Penguins

The Penguins faced the Eastern Conference’s top team without their top scorer on Wednesday.

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — It was anxiety overload, but the Penguins got it done.

Josh Currie’s first shot attempt didn’t go in. No matter.

Less than two minutes away from victory, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton slammed into another obstacle. And there had been plenty of them on this seven-game winless streak.

Seven power plays later, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton couldn’t come up with a man-advantage goal.

PITTSBURGH — Jared McCann scored a pair of power-play goals, Casey DeSmith made 36 saves and the Pittsburgh Penguins extended Buffalo’s winless streak to 16 straight with a 4-0 victory on Thursday night.

Over the final 45 minutes of game time on Wednesday, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton didn’t allow a goal and only surrendered a dozen shots. The Penguins even scored three themselves during that stretch.

Fans finally had the opportunity to see Wilkes-Barre/Scranton play in-person in Friday night, but a slow start from the Penguins proved to be too much to overcome as they fell 4-2 to the Syracuse Crunch.

The long-awaited return of fans to Mohegan Sun Arena is still happening tonight. All Wilkes-Barre/Scranton needed was another team to play.

Hard work in front of the net earned Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a point on Monday. An impressive effort from Lehigh Valley’s Ryan Fitzgerald took away a second.