PENGUINS WEEKLY – 5/3/22

Penguins prepared for playoff showdown with Bears

PENGUINS WEEKLY – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s (35-33-4-4) squares off against its oldest foe in first-round series

Penguins Weekly Rewind

Friday, Apr. 29 – PENGUINS 1 at Syracuse 4
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton finally scored on Max Lagacé, but the Crunch goaltender remains undefeated all-time against the Penguins. Radim Zohorna tied the game, 1-1, early in the second period and snapped Lagacé’s shutout streak vs. WBS at 144:42. However, Syracuse rattled off the next three goals to take the win.

Saturday, Apr. 30 – PENGUINS 0 at Lehigh Valley 3
The Penguins were shut-out in their regular season finale at PPL Center. Lehigh Valley came out of the gates hot, scoring 28 seconds into the game. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton quickly settled in after that but failed to solve Felix Sandstrom at any point.

The Week Ahead

Friday, May 6 – GAME 1: PENGUINS vs. Hershey
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton begins its highly anticipated best-of-three playoff series on Friday by hosting the Bears. The Penguins went 16-3-2-1 (.795) in their final 22 home games of the season to qualify for the playoffs, including three-straight home wins over the Bears.

Sunday, May 8 – GAME 2: PENGUINS at Hershey
With the best-of-three format accelerating the urgency of every First-Round series, there will be a chance to advance (or be eliminated) already when the Penguins enter the Bears’ den on Sunday evening. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s last playoff game at Giant Center was a Game 7 loss in overtime, 3-2, in 2016.

Monday, May 9 – GAME 3: PENGUINS vs. Hershey
If necessary, the Penguins and Bears will face-off in a decisive third game at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. The previous seven playoff series between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Hershey went the distance three times, with the Bears going 2-1 in those decisive games.

Ice Chips

– This will be the eighth time Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Hershey have met in the Calder Cup Playoffs. The Penguins are 3-4 in the previous seven series.

– In the second half of the season, Drew O’Connor led the Penguins with 27 points (9G-18A).

– Juuso Riikola finished the season tied for the seventh-most assists by AHL defensemen (34) and placed 10^th among D-men in power-play assists (16).

– Riikola’s 34 assists were the most by a Penguins defenseman since 2015-16 (Will O’Neill, 42).

FINAL DIVISION STANDINGS

TEAM                      GP       W         L       OTL     SOL     PTS     Pts%

1. y-Charlotte         72       42       24         5          1         90      .625

2. x-Springfield      76        43       24         6         3         95       .625

3. x-Providence      72       36        23        5          6         83       .576

4. x-PENGUINS      76       35       33         4          4        78       .513

5. x-Hershey           76       34        32         6         4         78       .513

6. x-Bridgeport      72       31        30         7          4        73       .507

7. Hartford             72       32        32         6          2        72       .500

8. Lehigh Valley     76       29        32        10         5        73       .480

x = clinched playoff spot
y = clinched division

TEAM LEADERS

SKATERS                         GP        G         A        PTS

Alex Nylander                67        22       20        42

Valtteri Puustinen         73        20       22        42

Sam Poulin*                   72        16       21        37

Juuso Riikola                   53         1       34        35

Félix Robert                    63        16       18        34

GOALIES                       GP      W-L-OT      GAA       SV%    Shutouts

Louis Domingue^        21       10-9-2        2.41       .924          0

Tommy Nappier*         25       13-9-2        2.86       .895          1

Alex D’Orio                    22       7-10-4        2.91       .894          1

* = rookie
^ = currently with Pittsburgh

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE

DATE                                      LOCATION                                  TIME      

Fri, May 6        Game 1         Mohegan Sun Arena                  7:05 p.m.

Sun, May 8      Game 2         Giant Center                               5:00 p.m.

Mon, May 9     Game 3*       Mohegan Sun Arena                  7:05 p.m.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

Sat, Apr. 30    (G) Joel Blomqvist                    Released from ATO

Sat, Apr. 30    (LW) Drew O’Connor                      Recalled by PIT

Tue, May 3     (D) Clayton Phillips                  Released from ATO

PENGUINS WEEKLY – Individual game tickets as well as season-ticket packages for the 2022-23 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.