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<p>In a span of a few seconds during the Jan. 6 game against Hershey, Oskar Sundqvist was hit by a shot from Garrett Wilson and then nearly clipped in the face by a teammate&#8217;s stick as he went to the bench for a line change.</p><p>It was a rough start to a set of three games in three nights.</p><p>But for Sundqvist, the punishment would keep coming.</p><p>On Saturday against Binghamton he was whacked and slashed relentlessly while posted in front of the net against Binghamton. In Hershey the next Saturday, Sundqvist was slammed to the ice during a scrum for the puck and cross-checked in the mouth as he went to the crease.</p><p>After he had a couple of days to recover, Sundqvist shook his head and laughed about the punishment he endured.</p><p>&#8220;It was one of the tougher weekends,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But it was a fun weekend, even if I got banged up.&#8221;</p><p>Sundqvist is showcasing several elements of his game this season. He is producing offense at nearly a point-per-game and he remains one of the top two-way forwards in the AHL.</p><p>And Sundqvist is also proving he is durable.</p><p>That may be the biggest improvement in his second pro season.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m trying to play a two-way game, and I know what I have to do to be good at it,&#8221; Sundqvist said. &#8220;I need to get involved. I need to get a little bit angry when I hit guys. When I do that, I know I&#8217;m going to get some of it back.&#8221;</p><p>But it&#8217;s clear that Sundqvist is dishing out more than he&#8217;s taking, and that&#8217;s not just limited to his physical play.</p><p>In 33 games this season &#8212; 12 less than he played last year &#8212; Sundqvist has already established career-highs with 14 goals, 18 assists, 32 points and a plus-17. He&#8217;s also shot the puck more &#8212; 84-66.</p><p>Sundqvist has been so dominant at times that he produced points this season at a rapid pace. He scored four goals in a game against Hershey on Dec. 10, kicking off a run of seven goals and 14 points in eight games.</p><p>So what has changed for Sundqvist from this season to last?</p><p>&#8220;The difference is, now I have more confidence to step up,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Last year I didn&#8217;t want to lose my defensive side, but this year I know what I can do in the offensive zone, so I&#8217;m not afraid to step up.&#8221;</p><p>That means less apprehension and more willingness to hold onto the puck longer, skate to the crease and absorb hits to produce points.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s how he creates offense,&#8221; said head coach Clark Donatelli. &#8220;Stealing pucks, winning battles and going to the hard areas. He&#8217;s been doing it all year.&#8221;</p><p>If Sundqvist continues his current pace, it seems inevitable he&#8217;ll get a call from Pittsburgh at some point this season. He spent 18 games with the big club last season, posting a goal and four points.</p><p>Sundqvist said he doesn&#8217;t worry about replicating his current offensive production at the NHL level if he goes up. The confidence he&#8217;s gained with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will follow him to the NHL, he said.</p><p>&#8220;I know I can make offensive plays up there, too, and if I get called up it won&#8217;t be just to play defense,&#8221; Sundqvist said. &#8220;I can play a more offensive game, whether that&#8217;s here or with Pittsburgh.&#8221;</p><p>Donatelli said Sundqvist&#8217;s development into an offensive threat has occurred because he is so good at playing a two-way game. Once he had the defensive side down, Donatelli said it was time to bring out the offensive ability.</p><p>&#8220;We knew he had it and we wanted to give him an opportunity to showcase it,&#8221; Donatelli said.</p><p>And even if he does get hit with a teammate&#8217;s shot on occasion, Sundqvist believes that bad luck is a rare occurrence this season.</p><p>&#8220;Sure I might get banged up a bit, but this year everything seems to work out for me,&#8221; he said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Oskar Sundqvist has established career highs in goals, assists and points this season thanks to his willingness to go to the front of the net. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_TTL010716PensOskarSundqvist4CMYK.jpg</photo0><caption0>Oskar Sundqvist has established career highs in goals, assists and points this season thanks to his willingness to go to the front of the net. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger|Times Leader </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 @TomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins center Oskar Sundqvist adds durability, offense to his game