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After road loss, it’s good time for Pens to take break

By Tom Venesky tvenesky@timesleader.com
Sports Reporter

HARTFORD, Conn. — Maybe it’s because the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins played 65 minutes of pounding hockey the night before.

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Or maybe the fact that the Penguins have played 16 games in the 30 days since the Christmas break had something to do with it.

In any case, maybe it’s time for another break.

Two power-play goals by the Hartford Wolf Pack were too much for the Penguins to overcome as their three-game winning streak was snapped with a 4-1 loss on Saturday at the XL Center.

Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma acknowledged his team didn’t play to the level it was capable of as it played its last game before the All-Star break. The Penguins’ next game is Friday night at home against Hershey.

“I liked a lot of things we did, but I also think we were stuck in third,” Bylsma said. “Our execution wasn’t at the level it needed to be.”

The Penguins scored on their only power-play attempt of the night, but Hartford put two pucks in net out of their four chances.

“I’m not sure I agree with one penalty against their team, but they (Hartford) won the special teams battle, we didn’t.” Bylsma said.

Although the Penguins were assessed four minors during the game, three of them came from Ben Lovejoy and Hartford’s power play capitalized on one of them.

Lovejoy wasn’t making any excuses for his frequent trips to the box.

“The three minors I took I think I earned them all,” he said. “I need to move my feet a little better and stay out of the box.”

The game started on a high note when Mark Letestu scored a power-play goal four minutes into the first period. The goal was Letestu’s 13th and marked the sixth time this season he scored the first goal of a game.

Letestu now has goals in five consecutive games. It’s a drastic turnaround from the start of the season when Letestu was held without a goal in his first 14 games.

“Now I have to get 10 more (consecutive games with a goal) to catch (Hershey forward Alexandre Giroux),” he said. “The start of the year was frustrating. The bounces are just going my way now, but you try not to get too high or too low.”

After Letestu’s goal, the Penguins fell into a lull and allowed Hartford to tie the game when David Urquhart beat Adam Berkhoel midway through the second period.

Artem Anisimov and Mike Oullette scored power-play goals in the third period, and Greg Moore added an empty-net goal to bury the Penguins. Lovejoy said the Penguins emotional win over Hershey the night before had an impact on the Penguins’ performance.

“We definitely knew this was one of those games where there was a chance we might not have it,” he said. “I don’t think we had the normal jump we usually have.”

Heading into the All-Star break, Bylsma said he likes the way his team has performed but the focus will shift a bit when they return to action on Friday gainst the Bears.

“Teams are going to start playing well down the stretch and it wil be tighter hockey. Attention to detail will make the difference,” he said. “Coming back from the break that will be our focus – playoff-style hockey.”