web1_AP_18091041543925.jpg

Hot-shooting Villanova routs Kansas to advance to title game

web1_OBoyle_Columnshot-1-.jpg

Beyond the Byline: Don’t inflate our hopes

<p>WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins power play has been struggling for quite some time, but in the interim the penalty kill has held its own this season.</p><p>But when both special teams units go south, things can go awry in a hurry.</p><p>That&#8217;s what happened during Saturday&#8217;s game against the Providence Bruins. It a matchup that is a likely preview between two first-round playoff opponents, the Penguins blanked on five power plays while the penalty kill allowed two Providence goals in a 3-1 loss.</p><p>In the final regular-season meeting between the two teams, the Penguins finished with a 3-3 mark against the Bruins and they have to wait until Tuesday to clinch a playoff spot.</p><p>&#8220;If we play Providence it&#8217;s going to be tough,&#8221; said defenseman Lukas Bengtsson. &#8220;They have a really good power play and we need to stay out of the box.&#8221;</p><p>While Saturday&#8217;s loss can be pegged on special teams, one sequence in the third period doomed the Penguins for good.</p><p>With less than 10 minutes left and trailing 2-1, Daniel Sprong was whistled for tripping in the defensive zone, halting a three-on-one rush up ice led by Bengtsson and Jean-Sebastien Dea. Making matters worse was a trip on Sprong that was missed seconds earlier.</p><p>The Penguins were livid about the missed call and the subsequent whistle on Sprong, and Providence promptly scored on the ensuing power play to take a two-goal lead.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s frustrating when you have the puck, it&#8217;s a three-on-one and suddenly we get a penalty,&#8221; Bengtsson said. &#8220;We have to be smarter.&#8221;</p><p>It wasn&#8217;t just the third period when the Penguins struggled on special teams.</p><p>The Penguins had four power play opportunities in the first 22 minutes, but could get anything past Providence netminder Jordan Binnington.</p><p>With seven games left on the season, head coach Clark Donatelli said there&#8217;s still time for the power play to turn things around. Taking penalties, however, is another issue.</p><p>&#8220;We can&#8217;t be taking penalties. We&#8217;ve been talking about it for a while and it just seems to keep coming,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Dea scored on a one-timer in the first period to chip away at a 2-0 Bruins lead that was built with a power-play goal from former Penguin Adam Payerl and an even-strength tally by Trent Frederic.</p><p>And after the Bruins took a 3-1 lead late in the third period, the Penguins went to the box again when Garrett Wilson was called for interference during an offensive zone face off with four minutes left. Then, with under a minute remaining, Sprong was called for holding, putting the Penguins on the penalty kill to end the game.</p><p>The lack of power play success wasn&#8217;t nearly as frustrating to the Penguins as the number of penalties they took.</p><p>&#8220;Yes the power play can be better, but we took way too many penalties,&#8221; Bengtsson said. &#8220;We talk about it all the time, but you can&#8217;t just talk about it. We have to execute it to.&#8221;</p><p><strong>NOTES</strong></p><p>- D Jeff Taylor, D Andrey Pedan (suspension), F Patrick McGrath, F Thomas Di Pauli (injury), F Gage Quinney (injury), D Frank Corrado (injury), G Anthony Peters, G Alex D&#8217;Orio, D Dane Birks and F Jan Drozg were scratched for the Penguins.</p><p>- Before Saturday&#8217;s game, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton signed defenseman Niclas Almari to an amateur tryout agreement for the remainder of the season. Almari, 19, wrapped up his season in Finland with four goals and eight points in 41 games. He was selected by Pittsburgh in the fifth round of the 2016 draft.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Pens-Providence-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Penguins forward Christian Thomas tries to get the puck past Providence&#8217;s goalie Jordan Binnington on a wraparound on Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Arena.  </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Pens-Providence-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Penguins forward Christian Thomas tries to get the puck past Providence&#8217;s goalie Jordan Binnington on a wraparound on Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Arena.  </caption0><photoCredit0>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Pens-Providence-5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Penguin goalie Tristan Jarry stops a shot by Providence&#8217;s Tommy Cross shot in the second period. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Pens-Providence-5.jpg</photo1><caption1>Penguin goalie Tristan Jarry stops a shot by Providence&#8217;s Tommy Cross shot in the second period. </caption1><photoCredit1>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Pens-Providence-4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Penguins teammates congratulate Jean-Sebastien Dea (9) after scoring with 1:10 left in the first period on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Pens-Providence-4.jpg</photo2><caption2>Penguins teammates congratulate Jean-Sebastien Dea (9) after scoring with 1:10 left in the first period on Saturday. </caption2><photoCredit2>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Pens-Providence-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A wall of Penguins swarm the puck in front of goalie Tristan Jarry against Providence on Saturday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Pens-Providence-3.jpg</photo3><caption3>A wall of Penguins swarm the puck in front of goalie Tristan Jarry against Providence on Saturday night. </caption3><photoCredit3>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Pens-Providence-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Penguins forward Adam Johnson gets a shot through during the first period of Saturday&#8217;s game against Providence. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Pens-Providence-2.jpg</photo4><caption4>Penguins forward Adam Johnson gets a shot through during the first period of Saturday&#8217;s game against Providence. </caption4><photoCredit4>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>Penguins 1, <strong>Providence 3</strong></strong></p><p><strong>Providence`2`0`1 &#8212;`3</strong></p><p><strong>Penguins`1`0`0 &#8212;`1</strong></p><p><strong>First Period</strong></p><p><strong>Scoring</strong> &#8211; 1. PRO, Adam Payerl 7 (Acolatse, Cave) power play 14:06. 2. PRO, Trent Frederic 2 (Payerl, Clifton) 17:48. 3. WBS, Jean-Sebastien Dea 16 (Sprong, Wilson) 18:50. Penalties - PRO, Lauzon (cross-checking) 6:50; PRO, Szwarz (slashing) 9:47; WBS, Trotman (roughing) 12:28; PRO, Zboril (slashing) 19:21.</p><p><strong>Second Period</strong></p><p><strong>Scoring</strong> &#8211; None. Penalties - PRO, Cross (holding) 1:39; WBS, Blueger (hooking) 8:28; WBS, Haggerty (slashing) 14:08.</p><p><strong>Third Period</strong></p><p><strong>Scoring</strong> &#8211; 4. PRO, Jordan Szwarz 20 (Czarnik, Cross) power play 8:32. Penalties - PRO, bench - served by Fitzgerald (too many men) 3:12; WBS, Sprong (tripping) 7:56; WBS, Wilson (intereference) 16:02; WBS, Sprong (holding) 19:40.</p><p><strong>Shots on goal</strong></p><p>Providence &#8211; 7-13-7-27</p><p>Penguins &#8211; 9-11-15-35</p><p><strong>Power-play Opportunities</strong></p><p>Providence &#8211; 2 of 6</p><p>Penguins &#8211; 0 of 5</p><p><strong>Goaltenders</strong></p><p>Providence - Jordan Binnington 16-8-1 (34 saves-35 shots)</p><p>Penguins &#8211; Tristan Jarry 7-4-2 (24-27)</p><p><strong>Starters</strong></p><p>Providence &#8211; G Jordan Binnington, D Chris Breen, Jakub Zboril, LW Kenny Agostino, C Trent Frederic, RW Adam Payerl</p><p>Penguins &#8211; G Tristan Jarry, D Zach Trotman, D Jarred Tinordi, LW Adam Johnson, C Teddy Blueger, RW Tom Kostopoulos</p><p><strong>Three Stars</strong></p><p>1. PRO, Adam Payerl (goal, assist) 2. PRO, Jordan Binnington (34 saves) 3. WBS, Jean-Sebastien Dea (goal)</p><p><strong>Referee</strong> &#8211; Olivier Gouin, Matt Menniti. <strong>Linesmen</strong> &#8211; Jason Mandroc, Luke Murray.</p><p><strong>Attendance</strong> &#8211; 7,218</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

WBS Pens miss chance to clinch playoff spot in loss to Providence