PENGUINS WEEKLY – 1/31/23
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton caught in jam-packed Atlantic Division playoff picture
WEEKLY – Penguins (20-16-2-3) placed in standings crunch where five points separate third place from seventh place
Penguins Weekly Rewind
Tuesday, Jan. 24 – PENGUINS 1 at Utica 5 (restart)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Utica restarted their suspended contest from Oct. 17 with 2:43 left in the second period, but the Comets added three goals to their existing, 2-1 lead.
Wednesday, Jan. 25 – PENGUINS 2 at Rochester 3
The Penguins let a 2-0 lead slip away as Rochester used a third-period power-play goal to take the win in these clubs’ first meeting of the season. Alex Nylander and Sam Houde put the puck in the net for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the first period.
Friday, Jan. 27 – PENGUINS 2 at Lehigh Valley 4
A third-period surge featuring tallies from Tyler Sikura and Corey Andonovski wasn’t enough to overcome the four-goal hole the Penguins were in. The Phantoms evened the season series with the Pens at three wins apiece through six meetings.
Saturday, Jan. 28 – PENGUINS 3 vs. Bridgeport 1
The Penguins grinded out a pivotal win on home ice, riding a two-goal outing from Valtteri Puustinen and a 28 save-performance by Taylor Gauthier to victory.
The Weekly Ahead
Wednesday, Feb. 1 – PENGUINS vs. Springfield
For the third game in a row, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton takes on a team that they are tied with in the division standings. The Pens and T-Birds have split their season series at one win apiece.
Friday, Feb. 3 – PENGUINS at Springfield
The second game of a home-and-home between the Pens and T-Birds takes place on Springfield’s ice. In the T-Birds’ last four games of January, their power play went 8-for-22 (36.4%).
Saturday, Feb. 4 – PENGUINS at Hartford
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton looks to enter the All-Star Break on a high note by taking on another divisional foe. The Wolf Pack have earned points in 10 of their last 3 games (6-3-2-2). Drake Caggiula has four assists in three games against Hartford.
Ice Chips
– Drake Caggiula posted 15 points (4G-11A) in 12 games during January.
– Caggiula is on a four-game point streak (1G-4A), tying a pro career-high.
– Tyler Sikura has seven points (1G-6A) in his last six games.
– Taylor Gauthier is on a three-game win streak, posting a 1.79 goals against average and .926 save percentage since Jan. 7.
– With an assist on Friday, Taylor Fedun recorded the 200th point of his AHL career.
– Today is Filip Lindberg’s 24th birthday.
DIVISION STANDINGS
TEAM LEADERS
* = rookie
x = currently with Pittsburgh
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME
Wed, Feb. 1 Springfield Mohegan Sun Arena 7:05 p.m.
Fri, Feb. 3 Springfield MassMutual Center 7:05 p.m.
Sat, Feb. 4 Hartford XL Center 7:00 p.m.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Mon, Jan. 30 (C) Jonathan Gruden Reassigned by PIT
Mon, Jan. 30 (G) Dustin Tokarski Reassigned by PIT
Tue, Jan. 31 (LW) Brooklyn Kalmikov Reassigned to WHL
Tue, Jan. 31 (G) Tommy Nappier Reassigned to WHL