This Week in Wilkes: Divisional Tests Pushing Penguins
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins maintained their playoff positioning, but only secured one victory in the past week.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins continued to make their way through the strongest division in the AHL this past week, as they faced off with the top two teams in the Atlantic Division. Going 1-1-1 over their three games, the Baby Pens brought their overall record this season to 10-8-3, good for fourth place and a playoff spot currently.
The road ahead is lined with more tests, as the team is set to face three playoff bound squads in the coming week. Here's what the past week looked like in Wilkes-Barre and what's up next for the Penguins' AHL affiliate.
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Up:
Peter Abbandanato
The Baby Pens made a trade to start their week, acquiring familiar face Peter Abbandanato. He spent training camp in Pittsburgh temporarily on a professional tryout (PTO), before heading to Chicago’s AHL affiliate. Since his debut, he’s had four points in three games and been a significant boost to the power play.
Sam Houde
After missing some time due to injury, Houde's returned and been a stud for the Baby Pens. He has 12 points in 12 games and is starting to seriously push himself into consideration for an NHL contract.
Ty Smith
While the NHL power play languishes in Pittsburgh, Ty Smith sits in Wilkes-Barre wracking up points. He's tied for the team lead in points and sits in sole possession of team lead in assists. He keeps producing while the NHL club continues to forget about him.
Down:
Valtteri Puustinen
Two seasons ago, Puustinen looked like the next late round/undrafted steal for the Penguins. Since then, however, he’s failed to crack the NHL lineup full time despite his offensive talent.
It’s been a struggle this season as well for Puusty, with his patented skill failing to show up each game. He has only 10 points in 18 games, and he’s been barely noticeable in most of his appearances. With no call-up in sight for the Finnish forward, he’ll need to find his offensive touch in Wilkes-Barre if he wants another shot in Pittsburgh.
Looking Ahead
The Baby Pens go from facing the top two teams in their own division, to the top team in the North Division. They'll take on the first place Cleveland Monsters before grappling with the Providence Bruins for the fourth time of the season. Heading into the end of the calendar year, they have 10 more games before beginning the 2024 portion of a difficult schedule.
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