“You’re just trying to stand the line. Just finish hits clean, try to provide energy for the team, and after the whistle, just try not to do too much,” Boko Imama
There’s a fine line between establishing a physical presence in the playoffs and staying out of the penalty box. The Hershey Bears made no secrets of their plans heading into their series against the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, with scrums after many whistles and plenty of shoving after the play. The Bears want to prevent this series from being five-on-five since that gave them an edge.
The Bears scored their first goal of the game on the power play, with the extra space allowing Ilya Protas to find Brett Leason by the net front. They won Game Two 2-1 to even up the series. “It’s a small thing that makes a big difference. They have a good power play, they have a good team, so it’s important to stay out of the box,” Rafael Harvey-Pinard mentioned after the Penguin defeat.
The playoffs are when physical play is amplified but the teams that hone it in end up winning games. “I love physical hockey, it’s the best time of the year, so we’re just looking forward to more battles like this,” Boko Imama added after the game. It’s why the Penguins head into Game Three with adjustments to make.
Penguins Must Control Their Physical Play
The Bears will deliver big hits, and the Penguins must do the same. The Bears will push skaters around after the play and maybe look for an extra hit or cross check that goes unnoticed. “After the whistle, there’s always going to be a scrum but stay out of the box, find a way to keep that thing on the ice,” Harvey-Pinard added postgame.
The Penguins must fight back but avoid taking the costly penalties. “You’re just trying to stand the line. Just finish hits clean, try to provide energy for the team, and after the whistle, just try not to do too much,” Imama stated after the game.
The Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup in 2024 and 2025 by playing that brand of hockey. The Charlotte Checkers, their American Hockey League affiliate, played the same way to reach the Calder Cup Final in 2025. It’s about making the big hit that is a borderline call but not a blatant penalty.
The Bears will make this series physical, and the Penguins must adjust. The first game saw their speed and skill take over in the 4-2 win, and the Bears responded by turning Game Two into a grind. The series now heads to Hershey, where the home team will aim to play a simple road game. Certainly, they’ll stick to their plan and play within their structure. “We have to play within our structure. We don’t have to dumb it down too much but we still have to play within our structure,” King mentioned in a conversation with The Hockey News. The Penguins must play the same way.
The Fourth Line Suddenly is the Most Important in This Series
Imama was playing on the same line as Atley Calvert and Tanner Howe, forming a heavier checking line. It ended up being the best line for the Penguins throughout Game Two as they kept the puck in the offensive zone and generated a few scoring chances.
The key for this trio is to also generate more offense. They’ll have more ice time considering how the series is playing out, and it will require them to find the back of the net a few times. It won’t be easy, yet the Penguins have gotten offense from them throughout the season. Calvert had 16 goals and 22 assists while Howe had eight goals and eight assists in only 27 games. So, they can give this team a much-needed offensive jolt.
The fourth line is the best line for the Penguins in this series. The problem is that it shouldn’t be. The skilled players have disappeared through two games, notably the Rutger McGroarty, Tristan Broz, and Ville Koivunen trio, which is rattled by the style of play. The younger players are tightening their sticks in this playoff series, at least through two games. “We don’t have a lot of experience in the playoffs. We have younger players but you could see the more the game was going on, everybody was getting loose a bit,” Harvey-Pinard added after the game when asked about whether the Penguins' prospects were nervous.
Murashov & Stevenson Will Keep This Series Close
The big-picture theme of this series is that it’s a goaltending battle between Clay Stevenson and Sergei Murashov. Stevenson has allowed only four goals in the two games and six through four Calder Cup Playoff games. His Game Two performance saw him stop 36 of 37 shots to lead the Bears to a win. “We got to give credit to him, he did a great job,” Imama noted. Murashov, meanwhile, has stopped 55 of the 59 shots he’s faced, including a 31-save performance in Game One.
It’s made every mistake in this series more consequential. It makes every penalty a big one. Cleaning up loose puck near the crease has become a key to success in this series. “We have to make sure we’re doing our best to make the job easier every night,” Imama added on the responsibility of protecting Murashov in front of them.
Both goaltenders have played great in the first two games, and it will keep every game from here on out close. It will make this series a war and a great one, to say the least.