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<p>Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had lost five straight before rebounding to beat Hershey on Wednesday.</p><p>On Thursday, the Penguins got some important help as they look to build momentum.</p><p>Last season&#8217;s team MVP, Jean-Sebastien Dea, is back with the squad after Pittsburgh reclaimed the forward on waivers from New Jersey.</p><p>Dea is expected to rejoin the lineup at some point this weekend as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton returns to the ice Friday night at Rochester. The road trip will continue Saturday with a trip to Toronto.</p><p>In Dea, the Penguins will get a boost in scoring and experience. The 24-year-old has put up 141 points in 262 career games in the AHL. He had his best season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2017-18 when he finished with career bests in assists (32) and points (50) and has been a steady performer in the team&#8217;s top six over the previous four seasons.</p><p>He was solid enough that when Pittsburgh put him on waivers back at the end of September, hoping to assign him to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton again at the end of training camp, he was snatched up by the Devils. New Jersey&#8217;s front office is run by former Pittsburgh general manager Ray Shero.</p><p>Dea had a spot on the Devils&#8217; roster during these first two months of the season, playing in 20 games while scoring three goals and two assists while seeing mostly fourth-line duty. But those goals all came in his first four games with the team and his only points so far this month were two assists &#8212; against Pittsburgh, no less &#8212; back on Nov. 5.</p><p>So when New Jersey hit a roster crunch on Wednesday, Dea was the choice to place on waivers. Pittsburgh ended up being the only team to put in a bid for him and was he was awarded to the Penguins on Thursday afternoon.</p><p>Because the Penguins were his original team, they were immediately able to assign Dea to the AHL.</p><p>It&#8217;s a much-needed boost for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, which has struggled offensively because of call-ups to top scorers like Zach Aston-Reese and captain Garrett Wilson.</p><p>During the recent five-game skid, four of the losses came by just one goal. Dea can help on both ends of the ice, as his work on the penalty kill in the past has also been strong.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div>

WBS Penguins get big boost by return of Jean-Sebastien Dea