Patrick Williams delivers the FloHockey AHL Power Rankings each week throughout the regular season.
Danton Heinen left. So did Sam Poulin. Out went Val Puustinen and Phil Tomasino.
Avery Hayes and Ville Koivunen are with the Pittsburgh Penguins as is Rutger McGroarty. Add up those personnel departures, and that is a lot of missing offense.
And still the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins continue to thrive. They hold the fourth spot in the FloHockey AHL Power Rankings this week after back-to-back weekend wins that have them five points clear for second place in the Eastern Conference.
With the dangerous Laval Rocket coming to town last Saturday, AHL All-Star goaltender Sergei Murashov took his turn in net. He had taken a 5-1 loss when the teams met at Place Bell on March 22. This time it was a 33-save effort in a 3-1 victory. The following afternoon at home, it was Joel Blomqvist’s assignment. Facing the rival Lehigh Valley Phantoms, a team in an Atlantic Division playoff fight, Blomqvist had 30 saves as the Penguins dispatched the visitors, 5-1.
With all of the scoring talent that has departed, the Penguins continue to be stout in net with a 1A-1B tandem that can match up against the AHL’s top duos. Murashov, a quickly rising prospect in the Pittsburgh organization, is 20-6-3 | 2.15 | .922 while Blomqvist has gone 10-5-3 | 2.62 | .908. The team is fifth in the league with 2.63 goals allowed per game.
They’ll get more of Lehigh Valley this weekend, too. The Phantoms are back in Northeastern Pennsylvania on Friday night before the teams reconvene on Saturday at PPL Center.
2026 Lehigh Valley Phantoms vs Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
It has been a long time since Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has made much playoff noise, though. The past two seasons saw the Phantoms knock them out in first-round sweeps. The last time that Wilkes-Barre/Scranton multiple series in the same postseason was 2014. When Kyle Dubas came to Pittsburgh nearly three years ago, the organization’s farm system had long been depleted, and that impact certainly hit their AHL affiliate. Players like Blomqvist and Murashov are draft picks from the previous management regime.
But subsequent draft classes have started to load more talent into the Pittsburgh system, and the NHL club has certainly outperformed outside expectations this season.
Now the Pittsburgh organization has a chance to take another important step if this Wilkes-Barre/Scranton bunch can make some noise this spring.
1) Providence Bruins (–)
Springfield, a team barely at the Atlantic Division playoff line, has caused the P-Bruins some trouble this year and did again this past Sunday in Providence. The final two-plus weeks of the regular season will be about fine-tuning themselves for the Calder Cup Playoffs. Providence has had some very promising teams go into the postseason with strong chances only to see those plans fizzle.
2) Grand Rapids Griffins (–)
Michigan State’s Trey Augustine is the latest talent to come to Grand Rapids. He will join a busy crease that already includes standouts Sebastian Cossa and Michal Postava. The Griffins already have their division clinched, which means that they will have a first-round bye. With six of their final eight regular-season games on the road, the time is now to get ready with a roster that has undergone some changes in the past month.
3) Ontario Reign (–)
Their six-game trip ends Wednesday at Coachella Valley. From there it’s a remarkably light travel burden the rest of the way for the Reign, who will play five of their final six games at Toyota Arena. Their lone road game after Wednesday is another quick trip to Coachella Valley on April 11. Rarely does the Western Conference schedule lighten up this much, and it is an opportunity for the Reign to push aside the Colorado Eagles for a first-round bye.
4) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (–)
5) Syracuse Crunch (–)
A showdown in Providence with the AHL’s top team this Friday night will be an excellent test for the Crunch. Their battle with the Laval Rocket for the North Division title is increasingly looking like it will go down to the final week of the regular season.
6) Laval Rocket (-2)
Winless in three games, the Rocket can get well again with the last-place Calgary Wranglers coming to Place Bell this Friday night.
7) Charlotte Checkers (–)
After a tough loss at Bridgeport, the Checkers took consecutive decisions at Hartford. This late-season journey now takes them to Rochester on Wednesday followed by a pair of weekend games in Toronto. A distant even points out of second place in the Atlantic Division, but with a massive lead for third place, the standings are far less of an issue for Charlotte than most teams right now.
8) Colorado Eagles (+1)
A six-game voyage started with two wins at Calgary. Against the league’s last-place team, the Eagles are supposed to get those victories, and they did. The schedule turns much tougher this week with a stop at Bakersfield followed by back-to-back match-ups with the San Jose Barracuda. If the Eagles fail to win their division, it’s off to a dangerous best-of-three first-round series.
9) Coachella Valley Firebirds (+1)
Moving into the top-10 are the Firebirds after a pair of road victories at Colorado. They have taken six of their past seven outings going into Wednesday night’s home day with Calgary. This weekend they get another chance to face San Jose after last week’s 5-1 road loss to the Barracuda.
10-T) Henderson Silver Knights (+2)
After piling up 47 goals in an eight-game stretch, the Silver Knights showed that they can win the tighter games as well. They took a 3-1 home win against Ontario before going to Milwaukee and snagging three of four points from the surging Admirals. Carl Lindbom has been a force since the AHL All-Star break and should make the Silver Knights a very dangerous playoff opponent.
10-T) Bakersfield Condors (+1)
Tied for second overall in the AHL on home ice, the Condors showed why last weekend. They took back-to-back games against a tough Texas Stars team. They face Colorado at home Wednesday night before a Southern California swing through San Diego and Ontario.
12) San Jose Barracuda (-4)
At one point in mid-March, the Barracuda had at least an outside shot of making a run at first place in the Pacific Division. Six losses in nine games later, it’s third place that the Barracuda are clinging to at this point. A few more stumbles and they could fall as far as sixth place, especially with a punishing schedule and several head-to-head games against their pursuers.
13) Texas Stars (+1)
Six games on the West Coast. Three wins. The Stars can come back home pleased. But they will have to hope that Cameron Hughes, on recall to the Dallas Stars and the engine for Texas, returns soon. A Friday-Saturday set with the Chicago Wolves is next following a run of eight of 10 games against Pacific Division opponents.
14) Chicago Wolves (+1)
It’s back to Iowa, where the Wolves pulled out a 4-3 shootout win last week. A pair of overtime losses last weekend send them into this five-game trip. What had been a very comfortable hold on second place has become much more tenuous after March finished with just three wins in 14 games.
15) Cleveland Monsters (-2)
“As poor as we’ve played all year,” Monsters head coach Trent Vogelhuber told reporters after another loss this past Sunday. “Really disappointing. Looks like a group with no confidence.” That sums up the Monsters right now. They are comfortable, standings-wise, but it will be a quick postseason if they do not snap out of this lengthy slide and soon.
16) Tucson Roadrunners (+1)
Hockey East goaltending standout Michael Hrabal had a strong pro debut last weekend against Ontario. Could he be a boost in net as the Roadrunners fight for a playoff berth?
The Rest
17) Milwaukee Admirals (+4)
18) Manitoba Moose (+2)
19) Bridgeport Islanders (+3)
20) San Diego Gulls (-4)
21) Toronto Marlies (-4)
22) Rochester Americans (-3)
23) Springfield Thunderbirds (–)
24) Lehigh Valley Phantoms (+2)
25) Hershey Bears (–)
26) Belleville Senators (-2)
27) Rockford IceHogs (–)
28) Iowa Wild (–)
29) Utica Comets (–)
30) Abbotsford Canucks (–)
31) Hartford Wolf Pack (–)
32) Calgary Wranglers (-2)
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