Fourth Line Leads Penguins Past Senators

Dominik Uher (left) tallied a career high three points (2G-1A) while fan favorite Bobby Farnham added a goal and an assist in the Penguins' win.

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins seem to have a different line contributing offensively every night and tonight it was the fourth line of Dominik Uher, Matia Marcantuoni and Bobby Farnham leading the way offensively, as the trio combined for three goals and three assists in a 4-1 win over the Binghamton Senators.

Goaltender Jeff Zatkoff quietly had a strong game, stopping all but one of the 27 shots he faced - an Aaron Johnson breakaway with 3:25 left before the third. The win was Zatkoff's first in the calendar year of 2015 - he had gone 0-4-2 in his last six starts, including a goals-against average of 3.63 and a save percentage of .842 in six appearances in January.

Conor Sheary tallied his team-leading 15th of the season to give the Penguins a 3-0 lead they would never look back in the second period. In his return to the AHL lineup, Scott Harrington was solid with an assist and a plus three rating playing on the second pairing with Reid McNeill.

The win moves the Penguins (27-18-2-3) two points behind Hershey for first place in the East Division, though the Bears now have three games in hand on the Penguins as they did not play tonight. The Pens finish the week with two more home games this weekend, Friday night vs. Philip Samuelsson and the Portland Pirates and Saturday night on Valentines Day with a rivalry match up with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.



The Pens were ready for the start of this game, drawing a power play on the opening shift and really creating chances. A Tom Kostopoulos hooking minor 55 seconds into their first man advantage made it a 4-on-4 situation, but the Pens made the most of it.

Uher came skating down the left wing into the offensive zone and his bad angle shot caught BSens goaltender Scott Greenham by surprise 2:31 into the first period, giving the Pens an early 1-0 lead. Brian Dumoulin added the lone assist on Uher's 6th of the season.

From there the BSens had the better chances and an edge in play, but were unable to get one past Zatkoff - who stopped all 16 shots he faced in the first period.

After a bad Penguins turnover that almost ended up in the back of their net, Bobby Farnham used his speed to create a 2-on-1 rush with Uher that the Czech forward finished off for his second of the night. The goal gave the Pens a 2-0 lead 8:16 into the contest.

In a fast-moving middle frame, the Pens started the 2nd period much like they did to start the game, drawing a power play 2:55 into the period and taking a 3-0 lead on Conor Sheary's team-leading 15th of the season. Kostopoulos showed good patience to set up Sheary in the slot, waiting out the defenders and letting Sheary find a open spot in the slot.

After the third goal, the Penguins left their foot off the gas. A bad bounce in the neutral zone led Buddy Robinson to feed BSens captain Aaron Johnson on a breakaway he would convert on to get the BSens on the board with 3:25 left before the second intermission.

The Penguins hemmed the BSens in their own zone for much of the first half of the period and after avoiding some danger with a successful penalty kill midway through the period, put the dagger in the side at 4-1 with 2:47 left.

Of course, it was the fourth line finishing the night off with fan favorite Farnham converting a tap-in on a 2-on-1 rush ran to perfection by Marcantuoni. Uher added an assist for the first three point night of his pro career.

ROSTER NOTES - Penguins

Jeff Zatkoff (26 saves - 27 shots) got the start in net tonight for the Penguins, with rookie Matt Murray serving as the team's backup.

Only one lineup change besides in net for the Pens, as recently re-assigned defenseman Scott Harrington returned to the WBS lineup in place of Harrison Ruopp.

Adam Payerl and Pierre-Luc Leblond remained healthy scratches up front for the Penguins, while Anton Zlobin is out for the season.

Lines

Scott Wilson - Andrew Ebbett - Bryan Rust
Conor Sheary - Nick Drazenovic - Tom Kostopoulos
Tom Kuhnhackl - Carter Rowney - Jayson Megna
Dominik Uher - Matia Marcantuoni - Bobby Farnham

Brian Dumoulin - Taylor Chorney
Reid McNeill - Barry Goers
Scott Harrington - Nick D'Agostino

Jeff Zatkoff - Matt Murray

GAME SUMMARY

1st Period

0:43: BNG - (PP) A. Grant, minor (cross-checking)
1:38: WBS - (PP) Kostopoulos, minor (hooking)
2:31: WBS - Uher (6) - Harrington
5:02: BNG - (PP) Puempel, minor (slashing)
8:16: WBS - Uher (7) - Farnham
17:55: BNG - (PP) Guptill, minor (delay of game)

2nd Period

2:55: BNG - (PP) Dzingel, minor (slashing)
3:32: WBS - PPG Sheary (15) - Kostopoulos, Wilson
7:54: BNG - (PP) Puempel, minor (high-sticking)
16:35: BNG - Johnson (2) - Robinson
19:33: BNG - (PP) A. Grant, minor (slashing)

3rd Period

10:33: WBS - (PP) Chorney, minor (boarding)
17:13: WBS - Farnham (3) - Marcantuoni, Uher
18:51: BNG - (PP) Mills, minor (slashing)