The Wilkes-Barre Penguins had a rough weekend against the Cleveland Monsters, dropping a Friday night contest 7-1 and then getting shut out on Saturday, 3-0.
The Penguins' back-to-back losses didn't help them in the standings, as the Charlotte Checkers won their game on Saturday to leapfrog them into the second seed in the Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, the Checkers play again on Sunday, and WBS is off until Friday, April 11.
On Friday, Vasily Ponomarev scored the Penguins' only of the weekend. His power-play tally at 7:28 came when the visitors were already down 5-0. Jack Beck picked up an assist on the goal in his AHL debut.
Filip Larsson took the loss on Friday, making 29 saves on 36 shots for a .805 SV%. He's now 12-9-3 on the season with five shutouts.
Pittsburgh Penguins Schedule: Remaining Games & Statistical Notes
The Pittsburgh Penguins are winding down their 2024-25 season and on pace to miss the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third consecutive season, a first in Sidney Crosby's 20-year career. However, there is plenty to play for in the final weeks of the regular season.
One contributing factor in the blowout loss was that the Monsters went 3-for-8 on the power play, while the Penguins took ten of their 12 penalties in the final two periods.
Rookie phenom Sergei Murashov was on the hook for the loss on Saturday, suffering his second career AHL loss after beginning the season 11-0-0-0. He made 21 saves on 24 shots (.875 SV%) while his teammates could not beat Jet Greaves, who pitched a 23-save shutout.
Greaves finished the two-game set with just one goal against, making 53 saves on 54 shots, good enough for a .981 SV%.
As mentioned, the Penguins don't play again until next Friday, as the race for a favorable playoff position continues. After this weekend's series, WBS has six games left and is in an intense battle with the Checkers and Providence Bruins for a higher seed in the Atlantic Division.