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When Josh Archibald wrapped up his last game with Wheeling by registering a hat trick just before being recalled to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he knew he had to keep producing offense.
In his first game back with the Penguins, Archibald did just that by scoring two goals and registering a plus-3 rating in Sunday’s 7-0 win at Bridgeport. The goals were Archibald’s first tallies in his last 23 games with the Penguins, and it left him confident he could produce at a consistent pace.
“It’s a pretty big confidence booster,” Archibald said after Wednesday’s practice at the Toyota Sportsplex. “I got sent down to Wheeling to figure things out and get my confidence back.”
Archibald attributes his turnaround to playing on a line with Jayson Megna and Scott Wilson, both of whom are among the team leaders in goals and points.
“To be able to come back and play with those guys was easy for me,” Archibald said. “It’s a really offensive line. I just need to go to the open areas and they usually find me.”
Head coach John Hynes said two keys to Archibald’s success last Sunday were his speed and compete level. Those were two elements that Hynes wanted Archibald to work on while at Wheeling, and he was glad to see the rookie forward use both effectively on Sunday.
Hynes also credited Wheeling head coach Clark Donatelli for his work with Archibald and other players to get them back on track before returning to the Penguins.
“Clark has done a great job of working with those kids and letting us know when they’re ready to come back,” Hynes said. You want them to come back and be playing real well. With Archibald, the use of his speed looked good last week and he was an impact on the game with and without the puck.”
NOTEBOOK
– Hynes said forwards Nick Drazenovic and Bryan Rust won’t return to the lineup this weekend and both are considered week-to-week with Rust on track to return to the lineup first.
– The AHL Penguins remain unchanged after Monday’s NHL trade deadline, and Hynes didn’t mind. “We really like our team and we have a real quality group of guys,” he said. “That’s always a positive.” As far as hoping to fill any holes before the AHL’s trade deadline next week, Hynes said: “It has to be a fit. If you can fill a need that you feel would make your team stronger, then it’s something you want to consider. But just adding players to make a trade doesn’t make sense.”
– F Jean-Sebastien Dea and D Harrison Ruopp were assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton from Wheeling on Wednesday. Dea scored two goals in his last three games with Wheeling.