Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Rutger McGroarty (COURTESY OF WBS PENGUINS
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins face the Springfield Thunderbirds in the Atlantic Division Finals, beginning with Tuesday night’s Game 1 at Mohegan Arena. And with just eight teams left in the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup Playoffs the intensity will only continue to build.
The Penguins earned a first-round bye by finishing in second place in the Atlantic Division, and took down the Hershey Bears in the Atlantic Division semifinals in four games to advance to the division finals round.
Meanwhile, Springfield battled its way into the postseason, clinching the sixth and final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division on the final weekend of the regular season.
After dropping Game 1 of their best-of-three opening round series, 8-1, to the Charlotte Checkers, the Thunderbirds rallied to defeat the Checkers in three games before completing the largest upset in AHL playoffs history in the divisional semifinal round, taking down the 54-win Providence Bruins in four games to advance to face the Penguins for the Atlantic Division title.
The Thunderbirds are a completely different team than the one that began the regular season. They fired their head coach midseason, traded key forwards prior to the trade deadline — such as captain Matthew Peca and all-star forward Matt Luff — and made a turnaround for the ages with interim head coach Steve Ott pushing all the right buttons.
“Anybody who’s watched them since (Ott) has taken over isn’t that surprised by the results, I think, of the previous two series,” WBS Penguins head coach Kirk MacDonald said.
The Penguins are well-aware of the Thunderbirds’ recent success and underdog mentality. When it gets deeper into the playoffs, there are no easy matchups and Springfield certainly has Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s full attention.
“You can’t take anyone lightly at this point in the season. If you’re still playing, you’re still playing for a reason. They obviously beat two really good teams to get to this point,” Penguins forward Aidan McDonough said. “Their goaltender looks like he’s playing really well. They obviously seem to be playing well as a group. They seem to have bought in. So, it’s going tobe our toughest test yet, but we’re looking forward to it.”
Keys to the series
1. Keep the game 5-on-5: The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins want to play the game at five-on-five, push the pace, roll four lines and three defense pairings and wear down their opponent over the long haul.
The Penguins ranked highly in all metrics related to five-on-five production in the regular season, and while Springfield has seen quite a turnaround from the disastrous five-on-five play they had to show for the first half of the season, the Penguins are clearly the stronger team at even strength coming into the series.
2. Make life difficult for Georgii Romanov: A hot goaltender can be the equalizer in playoff hockey, and that’s exactly what the Springfield Thunderbirds have in Georgii Romanov.
Since taking over after their 8-1 loss to Charlotte, Romanov has been lightning in a bottle for the Thunderbirds, allowing two or fewer goals in all six of his starts this postseason capped by a 37-save shutout in Springfield’s series-clinching win over Providence.
Springfield has been able to keep their opponents mostly to the perimeter while in their defensive zone, allowing their goaltender a clear lane to see the pucks coming his way. Suffice to say, the Penguins need to get into the interior of the offensive zone when on the attack and get pucks through traffic on Romanov to make his job more difficult than it has been to this point in the postseason.
3. ‘Even-keeled”: It’s a term used by MacDonald and several players this postseason, but it’s something that becomes more important as the stakes get higher.
“Our group was very, I felt, very nervous the first few games. Like, you could feel the pressure the guys put on themselves,” MacDonald said. “One thing I will say, they care a lot. They want to win, and at times it was almost too much. “I felt (in Game 4 against Hershey) we played much more freely and to our identity where we were willing to hang on to pucks and push the pace.”
There are going to be highs, and there are going to be lows. The teams that weather the storm and don’t get too high or too low are usually the teams best equipped to make a serious run in the postseason.
Prediction
The Thunderbirds might appear to be a Cinderella story to those on the outside, but for those who’ve paid close attention around the Atlantic Division they’re an entirely different team than the one that began the season in October. A team that caught fire at the right time, the Thunderbirds enter the Atlantic Division Finals riding the high of taking down the AHL’s top team in the regular season in the previous round. It will be up to the Penguins to halt Springfield’s momentum and bring them back down to Earth, especially their goaltender. The Penguins have shown all year that they’re capable of making a serious run deep into the postseason, and there’s no reason to believe they won’t continue grinding their way forward now. Penguins in 4.
Series schedule
Game 1: Tuesday: Springfield at Penguins, 7:05
Game 2: Thursday: Springfield at Penguins, 7:05
Game 3: Tuesday, May 19: Penguins at Springfield, 7:05
*Game 4: Thursday, May 21: Penguins at Springfield, 7:05
*Game 5: Saturday, May 23: Springfield at Penguins, 6:05 p.m.
* if necessary