WILKES-BARRE — The march toward the postseason is well underway for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins as they enter the final six weeks of the regular season, and with just 15 games left on their schedule they are in a really good spot — firmly in second place in the Atlantic Division.

The goal for the Penguins is to finish in the top two in the Atlantic Division. That would mean a first-round bye in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

“We’re in a position now where we should be thinking about trying to clinch a playoff spot,” Penguins head coach Kirk MacDonald said earlier this week. “Like, it’s at that point; continue to chip away at trying to get a bye in the first round.”

The top two teams in the division will get to skip the opening round, best-of-three series, which for the Penguins had ended their previous two playoff runs.

Those back-to-back sweeps by rival Lehigh Valley in 2024 and 2025 still sting for both Penguins fans and the team alike.

But the 2025-26 iteration of the Penguins have overcome adversity all season, having used a league-high 48 players so far.

Throughout the season, there have been several games where the Penguins weren’t certain who they would have to put in the lineup in the hours leading up to puck drop.

Still, the Penguins’ next-man-up mentality powered them through the middle portion of the season.

“The way the guys have responded,” MacDonald said. “Obviously, we’re in a great spot, but (we) certainly had our ups and downs, and (have faced) some adversity this year.”

The final 15 games of the season will primarily serve as a tune-up for the Penguins to get everyone on the same page and playing at the top of their game heading into the postseason,but unlike the major leagues where teams out of the playoff race fade and sometimes tank for a higher draft pick there is none of that in the American Hockey League.

Every game down the stretch will be hard fought.

In a league where a large portion of its players are on one-year contracts, every game is an opportunity for impending free agents to make a final impression to both their team as well as for younger players to continue to work toward earning a larger role next season.

“I think we kind of have to have that mindset that every game is a playoff game down the stretch, and to kind of get our game ready so when we go into playoffs it’s not like it’s a drasticchange,” Penguins forward Aidan McDonough said. “There’s going to be a lot less time and space out there, and you can already see that now. Team systems are running smoothly, everyone knows what to do on the ice and the margin (for error) is just so small.”

Syracuse 3, Penguins 2: At Syracuse, the Penguins saw their losing streak hit three games Friday night in New York.

Syracuse’s Lucas Mercuri scored a power-play goal in the overtime period as the Crunch picked up a win over the Penguins at Upstate Medical University Arena.

The Crunch hold a 3-1 edge over the Penguins this season, including two shutouts. The only WBS win came Jan. 31 at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.

While WBS is still 10 points ahead of Charlotte for second place in the Atlantic, the locals are still six points behind Providence for the top spot.

Syracuse got a perfect start Friday as Tristan Allard and Brendan Furry both scored in a two-minute span of the first period to build a 2-0 lead.

WBS started its climb back in the second as Rutger McCroarty’s unassisted goal, his sixth of the year, trimmed it back to 2-1 not even two minutes into the second. Melvin Fernstrom knotted it up at 2-2, scoring off an Aidan McDonough assist with 23 seconds left.

Mercuri’s 12th goal of the year, 3:21 into the overtime period, lifted the Crunch to the win.

Sergei Murashov got the start in the net, stopping 20 of 23 shots.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has three games on the docket next week, hosting Hershey on Friday and Lehigh Valley on Saturday. The Pens then travel to the PPL Center on Sunday to meet up with the Phantoms.