PENGUINS WEEKLY – 2/16/22

With 32 games left, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the midst of playoff hunt

PENGUINS WEEKLY – Penguins (19-20-2-3) continue to play crucial division games this week

Penguins Weekly Rewind

Wednesday, Feb. 9 – PENGUINS 1 at Rochester 3
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton smothered its opponent and allowed only seven shots total in the second and third periods, but three of those shots went in. Pierre-Olivier Joseph notched the Penguins’ only goal 69 seconds into the game.

Friday, Feb. 11 – PENGUINS 1 vs. Belleville 2
The Penguins suffered another narrow loss after Senators goalie Filip Gustavsson shut the door in the third period. In his first game back from NHL recall, Valtteri Puustinen tallied his side’s lone goal.

Saturday, Feb. 12 – PENGUINS 3 at Lehigh Valley 2
A bounce-back win against a fierce, in-state rival, the Penguins used a trio of early-period goals to trounce the Phantoms. Taylor Fedun and Nathan Légaré scored 34 seconds apart in the first two minutes of the middle frame, and Joseph lit the lamp for the game-winner at 2:14 of the third period.

Tuesday, Feb. 15 – PENGUINS 4 at Charlotte 5
A back-and-forth game ended with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton stunned in photo-finish loss at Charlotte. The Penguins erased a two-goal deficit in the third period, only for the Checkers to tally the winner with 91 seconds left in regulation.

The Week Ahead

Wednesday, Feb. 16 – PENGUINS at Charlotte
The Penguins look for revenge against the Checkers, the same team that snatched two points from them the night before. Charlotte is 4-1-1-0 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season.

Saturday, Feb. 19 – PENGUINS vs. Springfield
The Penguins host the Thunderbirds for Military Appreciation Night presented by MetLife. Springfield owns first place in the Atlantic, but Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is 3-0-0-1 against the T-Birds this season.

Ice Chips

– Pierre-Olivier Joseph has eight goals, tied for first among AHL defensemen.

– Joseph has nine points (5G-4A) in his last eight games.

– Having opened the scoring six times this season, Valtteri Puustinen leads the AHL in first goals.

– The Penguins’ penalty kill is 83.1 percent on the road, ninth in the AHL.

– Matt Bartkowski played in his 400^th AHL game on Tuesday.

DIVISION STANDINGS

TEAM                      GP       W         L       OTL     SOL     PTS     Pts%

1. Springfield          45       25       14         5         1         56       .622

2. Hartford             42       23        13        4          2        52       .619

3. Hershey              45       24       15         3          3        54       .600

4. Providence         38       19        13         3         3        44       .579

5. Charlotte            44       24        18         2          0        50       .568

6. PENGUINS         44       19        20         2          3        43       .489

7. Lehigh Valley     43       17        18         6          2        42       .488

8. Bridgeport          46      17        20         5          4        43       .467

TEAM LEADERS

SKATERS                        GP        G         A        PTS

Valtteri Puustinen        43        15       15        30

Alex Nylander               43        15       12         27

Pierre-Olivier Joseph    36         8        17         25

Félix Robert                   39        10       11         21

Sam Poulin                     40         6        14        20

GOALIES                       GP      W-L-OT      GAA       SV%    Shutouts

Louis Domingue^        10        3-4-2         2.69       .918            0

Filip Lindberg*              7         4-2-0         2.76        .915            0

Alex D’Orio                    15        6-7-1         2.67       .901            1

Tommy Nappier*         13        5-6-2         3.16       .888            0

* = rookie
^ = currently with Pittsburgh

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE

DATE                OPPONENT       LOCATION                                TIME      

Wed, Feb. 16   Charlotte           BoJangles’ Coliseum                 7:00 p.m.

Sat, Feb. 19      Springfield        PPL Center                                 6:05 p.m.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

Wed, Feb. 9    (D) Niclas Almari                   Reassigned by PIT to Lukko

Fri, Feb. 11      (RW) Valtteri Puustinen                   Reassigned from PIT

Fri, Feb. 11      (C) Michael Chaput                           Reassigned from PIT

PENGUINS WEEKLY – Individual game tickets and season-ticket packages for the 2021-22 season are on sale now. Full-Season, 22-game, 12-game, Flexbook and Premium Seating plans are available by reaching out to the Penguins directly at (570) 208-7367.