Well, that was quick. The Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins are out of the Calder Cup playoffs
Blink and you might have missed it, for now the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are out of the Calder Cup (AHL) playoffs following a stunning 5-4 OT loss to Lehigh Valley in Game 2 of the three game opening round series.
Here was the lineup the team used for their second and final playoff game of the spring.
Marc Johnstone makes his return #LetEmCook pic.twitter.com/GEpFdfeb2J
— x-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) April 26, 2024
Wilkes took a 3-1 lead, and pulled back ahead by a 4-3 score with under four minutes to play in the third period but still couldn’t nurse home the win. Lehigh Valley found a way to tie the game and then won the series 2:11 into overtime.
Radim Zohorna scored two goals for WBS last night, Valtteri Puustinen added a goal and two assists and Vinnie Hinostroza notched three assists in the losing effort.
Lehigh Valley defeated WBS 2-1 in Game 1 to put a quick ending to the series. It’s a tough ending for Wilkes to drop two one-goal games and see their season get rapped up just as soon as the playoffs began.
Pittsburgh general manager Kyle Dubas put a lot of stock in this playoff run for goaltender Joel Blomqvist and now will have to reckon with how to deal with the end results. Blomqvist stopped 29 of 34 shots in the loss. It was still a tremendously successful rookie season for the youngster, but not exactly the immediate ramp to the NHL that was anticipated.
Overall it’s a bitter ending to what was a season of change and turnaround in Wilkes this season. They made it back to the playoffs, though only barely.
