Wins by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Binghamton Senators have narrowed their magic number to clinch a playoff spot to one point. The two teams are tied for first place in the division and meet tonight in one of two more meetings between the teams before the regular season ends next weekend.
The Hershey Bears and Norfolk Admirals, meanwhile, are fighting for their respective playoff lives with a pair of games between the two teams coming up next week in the last week of the season, starting Wednesday.
Whoever was involved in the making of the AHL schedule this year for these match ups between division rivals chasing each other in the Eastern Conference playoff race deserves a raise.
East Division Standings (Conference Position)
1. Binghamton (3rd) - 90 points, 5 games remaining
2. PENGUINS (5th) - 90 points, 4 games remaining
3. Hershey (8th) - 83 points, 5 games remaining
4. Norfolk (9th) - 82 points, 5 games remaining
5. Syracuse (12th) - 70 points, 5 games remaining
Friday Night Around The Division
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - 3, Syracuse - 2 OT
In Syracuse, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins squeezed past the Crunch 3-2 in a shootout behind a strong performance from goaltender Tomas Vokoun, playing in his first game in over 10 months after the discovery of blood clots removed Vokoun from stopping pucks on the ice.
Vokoun played well in his first game back, stopping all four shooters he faced in the shootout while making 23 saves on 25 shots in 65:00 of work to pick up the win. A sneaky shot from Vladislav Namestnikov and a slap-pass redirect from Jon DiSalvatore - both on the power play - were the only pucks that got past Vokoun tonight. An all-around solid performance for the NHL veteran netminder.
Anton Zlobin and Spencer Machacek scored shootout goals for the Penguins in the win, which should move their magic number to clinch a playoff spot down to one point after both Hershey and Norfolk both lost in overtime in their respective games to Binghamton and Providence.
Binghamton - 5, Hershey - 4 OT
In Binghamton, the BSens squandered a 3-1 lead to Hershey early in the third period before tying the game at 4-4 moments after the Bears scored their go-ahead goal. The Bears pick up a point and keep pace with Norfolk in the battle for 8th in the conference.
Derek Grant scored the OT winner for the BSens with 1:21 left in the extra sessions. The win keeps the BSens tied for first place in the division. The BSens travel to Wilkes-Barre for a rematch of last Sunday's game - a game which saw the BSens dominate the Penguins in a 6-2 decision.
Providence - 2, Norfolk - 1 OT
In Providence, the Admirals took a 1-0 lead on William Karlsson's first AHL goal into the third period but were unable to hold onto the lead despite a strong 45-save performance from Brad Thiessen. Fortunately for Norfolk, they made it to overtime and didn't lose ground on Hershey.
Chris Casto tied the game at 1-1 midway through the third period for the Bruins before Zach Trotman tallied the game-winner in OT. The Admirals travel to Worcester for a Saturday night match up while the Bruins travel to Albany in a meeting between 6th and 7th in the East.
Other Eastern Conference Scores
Albany - 2, Bridgeport - 1
Springfield - 5, Portland - 2
Worcester - 4, Adirondack - 1
Saturday's Schedule
Providence @ Albany at 5:00 p.m. ET
Hartford @ St. John's at 6:00 p.m. ET
Adirondack @ Bridgeport at 7:00 p.m. ET
Portland @ Manchester at 7:00 p.m. ET
Hershey @ Springfield at 7:00 p.m. ET
Toronto @ Syracuse at 7:00 p.m. ET
Norfolk @ Worcester at 7:00 p.m. ET
Binghamton @ PENGUINS at 7:05 p.m. ET
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