It’s a lot of new tools in Head Coach J.D. Forrest’s tool chest, and with four games to close out February, sitting sixth in the Atlantic Division the Penguins have to use these new tools carefully. It only seems apropos then….
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The Setup
A makeup game Tuesday in Hershey, a home game against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms Wednesday and old buddy Adam Johnson, a Friday off, a trip up to Bridgeport Saturday to visit the Islanders and a Sunday home game against the Syracuse Crunch.
Hershey is coming into the game Tuesday having dropped two of three last weekend up in the Northeast. They lost twice to Providence on Friday and Sunday and dominated the Islanders Saturday.
Lehigh Valley played tight against the Utica Comets and gritted out a shootout loss Saturday then kept things fairly square with Springfield Sunday before the Thunderbirds firepower was unleashed.
Bridgeport played Rochester to overtime last Tuesday, lost Saturday to the Bears then shutout the Wolf Pack on Sunday. They will have played the Thunderbirds Wednesday before seeing the Penguins on Saturday.
Syracuse is the last of a few teams the Penguins have yet to play this season, have an extremely busy week where the Penguins will be their fifth opponent played after games Monday and Tuesday (in Belleville) Friday and Saturday at home (Rochester and Utica respectively) and then the Sunday trip to Wilkes-Barre.
The Crunch are in a similar position as the Penguins, battling for a playoff spot and, like the Penguins, should be a lot higher in the standings that they are familiar with.
The Records
In lieu of Power Rankings this week, this post is heading out on Monday afternoon. So the records are as of Monday, February 21.
The Penguins are sixth in the Atlantic Division at 20-21-2-3 good for .489 percentage points.
Starting with Hershey, the Bears are in fifth place with a 25-17-3-3 record in the Atlantic and a .583 percentage points….Lehigh Valley is in seventh with a 17-19-6-3 record and .478 percentage points….Bridgeport follows in eighth place with a 18-21-5-4 record good for .469 percentage points.
Syracuse is 19-18-4-1 and in sixth place in the North Division with a .512 percentage point total but again, the Crunch will have played four times this week before seeing the Penguins on Sunday.
Who’s Up, Who’s Down, Who’s Out?
No one is up other than the injured Louis Domingue, still nursing a foot injury sustained in practice in Pittsburgh. The Pens sent O’Connor and Zohorna back Monday with Freidman on conditioning and in a subsequent move, Coal Street sent Sam Houde down to Wheeling.
Status quo otherwise, forward Jamie Devane is out still with a broken jaw we think, goalie Filip Lindberg with his ankle and defenseman Chris Bigras remains out with something.
Who’s in Goal?
I like the little game of leap frog Tommy Nappier and Alex D’Orio are playing with one another here. Weeks ago you would have thought that D’Orio was your bonafide number one, but it appears that isn’t the case with them both being 1A-1B type goalies. A good problem to have. I think Nappier goes Tuesday in Hershey, D’Orio Wednesday at home against the Phantoms then D’Orio in Bridgeport Saturday and Nappier home Sunday against the Crunch. I could be wrong and probably am, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
For the opposition, I’ll take a stab. Zach Fucale, Kirill Ustimenko, Jakub Skarek and Amir Miftakhov in that order.
Hershey and Lehigh Valley are having some issues with goal, either with recall as in the case with the Bears or injury as is the case with the Phantoms.
What can we learn about the Penguins this week?
How much of an impact will O’Connor, Zohorna and Friedman have on the farm club this week? How reliant will the team be on their services? If the answer is ‘huge’ and, ‘a lot’ that doesn’t bode well for the overall success of the Penguins. Will it help solidify them as a playoff team? Sure, it might. Beyond that? You are a tweak or a trade away from O’Connor and Zohorna going right back up again and Friedman is a week rental player who is only here on conditioning, so you need to have these guys help the cause and not have them be the cause, if that make sense.
At this point in the season every point matters, so unless it is a weird thing that the Pens get jobbed out of a point because of a late power play for puck over glass, the Penguins need to get 6 of 8 points in order for me to feel good about their chances as a playoff team.
– Hershey: Ripe for the picking, struggled a lot against a really good Providence team. GIANT Center remains a house of horrors for the Penguins, though.
– Lehigh Valley: Can we Old Yeller this team already? They haven’t played like a team that belongs in a playoff spot, so just keep them down and put them out for good already.
– Bridgeport: Perpetual last place team. If you want to be considered a playoff team, you easily beat a team like this.
– Syracuse: Finally beat a Laval team on Friday they played four straight times on the schedule and kicked a Rochester team who had a hell of a week of travel. We will see how the Crunch do this week against Belleville twice, Rochester again and Utica, but this is a team that a lot of teams is better than, the Penguins included.
Again, 6 of 8 points this week is almost a must in order to keep pace as a sixth place side losing touch with fifth place, being hotly pursued by seventh and eighth. Let some other team worry about being the six and move up to five or more preferably four, if you can.
Who is running the show?
Another reason I decided to scrap the Power Rankings this week was because the League put out the scheduled officiating crews for the week Sunday night. For the Penguins they are:
– at Hershey Feb. 22: Referees Rob Hennessy and Jack Young. Linesmen Michael Magee and Tom DellaFranco
– vs. Lehigh Valley Feb. 23: Jack Young again with Alex Ross. Linesmen Jud Ritter and Patrick Dapuzzo.
– at Bridgeport Feb. 26: Referees Justin Kea and Stan Szczurek. Linesmen Eric Ernst and Kilian McNamara.
– vs. Syracuse Feb. 27: Referees Dre Barone and Jim Curtin. Linesmen Bill Lyons and Josh Cleary.
Looking ahead…
Three on the road starting in Bridgeport next Friday and Saturday for a pair there then Sunday in Providence.
Give us a bold prediction…
The Power Rankings will be back next Monday. A top five this week:
Stockton: Continue to roll at the top of the Pacific. Smacked pretenders Bakersfield twice this week.
Utica: The Eastern Conference looks more and more to be running through this Central New York town.
Chicago: Despite the contrary, rumors of the Wolves demise have been greatly exaggerated. Showdown this weekend in Winnipeg against the Moose.
Ontario: Keeping pace with the Heat with a pair of 4-3 victories over the Gulls.
Springfield: This isn’t your Uncle’s Springfield Thunderbirds team, unless they play the Penguins (who they haven’t beaten clean yet this season) then it probably is.
Comments Off on No Love For The Space Force — Pens WIN 3-2 (SO)
Posted by nafsnep on February 19, 2022
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It was Military Appreciation Night at the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins game Saturday and they stopped during a break in play to acknowledge members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Marines.
No love at all for the Space Force.
I don’t know what if anything that had to do with the Penguins beating the Springfield Thunderbirds 3-2 in a shootout Saturday, but that’s another story.
The Penguins raced out to a 2-0 lead in the second period and held the Thunderbirds to just three shots. Then Springfield turned the tables and tied the game back up with a relentless attack in the third period like you saw in Charlotte Tuesday and Wednesday.
Styles make fights, and the Penguins have the number of the division leading Springfield Thunderbirds. It’s something to keep in mind if these two teams ever meet in the playoffs later this season.
Tommy Nappier opposed Joel Hofer. Here’s how they lined up:
Conceivably, this is the same team that got smoked in Charlotte. Running the division leaders on Saturday at home? Yeah, I don’t know either.
Third Period: Sometimes I get a sense sitting down for a period against a team that is really good like Springfield that the Penguins are up on, that really would have no business being up on that the period will go south in a hurry.
I got that same sense tonight.
Springfield runs the table on the Penguins and ties the game at two.
Springfield let off there I felt. They could have kept going but the Penguins picked themselves off from the mat and started pushing back.
They had their first power play of the game, overthought things and didn’t score. They got it to the end of regulation tied.
Overtime: Fun, but no scoring.
Shootout: Alex Nylander scores in the top of the second. Tommy Nappier denies Sam Anas, Jim Neal and Hugh McGing in that order for the win.
Three Stars: 3) Mitch Reinke (goal) 2) Tommy Nappier (30 saves) 1) Alex Nylander (goal in regulation and in shootout)
The Good: Pick yourself up off the mat game for Wilkes-Barre / Scranton. Ride that momentum into a place you struggle at in Hershey Tuesday.
The Bad: It wasn’t a matter of if, but a matter of when the Thunderbirds were going to make their push. When they started, they ran downhill till they got what they wanted.
Turning Point: Nappier’s save on James Neal, he of close to 300 NHL goals, in the bottom of the second in the shootout was a big moment, Springfield follows with their hammer Hugh McGing, and if Neal scored there McGing may have after. Big save from Big Time Tommy Nappier from THEE Ohio State University.
Around the Division: Computer is at under 9% – gotta hurry. Not gonna link to each box, here’s the boxes for February 19. Utica beat Lehigh Valley 3-2 in a shootout, Charlotte beat Cleveland 4-2, Hershey beats Bridgeport 4-2, Providence beats Hartford 3-1.
Standings: Pens should get sixth back with .489 percentage points. Lehigh Valley has two games in hand on the Penguins though.
Wheeling Update: Wheeling beats Reading 5-3. Patrick Watling had a goal and two assists.
Video Highlights: My guess is that the Pens will have these up later, and if I can get an edit in I will.
Pens are back at it Tuesday in Hershey. Weekend Preview will be there Tuesday. Maybe I get Power Rankings Monday. Gotta charge the laptop first.
Comments Off on Swept in Charlotte – Pens LOSE 4-1
Posted by nafsnep on February 16, 2022
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They needed to get something out of this trip.
All they got was frequent flyer miles and slightly warmer weather.
A short end of the stick run and gun affair Tuesday was met with a feckless effort Wednesday and the Charlotte Checkers sweep the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins with a 4-1 win.
What have we learned about the Penguins? There’s a divide in the division. The Penguins are on the wrong side. It’s a team that is going to hover at the cut line (the six seed in the Atlantic) and really won’t be able to push up the standings unless they go on a tear. At present, the team isn’t built like one that can go on a tear. Even if the Penguins swept the Checkers clean this week, they still would be sixth, but closer on percentage points to the Checkers. Now, the divide widens.
Things settled down from there and the Penguins had the only power play of the period but still trailed one after the end of the period.
Second Period: The Penguins were building a crescendo towards tying up the game but Carsen Twarynski scores on a slow developing 2-on-1 that gives the Checkers a 2-0 lead.
Thought at the time was that that goal there was a momentum buster for the Penguins. It’s like you have a tuba you are playing in high school band and you accidentally sit on it on the school bus the way to the performance and ruin everything.
Connor Carrick scores on a power play to make it 3-0. The Penguins were hot about an interference call made by one of the referees far away from the play and then a more blatant call that went unwhistled.
Here’s both goals for you.
Twarynski and Carrick tacked on two more goals in the second to give us a 3-0 lead! https://t.co/x086AAkr9x
The Good: Hard to find something out of this wreckage. They needed at least two points here in this series, and get zero.
The Bad: 1/5 on the power play, slow starts, overall disjointed. The team is what it is, and that’s a .500 at best team which will hover at the cut line for the remainder of the season.
Turning Point: The Twarynski goal that made it 2-0 was a real back breaker.
Around the Division: They all watched us.
Standings: Springfield .622 percentage points – Hartford .619 – Hershey .600 – Providence .579 – Charlotte .578 — Lehigh Valley .488 — Penguins .478 – Bridgeport .467
Wheeling Update: Nailers were off.
Video Highlights: I don’t think anyone wants to watch highlights of this but if I see them I will work the edit in.
Comments Off on The Heartbreak Kid Cole Schwindt — Pens LOSE 5-4
Posted by nafsnep on February 15, 2022
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This one is going to sting for a bit.
The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins, down 4-2 in the third period Tuesday night, pull themselves up by the bootstraps and rally to tie the game at four with a little over two minutes to play, when quickly developing Penguin killer Cole Schwindt scores with 1:31 left in regulation to sink the Penguins ion regulation. It’s Schwindt’s fifth goal against the Penguins.
I didn’t feel like recycling “Holy Schwindt” as a pun headline.
Later, on a power play, Anthony Angello scores on a spin-o-rama play that beats Knight again for a Penguins power play goal.
But then it was Scott Wilson skating in and scoring on a ridiculous angle with a backhand roof job over the shoulder of Nappier that put the Checkers on the board.
Second Period: Penguins don’t score on a double minor power play after Taylor Fedun was split open by a high stick. Charlotte has a top ten penalty killing unit.
Max McCormick and Cale Fleury score :56 apart on screwy plays. On the McCormick goal, there was a loose puck in front of Nappier’s crease he pounced on and swept across to tie it. Then on Fleury’s goal, a shot from along the side hits Fleury’s blade and deflects in to give the Checkers a 3-2 lead.
Clear the crease on the first play. Nothing you could do on the second play.
Pens were shut down in the second period. No shots after the double minor power play expired until about 2 minutes to play in the period. You can’t really have that, especially after you come into the period up one and right after a double minor penalty you fail to score on.
Third Period: Kole Lind extends the Penguins deficit to two with this goal right after the Checkers killed a penalty.
Kole Lind's 13th point in his last 13 games (!!) is the difference in this one right now https://t.co/n42zA5kBW0
Then the Penguins started their comeback sparked by Jonathan Gruden when he digs a puck out of the pads of Spencer Knight and sweeps it past him to pull the Pens within one.
But that apparently was too much time left on the clock for the Checkers as Cole Schwindt would play hero on the night and score to make it 5-4 Checkers.
Comments Off on Weekend Preview – Charlotte on My Mind
Posted by nafsnep on February 15, 2022
Two losses went with a big gritty win in Allentown last week when the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins didn’t gain or lose any ground in sixth in the Atlantic Division. They didn’t have any offense at all in the two losses to equate with great defense (only seven shots allowed in the second and third periods total in Rochester Wednesday) and lost a close one Friday at home against Belleville. Goals :34 apart in the second period helped save their bacon Saturday in Allentown against the Phantoms.
The Setup
Two in Charlotte Tuesday and Wednesday and then a Saturday home game against a hot Springfield team. The Checkers are in fifth place in the Atlantic and only a couple percentage points off fourth place Providence. So yeah, it’s an important series.
Charlotte split a series last weekend at home against Bridgeport. They shutout the Islanders 2-0 Saturday behind 25 saves by Spencer Knight. Bridgeport beat them 4-3 Friday.
Springfield is suddenly the hottest team in the division, winners of three straight. The Thunderbirds don’t play at all this week and will be well rested when they come to town Saturday night.
The Pens can’t overtake the Checkers for fourth in the division with two clean wins, but they can get dangerously close. It’s more about preserving their hold on the last playoff spot in the division and trying to climb higher.
The Records
Penguins are 19-19-2-3, .500 and sixth in the Atlantic. Checkers are 23-18-2-0, .558 and fifth in the Atlantic. Springfield is 25-14-5-1, in first with .622 percentage points in the Atlantic.
Who’s Up, Who’s Down, Who’s Out?
Status quo with all the injuries. Sam Houde came off last week. Jamie Devane, Filip Lindberg and Chris Bigras are all out week to week.
Who’s in Goal?
Expect a split of Tommy Nappier and Alex D’Orio in Charlotte and likely whoever plays better in Charlotte starting Saturday at home against the Thunderbirds. Expect a split of Spencer Knight and Joey Daccord with the Checkers and then likely Joel Hofer on rest Saturday for the Thunderbirds.
What can we learn about the Penguins this week?
Are they serious contenders for a playoff spot or will they continue as a bubble team? Simple as that. If they go to Charlotte, a tough place to play, and get four clean points, then yeah, this is a team to keep an eye on. A split is more likely, just because you don’t go into Charlotte and sweep them unless you are an elite team. The Penguins aren’t that.
Springfield is a team that the Penguins have had success against, so maximizing six points this week is the game plan, obviously.
Who is running the show?
Riley Yerkovich and Jake Rekucki are the referees this week in Charlotte. Linesmen on Tuesday are Justin Johnson and Scott Senger. Wednesday sees Ken Radolinski and Shane Gustafson on the lines. Saturday back in WIlkes-Barre sees Michael Zyla and Mason Riley as the referees with Colin Gates and Josh Cleary on the lines.
Looking ahead…
A busy week to close out February. Tuesday trip to Hershey, Wednesday home game against Lehigh Valley then a Saturday trip to Bridgeport and a Sunday home game against Syracuse.
No Friday home games for the Penguins on back to back weekends. I’ll take it, but not at the expense of a Sunday afternoon home game.
Comments Off on Power Rankings – Play That Funky Glenn Frey Music!
Posted by nafsnep on February 14, 2022
It’s a nearly all Pacific Division top five this week as the Stockton Heat take over the top spot in the Rankings this week unseating the Utica Comets.
If you don’t understand the headline, the Heat’s goal song is, “The Heat is On” by Glenn Frey. I think it is subtly awesome, personally.
The Heat are followed closely by the Ontario Reign, who took three of four points out of Stockton this weekend and the Bakersfield Condors who are on a hell of a run.
A note about Springfield, they bumped up big this week. Call it a market correction.
Here’s the whole list:
Rank
Team
Blurb
Last Week
1
Boy that was a fun series with Ontario this past weekend. Heat remain tops in the Pacific with a shootout win Saturday. Home and home with Bakersfield this weekend.
+1
2
Reign get three of four points out of Stockton. They scored three power play goals Saturday against the Heat.
+2
3
Busy week for the Condors coming up who were in a run and gun with Silver Knights last weekend. One with Ontario and then a home and home with Stockton. Abbotsford in on Wednesday.
+3
4
Dropping Utica out of the top spot because last place Cleveland beat them. Toronto and Rochester on the menu this week.
-3
5
Important game Saturday in Providence coming. Wolf Pack beat Rochester in OT this past Saturday.
n/a
6
Swept Texas last week. This week: one in Chicago, one with Rockford, then three with the Moose. All winnable and the Admirals will be looking to move even higher in the Central.
+2
7
Busy February continues for this team. Five game road trip starts Wednesday in Belleville.
+7
8
Thunderbirds getting hot at the right time. This is the thick of the season. Trip to PA where the Thunderbirds haven’t had much luck this season.
+14
9
Every week I come to the standings expecting to see a new face on top of the Central and every week it is still Chicago. 3-3-2-2 in their last ten. Rockford got them twice this weekend.
-2
10
Wolves are floundering and the Moose go out to Abbotsford and get trounced. Now three with Milwaukee, the hottest team in the division? Eek!
-7
11
The wins over Chicago are nice, but it’s the rest of the division that the IceHogs have to figure out. Iowa and Milwaukee this week then a home and home with Grand Rapids.
+6
12
Marlies did not play this past week. Get Utica in an important midweek matchup then a home and home with Belleville.
n/a
13
Wild holding onto last playoff spot in the Central. Schedule is a bit heavy this week with a pair with the Wolves and one with Rockford.
+3
14
Took 4 of 6 out of Pennsylvania. Return home for key matchups with Laval and Toronto, suddenly winnable games for the Senators.
+5
15
Split a series with Tucson. I’m sorry but if you want to contend in this bloated division, you shouldn’t be giving points away to Tucson of all teams. Henderson stops in this week and the Silver Knights aren’t a pushover.
-5
16
Sweep the Moose at home in impressive fashion. Bakersfield and Colorado make for good tests for these Canucks.
+14
17
Six game February road trip continues this week in Colorado and Tucson. Winnable games to keep pace with the top two teams in the Pacific.
-2
18
Bears have losses wrapped around a win Saturday at home against Belleville where the power play saved the Bears (Hershey went 3/5) – trip out to see Providence and Bridgeport this weekend.
-9
19
Depleted by injuries and callups, again. But got a gutty win Friday at home against Rochester via shootout.
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20
Hit a bump midweek in a loss in Rochester and again Friday at home with Belleville. Very important games midweek with Charlotte for fifth in the division.
-9
21
Phantoms go 5-1-1 against the Bears this past Sunday with a big win. Problem is the other teams in the division.
-3
22
Rocky trip to the Atlantic, but managed to get loser points. Trip continues this week.
-1
23
Big showdown at home this week against the Penguins before the Monsters stop in.
-3
24
Won their only game this week against the Barracuda. Home and home against the Reign this weekend.
+4
25
Won Thursday in OT in Des Moines then got smoked the next night by the Wild.
n/a
26
Schedule doesn’t relent with Henderson this weekend.
+1
27
Split down in Charlotte. Host Rochester / Hershey / Hartford this week.
-4
28
Managed a win in Utica, which doesn’t happen much. Trip to Charlotte this weekend.
+3
29
Swept by Milwaukee. Grand Rapids then San Jose drop by. These are winnable, must win games for the Stars.
-3
30
Crunch continue to free fall, getting thumped by Laval three times. One more with the Rocket this week before a different opponent (Rochester) drops by this week.
-6
31
Busiest part of the month coming up here for the Barracuda who only play seven games this month. San Jose have three this week with San Diego and a pair in Texas.
Comments Off on Solidly Sixth — Pens WIN 3-2
Posted by nafsnep on February 12, 2022
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It’s not something to be that proud of, but the Penguins with this win Saturday night, are solidly in sixth place in the Atlantic Division after a dominating 3-2 win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Wait. Dominating? A one goal win if dominating? Since when?
Penguins outshoot the Phantoms 35-22. They didn’t take a penalty. They clearly were the better team from the jump.
It sets up a huge midweek showdown in Charlotte Tuesday and Wednesday. The Checkers currently hold the five seed in the Atlantic.
Lineup: Filip Hallander was out with a non-COVID illness. I guess we have to highlight COVID vs. non-COVID from here going forward. Sam Houde went to the top line. Will Reilly went in on defense for Cam Lee.
First Period: No scoring. No penalties. Pens showed flashes with under five to play highlighted here on the splay by Nathan Legare.
Nathan Legare forces a turnover and creates a breakaway opportunity but is stopped. pic.twitter.com/RuuIr8XiUz
Lehigh Valley made a push late. Hayden Hodgson lays a big hit on Taylor Fedun which set up Cal O’Reilly scoring to cut the Phantoms deficit in half with a flick of a wrist.
(no GIF of it)
Referees Jordan Samuels-Thomas and Jeremy Tufts stayed out of the way and didn’t call any penalties.
Third Period: P.O. Joseph scored his 8th goal of the season, tying him for the lead in that department among defensemen.
That is an NHL caliber wrist shot. If you want another example, scroll down to the Rochester recap and check out his goal in that one. He’s not long for the AHL if he keeps doing this.
The Phantoms though, stuck around and scored on a redirect by Maksim Sushko that brought them to within one yet again.
(no GIF of this one either)
The Phantoms called timeout and pulled Ustimenko but Nappier and the Penguins defense kept them out. They never found the equalizer.
Three Stars: 3) Maksim Sushko (goal) 2) Taylor Fedun (goal) 1) P. O. Joseph (goal)
The Good: Was a little shocked to see Nappier go in back to back, but having two good goaltenders is a great problem to have. Also good to see the Penguins bounce back and take two clean points out of an in-state rivals rink.
The Bad: Clearly the better team, let the opponent stick around to a one shot possibility. That formula isn’t going to work the later we go.
Turning Point: Joseph’s goal gets it here. Phantoms were better as the period wore on. Plan coming out of the third was not to let the Penguins score another to go back up two.
Standings: Springfield .622 percentage points — Hartford .619 – Hershey .614 – Providence .579 – Charlotte .558 – Penguins .500 – Lehigh Valley .476 – Bridgeport .467
Wheeling Update: Nailers win in overtime 4-3 against Fort Wayne. Sean Josling with the game winner in that one.
Video Highlights: If the pens post em I will edit them in.
Big one Tuesday against Charlotte. I’ll work on the Power Rankings Sunday and they will be up Monday. Weekend Setup looking at Charlotte and Springfield next Saturday Tuesday morning.
WBS News
Chirps from Center Ice 