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There’s a reason why the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are happy to hit the road this weekend for a pair of games in Connecticut.
Granted, the Penguins record against this weekend’s opponents — Hartford and Bridgeport — was a combined 13-0-1-0 last season and 30-9-1-0 over the last five years, but that successful track record isn’t the main reason why the Penguins are eager for the road trip.
It has more to do with their current two-game win streak, which comes on the heels of four straight losses. The Penguins feel they have turned the corner after the losing streak, and they are motivated to get back to the winning ways they experienced earlier in the season.
“We’re still trying to put together a full 60 minutes every night, but the last two games we showed a little more compete and resiliency to climb our way back,” said defenseman Frank Corrado. “That’s encouraging.”
Head coach Clark Donatelli said the four-game losing streak wasn’t all bad. He called it a learning process and a wake-up call to the fact that, despite the record, every team in the Atlantic Division is a tough matchup.
Donatelli believes his team has turned the corner and moved on from the losing streak.
“Hopefully we learned from it and don’t have to go through it again,” he said.
Injury update
D Lukas Bengtsson missed Wednesday game against Springfield and is considered day-to-day. His status for the weekend is unknown, but Donatelli said Bengtsson is dealing with an upper body injury and it’s not related to his offseason diagnosis of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS).
F Tom Sestito and D Jarred Tinordi may also miss this weekend’s games, but Donatelli didn’t have an update on their conditions after Thursday’s practice.
Team captain Tom Kostopoulos, who hasn’t played since Oct. 27 due to an upper body injury, is considered week-to-week but is progressing well, Donatelli said.
