Click here to subscribe today or Login.
The Penguins are down to 15 games left to extend their season. For that to happen, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will need to find a way to put more pucks in the net with a shorthanded roster.
Offense was again hard to come by on Friday night as the Penguins suffered a 4-1 loss to Lehigh Valley at Mohegan Sun Arena. Goalie Dustin Tokarski stopped 22 of 24 shots and kept his team alive by stoning the Phantoms’ Ollie Lycksell on a penalty shot in the third period.
But the Penguins couldn’t tie the game back up after Lehigh Valley took a 2-1 lead on a Cooper Marody goal with just 25 seconds left in the second period.
The Phantoms added two empty-netters in the final two minutes by Marody and Max Willman to put the game away.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s only goal came on a power play when Sam Houde wired a shot top shelf at the 2:35 mark of the second period. Former Phantoms defenseman Mark Friedman and Nathan Legare picked up the assists to make it 1-1. Ronnie Attard opened the scoring just 3:37 into the contest for Lehigh Valley.
The Penguins penalty kill also kept them in the game, going 3-for-3 and escaping an extended 5-on-3 in the second period with Taylor Fedun and Tyler Sikura both in the box.
Hampering the offense was the absence of leading scorer Alex Nylander for the second straight game. Nylander had originally been reassigned back to the AHL on Thursday after a one-game call-up to Pittsburgh. But the parent Penguins needed to bring him back up on Friday on an emergency recall.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (55 points) remains in last place in the Atlantic Division, chasing Bridgeport (60) and Hartford for the final playoff spot.
The Penguins are back on the ice Saturday for a 6:05 p.m. game vs. Utica at Mohegan Sun Arena.