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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Aside from a 20-game stint with the New Jersey Devils this season, Jean-Sebastien Dea has spent the majority of his career with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.</p><p>By games alone, he is the team&#8217;s most tenured player, yet this season Dea is experiencing a first in his five-year career.</p><p>With 23 games left in the season, the Penguins are in sixth place in the Atlantic Division, four points behind the Providence Bruins and Hershey Bears, who hold the final two playoff spots.</p><p>Being outside of the playoff picture this late in the season is unfamiliar territory for Dea.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve never been in that situation. The last couple of years we&#8217;ve always been in the top teams and didn&#8217;t have to worry about a playoff spot,&#8221; Dea said after Tuesday&#8217;s practice at Toyota SportsPlex. &#8220;It&#8217;s a first for me.&#8221;</p><p>So how does a player respond when time is running out to clinch a playoff spot?</p><p>Defenseman Ethan Prow said there&#8217;s no panic, but plenty of desperation.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s a good word to describe how we need to play. Knowing the spot we&#8217;re in, we have to play desperate hockey,&#8221; he said.</p><p>The Penguins will have all week to mull over their spot in the standings, as they don&#8217;t play until Friday. But the current situation isn&#8217;t serving as a distraction as winger Ryan Haggerty said the week will be spent focusing on improving aspects of their game.</p><p>Haggerty also seemed to dismiss talk of Friday&#8217;s contest Hershey, simply saying, &#8220;It&#8217;s a huge game.&#8221;</p><p>The time to talk about Hershey will be later in the week. For now, the focus is on the daily task at hand.</p><p>&#8220;Everyone just needs to take their game to another level again and keep rolling,&#8221; Haggerty said.</p><p>Still, for a team that has made the postseason for 16 straight seasons, the Penguins know there&#8217;s more than a playoff spot at stake. The team&#8217;s reputation is on the line as well.</p><p>&#8220;We have a winning culture here. We don&#8217;t want to be that team that doesn&#8217;t make it,&#8221; Dea said. &#8220;It&#8217;s kind of nerve-wracking, but at the same time a good challenge.&#8221;</p><p><strong>NOTES</strong></p><p>&#8226; Haggerty has found the back of the net in three consecutive games, and he has earned 10 points (7G-3A) in his last 10 games.</p><p>&#8226; Defenseman Chris Summers notched his first goal of the season on Sunday and established a new career-high 13 points.</p><p>&#8226; Prow ranks third among all AHL defensemen in goals (16) and is tied for third among league blueliners in points (38).</p><p>&#8226; Goaltender John Muse has won his last four starts with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Penguins forward Jean-Sebastien Dea (9) is used to playoff hockey, having helped lead Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to the postseason in each of the last four seasons. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL122018Penguins_5.jpg</photo0><caption0>Penguins forward Jean-Sebastien Dea (9) is used to playoff hockey, having helped lead Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to the postseason in each of the last four seasons. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis file photo | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Franchise run of 16 straight postseasons in jeopardy</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

WBS Penguins in unfamiliar territory as postseason looms