With just nine games remaining in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's regular season, the team sits just outside of the playoff picture.
The top four teams in the division make the playoffs, and Wilkes-Barre's 74 points ranks them fifth, just behind the Providence Bruins and Hershey Bears, who are tied with 79 points. The playoffs are still very much obtainable for this team, but the top players are going to have to shift into another gear to make that push.
So far, Sam Lafferty is making that push.
Lafferty, 24, ranks fifth in scoring on Wilkes-Barre with 11 goals and 25 assists in 61 games in his rookie season. Every point matters now at this time of year, and Lafferty has upped his game.
Wilkes-Barre had four games this past week, during which Lafferty recorded 15 shots, three assists, and a massive hat trick against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on March 23.
Lafferty gave Wilkes-Barre the first lead of the game with a backhand shot midway through the first period:
While leading 2-1 in the second period, Lafferty extended the lead:
When Wilkes-Barre blew the lead, Lafferty's goal in the final minute of regulation tied the game and forced overtime:
Ryan Haggerty would score on the first shot in overtime to earn the win and a much-needed two points, but Lafferty was the No. 1 star for his three goals and assist.
"It felt really good to help the team get the win," Lafferty told me. "We needed those two points. Going into a tough environment like Lehigh and coming out with a win, it always feels good."
Obviously, it would be ideal to have a playoff spot secured now and not have every game be a must-win, but Lafferty enjoys the pressure. It seems like each game is the biggest game of the season, and that's certainly true for this Wednesday's home game against Providence, the team above them in the standings.
"It's really fun," he said of the recent schedule. "We've kind of been in playoff mode for a few weeks now, every game is do or die. We're looking forward to Wednesday and to keep it rolling. ... I've always enjoyed playing in the bigger games. I'm just looking forward to getting back at it."
Lafferty has been centering the top line lately, and has taken on a more important role than perhaps originally anticipated for his rookie year. Some of the team's top forwards -- Adam Johnson, Teddy Blueger, Garrett Wilson -- are in Pittsburgh. Jean-Sebastien Dea has been traded. Thomas Di Pauli has been hurt since December.
That leaves Lafferty -- and his linemates Haggerty and Sam Miletic -- to lead the team in those late-game, high-pressure situations.
"Throughout the year I've gotten some more and more responsibility," Lafferty said. "I've really enjoyed that, it's definitely what I want, it's just making me better as a player."
The young forwards who have gotten called-up this season have been more experienced prospects, not guys in their first professional seasons like Lafferty. So while he would obviously like to be the next guy in line, it isn't exactly at the front of Lafferty's mind right now.
"The goal is to play in Pittsburgh, but at the same time it's just a matter of going out and performing at your best wherever you are," he said. "That gives you the best chance to get called up, whenever it may be. That's how I'm looking at it right now. It's all about performing, and trying to get Wilkes-Barre into the playoffs right now."
Lafferty will more than likely be one of the first forwards to get the call next season. The organization is high on him as a prospect, he just needs to gain experience. He'll take all the lessons he learned in his rookie season, and be prepared for his shot, whenever it comes.
"Now I've played quite a few professional games so I know what to expect, how rigorous things are and the effort level that's required every single game, he said. "I've learned a lot from some of the older guys, and just being able to play in many different situations has helped my game grow. I'm going to take that and run with it."
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THE ROSTER MOVES
• Johnson was recalled to Pittsburgh.
• Forward Joseph Blandisi and defenseman Juuso Riikola were re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre.
• Forward Trevor Yates was re-assigned to Wheeling. Yates had recorded 14 points in 14 games with Wheeling prior to earning the call to Wilkes-Barre, but was scoreless in four AHL games since the recall.
• Forward Renars Krastenbergs was recalled from Wheeling. Krastenbergs, a 20-year-old native of Latvia, is currently third on the Nailers in scoring, with 17 goals, 24 assists in 57 games.
THE INJURIES
• Forward Di Pauli hasn’t played since Dec. 16 with a lower-body injury.
• Forward Ben Sexton hasn’t played since March 2 with an upper-body injury.
• Defenseman Chris Wideman hasn’t played since March 6.
THE NEWS
• The Penguins' game on March 23 was Chris Summers' 500th AHL game.
• Tim Erixon was the latest guest on the Penguins Podcast. These are always entertaining.
THE GAMES
• March 19: at Hershey, 1-0 overtime loss
The Bears and the Penguins went to overtime after a scoreless 60 minutes. The Penguins were outshot 38-17 in regulation.
Garrett Pilon scored at 1:14 of overtime, the first shot of overtime, to win the game for the Bears.
Tristan Jarry took the loss despite a strong 38-save performance.
The Penguins went 0-for-1 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
• March 22: vs. Lehigh Valley, 3-2 loss
Haggerty scored the lone goal of the first period, his 17th goal of the year.
The Phantoms took the lead in the second period after goals from Nicolas Aube-Kubel and former Penguin Chris Conner. Haggerty scored his second goal of the game to tie it.
Aube-Kubel scored his second of the game 28 seconds into the third period, a goal that would stand up to be the game-winner.
Jarry took the loss with 29 saves on 32 shots.
The Penguins went 0-for-5 on the power play, and 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.
• March 23: at Lehigh Valley, 5-4 overtime win
Lafferty opened the scoring 10:19 into the game, and former Penguin Philip Samuelsson answered 28 seconds later to tie the game. Blandisi scored his 16th goal of the season before the end of the first period to retake the lead.
Lafferty again opened the scoring in the second period to extend the lead, but second-period goals from the Phantoms' Greg Carey and Cole Bardreau tied the game.
Byron Froese gave the Phantoms their first lead of the game 6:08 into the third period. In the final minute of regulation, Lafferty completed the hat trick to send the game to overtime.
Haggerty ended the game with his 19th goal of the season on the first shot of overtime.
Jarry, playing on back-to-back nights, earned the win with 30 saves on 34 shots.
The Penguins went 1-for-4 on the power play, and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
• March 23: vs. Springfield, 3-2 win
Former Penguin Dea opened the scoring for the Thunderbirds, because of course he did. Miletic tied the game with a power play goal late in the first period, and Riikola picked up his first AHL point with the secondary assist.
Anthony Angello gave the Penguins the lead on a breakaway off a line change, his 16th goal of the year. Riikola picked up another point with the primary assist.
Dea tied the game 19 seconds into the third period ... because of course. Joseph Cramarossa scored his fourth goal of the year with under four minutes remaining in the game, a goal that stood to be the game-winner.
John Muse earned the win with 32 saves on 34 shots.
The Penguins went 1-for-9 on the power play, and 4-for-6 on the penalty kill.
THE LEADERS
• Goals: Blueger, 21 in 45 games.
• Assists: Ethan Prow, 29 in 66 games
• Points: Prow, 46 in 66 games
THE COMBINATIONS
Sam Miletic – Sam Lafferty – Ryan Haggerty
Jake Lucchini – Jarrett Burton – Jimmy Hayes
Joseph Cramarossa – Joseph Blandisi – Anthony Angello
Linus Olund – Cam Brown – Pat McGrath
Juuso Riikola – Chris Summers
Kevin Czuczman – Jeff Taylor
Matt Abt – Ethan Prow
THE STANDINGS
• After this week, the Penguins record is 32-25-7-3. They remain in fifth place in the eight-team Atlantic Division. The top four teams in the division make the playoffs. The Penguins are currently five points out of a playoff spot and have a three-point lead over the sixth-place Lehigh Valley Phantoms (32-27-4-3).
• The magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 24.
• The power play dropped to 16.6 percent, 22nd in the 31-team league. The penalty kill sits at 80.7 percent overall, 21st in the league.
THE SCHEDULE
• The Penguins will host the Providence Bruins (34-22-8-3) on Wednesday and the Springfield Thunderbirds (28-27-8-5) on Saturday. The Bruins are one of the teams the Penguins have a chance of leapfrogging to make the playoffs, so it's another huge week.
• The Penguins will practice Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at the Toyota SportsPlex.
GOALS OF THE WEEK
Great work from Blandisi on the zone entry, and then he finishes the job after a feed from Lafferty:
Haggerty = Clutch:
Miletic off another feed from Lafferty:
Angello's breakaway goal was his first goal since Feb. 1:
Cramarossa had some late-game heroics:
SAVE OF THE WEEK
Jarry was put to work against the Phantoms:
WILKES-BARRE FUN THING
There was a mascot broom ball game while the Penguins were in Hershey, and one lost his head:
You've got to keep your head on a swivel when the mascots are playing broom ball. pic.twitter.com/NSk7TfgNdr
— WBS Penguins (@WBSPenguins) March 19, 2019