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The Pittsburgh Penguins may not be taking part in the Stanley Cup playoffs this season.
But there is some hope on the horizon for their AHL squad, and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) Penguins are gearing up for their first test in the Calder Cup playoffs.
On Wednesday, the WBS Penguins will play the first game of a best of three series against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the AHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers. The fourth-seeded WBS went 8-2-2 against the fifth-seeded Phantoms in the regular season, outscoring them 42-30.
Whoever wins the best of three Atlantic Division series - which will take place Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday (if necessary) - will advance to either play the top-seeded Hershey Bears or the second-seeded Charlotte Checkers, which will depend on the result of the series between the third-seed Providence Bruins and the sixth-seed Springfield Thunderbirds.
The higher seed will take on Charlotte in the second round, while the lower seed will take on Hershey. Both Charlotte and Hershey clinched a first-round bye.
Here is the schedule for WBS's first-round series against the Phantoms:
- Game 1: Wednesday, Apr. 23rd at 7:05 p.m. ET (Mohegan Arena in WBS)
- Game 2: Friday, Apr. 25th at 7:05 p.m. ET (PPL Center in Lehigh Valley)
- Game 3: Sunday, Apr. 27th at 6:05 p.m. ET (Mohegan Arena in WBS)*
* - if necessary
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News and notes:
- For WBS, keep an eye on forward Ville Koivunen - a late-season NHL call-up for the Pittsburgh Penguins - who was the team's leading scorer with 21 goals and 56 points in 63 games. Despite missing the final few weeks of the AHL regular season, the 21-year-old Finnish prospect finished third among AHL rookies in points and seventh in goals.
- Lehigh Valley's leading scorer during the regular season was 25-year-old Swedish forward Olle Lycksell, who registered 19 goals and 44 points in 43 games.
- The goaltending tandem for WBS will be Joel Blomqvist and Taylor Gauthier. Gauthier made his first AHL start of the season in WBS's regular season finale, earning a 3-0 shutout win. Blomqvist figures to get the bulk of the runway, and he posted a .914 save percentage to go along with an 8-7-3 record.
- WBS forward Emil Bemstrom - who had 23 goals and 48 points in 43 games for WBS - sustained an injury that required surgery, per Penguins GM/POHO Kyle Dubas. Bemstrom is out for the remainder of the playoffs.
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WBS Penguins Reach 40 Wins After Splitting Weekend Games Against Bears & MonstersThe Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are headed off to the Calder Cup playoffs following a 3-0 shutout victory over the Cleveland Monsters on Saturday night, Taylor Gauthier's first in the AHL. Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!
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