PENGUINS WEEKLY – 12/19/23

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton carries three consecutive wins into Canada for road trip

WEEKLY – Penguins (14-9-3-0) outscored opponents 10-3 in its three victories last week

Penguins Weekly Rewind

Wednesday, Dec. 13 – PENGUINS 4 vs. Syracuse 1
The Penguins started their week by stomping out the Crunch on home ice. Rem Pitlick potted a power-play goal late in the first period, followed by second-period strikes from Jack Rathbone, Austin Rueschhoff and Matt Filipe. Filipe’s goal was a shorthanded tally, the Penguins’ second shorty of the season.

Friday, Dec. 15 – PENGUINS 4 at Utica 1
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton snapped Utica’s four-game winning streak in style. After a scoreless first period, Will Butcher opened the scoring with his first goal as a Penguin. That was swiftly followed by Rathbone’s second tally of the week. Peter Abbandonato added a man-advantage marker in the third, then sealed things up with an empty netter by Colin White.

Saturday, Dec. 16 – PENGUINS 2 vs. Rochester 1
Alex Nylander starred in the Penguins’ nail-biting win in the Americans’ only visit of the season. Nylander set up Sam Poulin’s opening goal, as Poulin returned from an 18-game injury absence. Then Nylander scored his 100^th professional goal with three minutes left in regulation to lift Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton to victory.

The Week Ahead

Thursday, Dec. 21 – PENGUINS at Belleville
The Penguins’ Canadian road trip starts in Belleville, as the Black & gold try to avenge an overtime loss on Nov. 4. The Senators are on a three-game losing streak, but they have picked up points in each of their last four home games.

Friday, Dec. 22 – PENGUINS at Laval
The last game before the holiday break is a showdown with the high-flying Rocket. The Rocket sit last in the North Division and allow the most goals against per game in the league (4.20), but they also score at a top-five rate at even strength, own the most shorthanded goals (8) and rookie star Joshua Roy.

Ice Chips

– The Penguins penalty kill ranks second in the league at 87.4% and has gone 16-for-17 (94.1%) over its last five games.

– Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has scored 37 third-period goals, most in the league.

– Rem Pitlick is on a career-best eight-game point streak, amassing nine points (3G-6A) in that time.

– Ty Smith ranks tied for fourth among defensemen with 19 points (4G-15A).

– The Penguins are 6-1-0-0 this season when Alex Nylander scores a goal. Since he was acquired in a trade on Jan. 5, 2022…