heard of win player jerseys who won’t be around next season in person which sucks, but it’s my niece and family first. Thanks again for reading, I’ll have some content for you here on the blog during the offseason and Let’s Go Pens!

Weekend Preview

Backwoodsing It – Pens LOSE 3-1

2 Comments Posted by on April 7, 2023

So in Virginia, where I am vacationing with the first camping trip of the year, they don’t have good cell coverage, the price of gas everywhere is the same and they have weird you can’t burn anything before 4 pm if you’re 300 feet from a wooded area, I wasn’t able to watch Friday nights 3-1 Penguins loss to the Providence Bruins.

Jami Krannila scored his first goal for the Penguins, but the first place Bruins were too much for the last place Penguins.

Onto Bridgeport tomorrow.

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Officially Official — Pens LOSE 5-0

Comments Off on Officially Official — Pens LOSE 5-0 Posted by on April 5, 2023

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I’m more fascinated at the little tidbit that play by play man Nick Hart tossed out at the end of the 5-0 Penguins loss to the Charlotte Checkers Wednesday night.

It was the first time all season that the Penguins have been shutout by an opponent all season. That’s fascinating to me, with how this season has gone.

On the season, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins were officially eliminated from Calder Cup contention with their loss to the Checkers, but it was cemented about seven minutes before the action in Wilkes-barre wrapped up as Hartford defeats Toronto in overtime 2-1. The win gives Hartford 75 points and the Penguins, with the loss Wednesday, can only now max out at 73 points.

So just play out the string now and get an early jump on your garden, like me.

Here’s how they lined up…

Lineup: Pittsburgh signed Joel Blomqvist to a three year entry level deal which will kick in 2023-24. Good chance he will be in Wilkes-Barre in the fall, or maybe he just stays overseas. Depends. He’s already with them on an ATO….Sam Poulin warmed up, but didn’t dress. Coal Street signed Jami Krannila to an ATO the same time they signed Blomqvist and Krannila went right in on the second line.

First Period: 90 seconds in a Zac Dalpe scores for the Checkers.

Later, bad to worse, a shot is saved by Dustin Tokarski with the pad but the puck redirects right to the stick of Cameron Morrison who shoots it at the net. Tokarski isn’t able to get over in time and it’s 2-0 Checkers.

Wilkes-Barre had back to back power plays and got really close on the first one, but weren’t able to cash. Felt at the time with the pressure they were building that if they scored there it may have been a different result. Alas, they did not.

Second Period: Takes Charlotte just 1:12 to score in this period, as Connor Bunnaman scores to make it 3-0 on a dart.

May have been offside, but that isn’t reviewable in the AHL like it is in the NHL. Linesmen rarely miss.

Teams traded a power play a side in the period but come up empty. Don’t want to say that Charlotte was protecting the lead, but it was a pretty inert period otherwise.

Third Period: Checkers kept coming, scoring on a dart of a shot that made it 4-0 off the stick of Lucas Carlsson at 2:48 of the third and then late with a shot by Calle Sjalin to rub more dirt in the faces of the Penguins.

I’m not going to post the Sjalin shot. I would hope you get the point.

Bummer of a season. I don’t know what they could have done differently tonight save for personnel which could have saved them.

Three Stars: 3) Zac Dalpe (goal) 2) Santtu Kinnunen (two assists) 1) J-F Berube (21 save shutout)

The Good: How do you get anything good on a night when you are shutout and eliminated from playoffs?

The Bad: They were shutout and eliminated from playoffs, officially.

Turning Point: Have to go when the Penguins didn’t score on that power play late in the first when it looked like they just might.

Around the Division: Providence retakes the top spot in the Atlantic with a 3-1 win at home against Hershey…Hartford beats Toronto in overtime 2-1, as advised at the top of this piece.

Standings: Providence 92 – Hershey 91 – Springfield 80 – Charlotte 80 – Lehigh Valley 76 – Hartford 75 – Bridgeport 72 – Penguins 63

Wheeling Update: The Nailers were idle.

I’m heading to Virginia for a week starting tomorrow. I should have your coverage of the road games in Providence, Bridgeport and Laval here on the blog, provided the campsite wi-fi holds up.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Weekend Preview: I’m Going Camping

Comments Off on Weekend Preview: I’m Going Camping Posted by on April 5, 2023

Six games left, all against playoff teams or teams fighting for playoff positioning, and three this week starting with the penultimate home game this Wednesday against the Charlotte Checkers for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins.

The team hasn’t won clean since March 19 in Allentown, hasn’t won at home since March 17 in a shootout (February 22 against Lehigh Valley if you go back to when they last won clean in regulation)

That’s sad. The issue is blowing third period leads. Somehow, the Penguins are 14-1-4-3 when leading after two periods. So that’s eight blown leads which end up in clean losses (1) or shootout or overtime losses (7) for a total of nine points lost total (the two points they lost with the regulation loss and the seven other points they lost as loser points) – take half of that, say, five, and you have 68 points as opposed to 63; five points off a playoff spot as opposed to ten.

Math being what it is, it’s more advanced to see who they blew the leads against and I don’t have the time nor the desire to dive that deep to see how it factors into the points as they are today.

They took two points out of the weekend last after blowing a 3-1 lead in the third to Syracuse and losing in overtime 4-3 Saturday, and losing Wednesday to Providence in a shootout 4-3. The week prior in had to have it games, they lose to Lehigh Valley 3-2 in overtime on March 25 then lay an egg against a team they needed to beat in Hartford and lose that game 5-1.

So it’s over. They can only max out at 75 points provided they win out but if Lehigh Valley (74 points, in fifth place) or Hartford (73 points, in sixth place) get there first, it’s over officially.

We knew this, weeks ago. They aren’t a playoff team. They don’t deserve the spot because they are mediocre role players, a one dimensional team who’s best player (Alex Nylander) was keeping a press box seat warm in Pittsburgh until he was re-assigned back to the AHL on Monday and who’s defenders can’t defend and goaltending who’s either hurt all the time or past their primes. How sad is it that I think their best player right now is Taylor Gauthier, their backup goaltender. Gauthier is 7-3-6, with a 2.75 GAA and a .906 SV%.

Pretty sad. Tough scenes.

Charlotte comes to town after getting swept at home by Springfield for three straight. That’s a likely playoff preview between those two teams. Checkers went from a potential challenger for the top two in the division and now may not even host a first round best-of-three playoff series.

Wilkes-Barre then hits the road for Providence on April 7 then Bridgeport on April 8 before heading up to Laval on April 10 for a makeup date with the Rocket. They then hit Hartford next Friday, April 14 before closing out the 2022-23 campaign at home against Charlotte again.

Providence is slumping. They were just overtaken by Hershey for the top spot in the Division and needed a shootout to beat the Pens Wednesday, were shutout 5-0 to Hartford Friday night then Bridgeport comes to town Saturday and beats them 5-2. They already clinched a spot, maybe this is the last piece of vulnerability that they have to get through before they go on what I’m expecting is a deep run into the Playoffs. Who knows, though.

Bridgeport is in a battle straight up with Hartford for the final playoff spot. They won a kids day game against Springfield in overtime on Tuesday then head to Hartford for a massively important game Friday before hosting the Pens this Saturday.

Equally so for Laval, who are in a three team battle with Belleville and Cleveland for the final spot in the North. The Rocket will have hosted Cleveland then traveled to Syracuse before returning home to face the Penguins this coming Monday.

And the Penguins? Planning on mid-April vacation most likely. I’m heading to Virginia Thursday, so if you don’t see me at the game Wednesday I’m likely just resting up for the trip Thursday morning. I will be back next week in time for next Saturday’s send off against Charlotte.

Out the door, here are the crews scheduled to work the four games at issue this week for the Penguins:

Jonathon Sitarski and Adam Tobias with Jud Ritter and Tyler Loftus on the lines Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre.

In Providence Friday, it’s Riley Brace and Tyson Stewart with Kenneth Gates and Matt Heinen on the lines.

It’s Stewart again Saturday in Bridgeport with Jordan Samuels-Thomas and Trevor Disbennett and Nick Briganti on the lines.

I don’t have Monday’s crew. I’m sure they are capable humans.

I should be recapping the away games from the campfire, provided it doesn’t get that cold.

Talk to you again in a bit.

Weekend Preview

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