ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins extended their lead atop the Atlantic Division and inched closer to a playoff berth by defeating the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 4-0 at PPL Center on Saturday night.
The Penguins (45-18-3-0) rode the coat tails of Tristan Jarry and their league-best penalty kill to victory. Jarry stopped all 35 shots he faced to record his second shutout of the season, while the P.K. went a perfect nine-for-nine on the night.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton opened the scoring at 12:58 of the first period. Video review confirmed Teddy Blueger snuck a puck past Lehigh Valley goalie Alex Lyon’s short-side, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead.
The Penguins’ fourth-line provided the team with a pair of goals in the middle frame. Adam Krause deflected in a shot from the point for his first goal of the season 5:07 into the second period. Jarrett Burton put his stick on a pass from Troy Josephs that beat Lyon through the legs, extending the Penguins lead to 3-0 at 12:18 of the middle frame.
The penalty killing clinic by the Penguins took over from there, neutralizing five-straight man advantages for the Phantoms before Tom Kostopoulos netted a power play goal for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with a mere 1:14 remaining in regulation.
Kostopoulos’ two point night (1G-1A) allowed him reach the 50-point plateau for the seventh time in his career. Zach Aston-Reese notched two assists to extend his career-opening point streak to three games.
Lyon turned aside 26 shots in the loss for the Phantoms.
You must be logged in to post a comment.