Binghamton finished the season with a record of 44-24-8, good for fourth in their conference. They face the Wilkes-Barre Penguins (42-30-4) as their first round opponent, the team they played most in the regular season (ten games, with Binghamton going 6-4-0). Here’s a breakdown of the team’s games against each other (I’m following lines at practice in deciding who qualifies as a “current regular” for the playoff match-up, minus New who I see as the seventh defenseman):
October 13th 2-1 Binghamton (boxscore)
Robin Lehner made 35 saves as the B-Sens rallied from a 1-0 deficit in the third to win in regulation (Jeff Zatkoff took the loss)
B-Sens who played who aren’t on the playoff roster: Lehner, Silfverberg, Zibanejad, Cowen, Gryba, Wiercioch, Pageau, Petersson, Hoffman, Benoit
Current regulars who did not play: Lawson, Da Costa, Schneider, Prince, Lebda, Wideman, Ceci, Hamilton, Robinson, Puempel
November 7th 0-1 (SO) Wilkes-Barre (boxscore)
Lehner made 32 saves in the loss (Zatkoff earned the win)
Departed B-Sens: Lehner, Silfverberg, Zibanejad, Wiercioch, Pageau, Petersson, Hoffman, Benoit
Current regulars who did not play: Lawson, Da Costa, Lebda, Ceci, Hamilton, Robinson, Puempel
December 14th 3-1 Binghamton (boxscore)
Ben Bishop made 28 saves for the win (Brad Thiessen took the loss)
Departed B-Sens: Bishop, Silfverberg, Gryba, Wiercioch, Pageau, Hoffman, Benoit
Current regulars who did not play: Lawson, Lebda, Ceci, Hamilton, Robinson, Puempel
December 19th 4-3 Binghamton (boxscore)
Lehner made 36 saves for the win; the B-Sens rallied from a three-goal deficit in the third to win in regulation (Zatkoff took the loss)
Departed B-Sens: Lehner, Silfverberg, Gryba, Wiercioch, Pageau, Hoffman, Benoit
Current regulars who did not play: Lawson, Borowiecki, Lebda, Ceci, Hamilton, Robinson, Puempel
January 4th 3-1 Binghamton (boxscore)
Lehner made 43 saves for the win (Zatkoff took the loss); the B-Sens were outshot 44-15
Departed B-Sens: Lehner, Silfverberg, Gryba, Wiercioch, Pageau, Hoffman, Benoit
Current regulars who did not play: Lawson, Claesson, Lebda, Ceci, Hamilton, Robinson, Puempel
January 9th 3-1 Binghamton (boxscore)
Lehner made 31 saves for the win (Zatkoff took the loss); B-Sens outshot 32-16
Departed B-Sens: Lehner, Silfverberg, Gryba, Wiercioch, Pageau, Hoffman, Benoit
Current regulars who did not play: Lawson, Wideman, Lebda, Ceci, Hamilton, Robinson, Puempel
February 12th 5-1 Binghamton (boxscore)
Lehner (filling in for Lawson who was injured early) made 24 saves for the win (Zatkoff was pulled but still took the loss)
Departed B-Sens: Lehner, Gryba, Pageau
Current regulars who did not play: Da Costa, Stone, Ceci, Robinson, Puempel
February 16th 5-2 Wilkes-Barre (boxscore)
Lehner made 30 saves in the loss (Thiessen earned the win)
Departed B-Sens: Lehner, Pageau
Current regulars who did not play: Lawson, Da Costa, Stone, Dziurzynski, Grant, Ceci, Robinson, Puempel
March 27th 4-2 Wilkes-Barre (boxscore)
Nathan Lawson made 30 saves in the loss (Zatkoff earned the win)
Departed B-Sens: Pageau
Current regulars who did not play: Eckford, Ceci, Robinson, Puempel
March 30th 3-2 (SO) Wilkes-Barre (boxscore)
Lawson made 30 saves in the loss (Zatkoff earned the win)
Departed B-Sens: Pageau
Current regulars who did not play: Eckford, Ceci, Robinson, Puempel
The biggest roster change for Wilkes-Barre throughout the series was the addition of AHL veteran Chad Kolarik (who played in the final four games against Binghamton). Kolarik (68 points), Trevor Smith (54), Riley Holzapfel (51), and Derek Nesbitt (47) lead the charge offensively for the Penguins. Beau Bennett is the only player of note who might be returned to Wilkes-Barre from the NHL roster. There’s no reason to doubt that Jeff Zatkoff will get the start.
Things to note:
-the B-Sens powerplay was abysmal after the initial call-ups for the NHL season (1-25)
-seven of the ten games featured Robin Lehner (and an eighth Ben Bishop), with Nathan Lawson losing both starts and Marc Cheverie not facing the Penguins
-the lineups that faced Wilkes-Barre the first eight games are radically different than the one that will suit up on Saturday
-players available to the B-Sens not included in the “regular” list: Gazley, New, Downing, Sdao, Kramer, Culek, Blood (of these players I think Downing, New, and Sdao could dress at some point)
-if Mike Hoffman gets healthy in time expect him to be added to the lineup
–Borowiecki, Dziurzynski, Grant, Cowick, and Cannone were on the Calder Cup winning squad of 2011, although neither Cowick nor Cannone played in the playoffs; Lebda won a Stanley Cup with Detroit
Jonathan Bombulie offers a preview from a Wilkes-Barre perspective while nafsnep (Jason Iacona) grades the Penguins players for their fourth quarter performances.
It’s hard not to see Wilkes-Barre as the favourite in the series, but I expect it to be close regardless of the outcome. For the B-Sens to have a chance they need Lawson to be healthy and get contributions from young players like Puempel, Ceci, and Robinson. In terms of a prediction, given the job Luke Richardson has done with his ever changing lineup I’ll stick with Binghamton who will beat Wilkes-Barre in five.
This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)
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