AHL Playoff update: Wilkes on brink of elimination already but new prospect scores goal

Things move fast in the AHL playoffs

The Wilkes-Barre Penguins lost Game 1 of their series last night against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. No big deal right? Well it is when the first round is only a best-of-3.

The WBS Pens will now have to win the next two games to advance. If they lose on Friday, their season will be over, almost before the postseason has even begun.

Things move quickly in the AHL.

Here was the WBS lineup from last night. Prospects Tristan Broz and Ville Koivunen made their AHL debuts, getting dropped right into the big stage.

Koivunen, a prospect acquired in the Jake Guentzel trade, made the most of it and scored his first goal and the only goal that WBS would record on the night. Sam Poulin started the play by sealing off the wall and cutting off a clearing attempt and centered the puck. Koivunen showed nice touch in front of the net to put the puck in.

Unfortunately that would be the only goal of the night for the Penguins.

It looked to be one of those nights in a close loss, WBS hit the post shortly before LV was able to score the game’s opening goal in the first period. Those close swings can be the difference between winning and losing.

Wilkes expert Jason Iacona wrote the following in his Chirps from Center Ice blog to recap the game.

There were multiple problems facing the Penguins in Game 1. None of it had anything to do with chemistry.

-Want. Phantoms played hungrier and a perfect road game, taking the fans out of it early after the first TV time out, dominating possession time.

-Bodies. Wilkes-Barre was manhandled below the dots in Game 1. The Phantoms played the game from the bottom up and it seemed to work.

-Joel Blomqvist was shaky. Remember he’s a rookie and this is his first playoff series. A lot of brass in the building tonight as well. He’s human and pressure busts pipes.

Iacona was also not impressed by the game of Ryan Shea last night, which as a pseudo-NHL player should be a boost and not a hindrance in an AHL playoff run.

The note on Blomqvist is interesting, Kyle Dubas’s recent comments did put a big spotlight on the rookie goal and point out just how closely Pittsburgh was watching how he would perform this playoff and what it could mean for Blomqvist’s future. That’s life in the big city and Blomqvist did only surrender two goals — though neither allowed were particularly unstoppable, he’ll want to bounce back in Game 2.

Because just like that, WBS’s season is on the line tomorrow night, on the road. The Pittsburgh organization would love to see them win and extend their season to be able to continue to watch some of their younger players grow, but the AHL playoff format is cruel with a quick first round.