Save for the third period and overtime of Game 2, the Penguins had carried the play so far in the Atlantic Division Finals.
With its season on the line on Thursday, however, Springfield took control.
The Thunderbirds held Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to just 20 shots on goal and stayed alive with a 2-0 victory in Game 4 at MassMutual Center.
Now tied at 2-2, the series now shifts back to Mohegan Arena for a decisive Game 5 at 6:05 p.m. Saturday. The winner will advance to face either Cleveland or Toronto in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Georgii Romanov recorded his second shutout of the playoffs for Springfield, which got goals from Dillon Dube and Marc-Andre Gaudet to extend the series.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton got a 30-save performance in net from Sergei Murashov.
The Penguins appeared to open the scoring for the fourth straight game just six minutes into the contest, but defenseman Harrison Brunicke’s goal was waved off.
It was the closest Wilkes-Barre/Scranton came to scoring the rest of the way.
The game remained scoreless until the latter half of the second period when Penguins captain Phil Kemp was whistled for tripping.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had been perfect on the penalty kill through the first three games of the series. But this time, Dube converted with 3:46 left in the second for the game-winner on assists from Hugh McGing and Aleksanteri Kaskimiaki.
Dube has been instrumental in both T-Birds’ wins in the series. With his team trailing 3-1 in the third period in Game 2, Dube scored twice in less that four minutes to tie it up before Akil Thomas won it in overtime.
There would be no extra frame on Thursday as Gaudet doubled the lead in the third period with a goal at the 6:48 mark. Assists went to Thomas Bordeleau and Thomas.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton pulled Murashov with more than three minutes left but couldn’t find a spark to beat Romanov.
Local journalism matters, and your support makes it possible. You can help sustain this work by making a donation or choosing one of our subscription options. Subscribers enjoy valuable benefits, including full access to our e-edition, a reduced ad experience on timesleader.com, and more.
Your support helps ensure independent, high-quality local news remains available today and for future generations. Thank you for standing with local journalism.