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Lottery Numbers for Monday, Nov. 23.

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A glimpse into the future?

<p>Playing in his first game since being sidelined by a lower body injury nearly a month ago, Tom Sestito had a list of goals to accomplish when he returned to the lineup last Saturday against Albany.</p><p>The veteran tough guy wanted to get on the scoresheet, perhaps get his first fight of the season and, most importantly, help his team win.</p><p>Sestito accomplished all of that in the Penguins&#8217; 5-3, and more.</p><p>Skating on a line with Jean-Sebastien Dea and Josh Archibald, Sestito earned an assist on the first goal of the game - scored by Dea, fought former Penguin tough guy Pierre-Luc Letourneau Leblond, and was pivotal in dictating his team&#8217;s response in the third period when Albany scored two to force a tie.</p><p>Head coach Mike Sullivan was especially pleased with the energy that the line of Sestito-Dea-Archibald brought and said their play swung the momentum back in the Penguins&#8217; favor.</p><p>Sullivan was also happy with how Sestito looked after the long absence.</p><p>&#8220;He ended up (on) the scoresheet, made some nice plays, was a physical presence and that (fight with Leblond) was a heavyweight fight on both sides,&#8221; Sullivan said. &#8220;Those are two tough guys. It was a strong effort for Tommy.&#8221;</p><p>While the injury forced Sestito to miss crucial time while on a PTO, he said it may have been a blessing in disguise because he was able to spend more time with strength and conditioning coach Doug Davidson.</p><p>&#8220;I feel like I got a lot stronger,&#8221; Sestito said. &#8220;It&#8217;s always frustrating and injuries happen, but the team has been great with me so far. I wasn&#8217;t really worried about it.&#8221;</p><p>Sestito was originally credited with two assists after the Albany game but that was changed to one. While it would&#8217;ve been nice to record a multi-point game, Sestito wasn&#8217;t surprised with the stat change and is confident more points will come now that he&#8217;s healthy. During previous stints in the AHL, Sestito has never had trouble providing both toughness and offensive production.</p><p>He also never lost confidence in his fighting abilities after not having a chance to drop the gloves this season before the Albany contest.</p><p>&#8220;Leblond stuck me pretty early there so I wanted to get him back. It was a good, decent first fight,&#8221; Sestito said. &#8220;I haven&#8217;t fought in a while so it was good to get that one out of the way.&#8221;</p><p>Now that he&#8217;s healthy, Sullivan looks forward to using Sestito consistently in the lineup.</p><p>&#8220;He brings an element to our team that we can use,&#8221; Sullivan said. &#8220;He&#8217;s certainly embraced the process here and I think he can help us win.&#8221;</p><p><strong>NOTES</strong></p><p>- With D David Warsofsky still up with Pittsburgh, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton left with six defensemen on the roster, Sullivan didn&#8217;t rule out bringing in a seventh blueliner this week.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s a discussion I&#8217;ll have with (Pittsburgh&#8217;s assistant general manager) Jason Botterill. We&#8217;ve got three games in four nights coming up, so it might make sense to make a personnel move,&#8221; Sullivan said.</p><p>- Injured center Matia Marcantuoni was more active in practice on Monday and Sullivan said he looks &#8220;strong.&#8221; His progress will be monitored throughout the week.</p><p>- D Evan Wardley has a goal and two assists in his first two games with Wheeling, marking a successful return from an injury that has kept him out this season. Sullivan said Wardley is one of several players on his radar. &#8220;He&#8217;s a young guy that obviously hasn&#8217;t played a lot of hockey this year, so it&#8217;s important for him to get into some games,&#8221; Sullivan said. &#8220;He&#8217;s getting that opportunity down there.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">After recovering from an early-season injury, Tom Sestito made a strong first impression on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with an assist and a fight. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_Sestito.jpg</photo0><caption0>After recovering from an early-season injury, Tom Sestito made a strong first impression on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with an assist and a fight. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Sestito makes a first impression