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<p>WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; One practice is all it took.</p><p>With a lineup full of regulars for Friday&#8217;s preseason game against the Binghamton Devils, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins dominated their way to a 6-2 win, highlighted by a four-goal outburst in the first period.</p><p>For a group that practiced together for the first time on Thursday, Friday&#8217;s game showed there is already plenty of chemistry to go along with tons of skill.</p><p>Garrett Wilson had a goal and two assists, Tom Kostopoulos had a goal and an assist, as did Adam Johnson, and Zach Aston-Reese and Daniel Sprong each added two helpers.</p><p>&#8220;A lot of us played together at the rookie tournament, so we had some chemistry coming in,&#8221; Sprong said. &#8220;That gives us some confidence, and it&#8217;s nice we&#8217;re all on the same page so quick.&#8221;</p><p>The results came just as fast.</p><p>Wilson put home a nice backhand pass from Kostopoulos in front, Johnson posted at the corner of the net to punch in a rebound, Zach Trotman blasted a shot from the top and Kostopoulos slammed in a loose puck along the post to round out the scoring in the opening period.</p><p>While the Penguins, who dressed three lines of regulars, clicked all night &#8212; Dominik Simon pounced on a turnover in the second period for the fifth goal &#8212; perhaps the most impressive aspect was the first power play unit.</p><p>On paper, the group is impressive with Johnson at center surrounded by Kostopoulos, Aston-Reese, Sprong and Lukas Bengtsson.</p><p>On the ice, they are nearly unstoppable.</p><p>That was apparent in the first period when the group connected on a two-man advantage with Kostopoulos&#8217; shot near the post, and they stayed on the ice and scored again with Johnson&#8217;s goal just as the remaining power play time expired.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s really fun,&#8221; Bengtsson said. &#8220;I feel we have a really good combination out there and we get a lot of shots.&#8221;</p><p>Equally impressive was the game turned in by Kostopoulos, who had a goal, assist and a fight for the Gordie Howe hat trick in his first preseason game.</p><p>The fight occurred after Binghamton&#8217;s Brandon Baddock hit Jarred Tinordi near the net. Tinordi was hurt on the play and Kostopoulos skated in and immediately dropped the gloves with Baddock.</p><p>&#8220;That shows how good he is as a captain and what a leader he is,&#8221; Bengtsson said. &#8220;He&#8217;s been playing for a while, and he keeps going, doing the same thing every year.&#8221;</p><p>Defenseman Kevin Czuczman finished the scoring when he skated into the zone into the zone in the third period and blasted a shot into the back of the net to make it 6-2.</p><p>The Penguins are now 1-1 in the preseason and travel to Hershey on Saturday to face the Bears.</p><p><strong>NOTES</strong></p><p>&#8226; Tinordi left the game in the second period and didn&#8217;t return. Penguins coach Clark Donatelli didn&#8217;t have an update on his condition.</p><p>&#8226; Goaltender Tristan Jarry played the entire game and Casey DeSmith will play a full 60 minutes against Hershey. Donatelli said the lineup will feature a few changes as well.</p><p>&#8226; The start of Friday&#8217;s game was delayed by about 30 minutes due to a problem with the ice.</p><p>&#8226; The Penguins&#8217; fourth line consisted of Sam Miletic, Gage Quinney and Reid Gardiner. Thomas Di Pauli, Jean-Sebastien Dea, Jarrett Burton and Ryan Haggerty sat out. </p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Penguins forward Sam Miletic (15) and Binghamton&#8217;s Brandon Gignac fight for control of the puck during Friday&#8217;s preseason game at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_TTL093017Pens.jpg</photo0><caption0>Penguins forward Sam Miletic (15) and Binghamton&#8217;s Brandon Gignac fight for control of the puck during Friday&#8217;s preseason game at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | 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"><factboxMeta></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins beat Binghamton 6-2 in preseason