When Patric Hornqvist and Zach Aston-Reese were both lost to injury on Jan. 9 and the Penguins needed a big, physical player to come up from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, they stuck to what they knew: Garrett Wilson.
Meanwhile, Anthony Angello waits for his chance. Angello is Wilkes-Barre's second-leading goal scorer and a 6-feet-5, 210-pound, physical, versatile player who is comfortable playing in any forward position. Wilson may have more experience, but Angello believes he can also succeed in the role.
"I 100 percent think I could do that too," he told me this week.
Angello, of course, means no disrespect to Wilson. Angello and his teammates have so much admiration for Wilson, often offering unprompted praise for their captain, even when he's recalled to the NHL.
Angello just knows he's ready for that next step.
Angello, 22, has shown no trouble becoming acclimated to the AHL in his first professional season. Through 40 games, he has the highest plus/minus on the team at plus-15. He ranks second on the team in goals with 14, and seventh in assists with 10. He's currently riding a five-game point streak, during which he's registered four goals and four assists.
He scored these two goals this week in a loss to Rochester:
And yet ... it's almost as if he doesn't really want to talk about his offensive success.
"I don't read too much into points," said Angello. "I take pride in doing the little things right and playing the game the right way, and letting the points take care of themselves."
Playing the game the right way? Angello sounds like a man after Mike Sullivan's own heart.
That's not just regurgitated coach-speak, though, it's the truth.
Angello has had many different linemates this season, from Wilson or Aston-Reese earlier in the season to now Teddy Blueger and the speedy 5-feet-7 Cam Brown on the top line. The common denominator always seems to be that Angello's line is one of the hardest working combinations on the ice. That's why he's been entrusted to play on both the power play and penalty kill units, too.
Angello said he has felt more confident as the season moves along, and it's clear that is what is leading to his increased success. He's also made a conscious effort lately to shoot the puck more, and is averaging 3.2 shots per game over these past five games, over a full shot more than his season average of 2.1 per game.
"I feel more comfortable with the puck -- not complacent -- but comfortable with it and being able to handle it under pressure, playing a little bit more poised, and trying to make plays as opposed to going into the corner and trying to get it," he said.
Angello's biggest strength is his physical game and his ability to effectively use his massive frame to create space for himself on the ice. He regularly flattens opposing players with crushing hit ...
... after crushing hit ...
... after crushing hit:
"I think one thing that I focus on every game, along with shooting the puck, is just to get that first hit -- whether it's a big hit or a really solid one," he said. "It kind of gets me into the game from a physical aspect and it gets the other boys rolling. It's a little bit of an intimidation factor -- just playing physical, and letting the other team know that you're there, you're here to play, you're here to compete. Mentally it's an edge for yourself."
Angello can fight, too, but he's smart about picking his battles. When I spoke to him earlier in the season, he talked about not ever being a guy who will go out looking for fights. With his physical style of play, he's often challenged to fights by other players after big hits, but he knows better than to be baited into an altercation.
"I've definitely been challenged, but I think at that moment of the game I believe I would have had a better impact being on the ice than sitting in the box for five minutes," he said. "I'll go and hit those guys, and if someone wants to come up and challenge me, I'd rather play hockey and play on the ice. If they want to fight me, they can drop their gloves first and take a two-minute instigator."
He did finally drop the gloves for his first professional fight on Dec. 29 against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and he dropped Phil Samuelsson -- Ulf's kid -- twice. Wilson dropped the gloves immediately afterwards. It led to a huge momentum shift in a scoreless game, and the Penguins took a decisive 7-3 victory.
"We had a team meeting that day," Angello recalled. "The guys came in ready to play, and I think 'Willy' and I set the tone for that game and everybody else followed."
Angello's focus for the remainder of the season? Just stick to the plan -- play physical, and work hard.
"I'm focusing on doing the little things right and playing hard down here, because I can't control when that call-up happens. But I can control how well I'm playing when that opportunity comes. As long as I focus on keeping a good attitude, work-ethic, and mindset down here and continue to play good hockey, I'll be ready to capitalize on that opportunity."
The key word there is when that opportunity comes, not if. The way Angello is playing now, he should earn that chance sooner rather than later.
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THE ROSTER MOVES
• Wilkes-Barre signed 27-year-old Nailers defenseman Danny Fick to a well-deserved professional tryout contract on Saturday, and Fick made his Penguins debut that evening against Hershey. Had Fick played for Wheeling on Saturday, he would have become the Nailers' sole all-time games-played leader. This is Fick's second stint in the AHL following a two-game tryout with the San Antonio Rampage in 2017.
• Pittsburgh assigned forward Joseph Blandisi to Wilkes-Barre. This was an expected move with Pittsburgh beginning its bye week on Sunday.
THE INJURIES
• Chris Summers remains injured from a hit on Dec. 12. … Thomas Di Pauli hasn’t played since Dec. 16 with a lower-body injury. … Ben Sexton was injured after two hits on Jan. 5. ... Jeff Taylor, Matt Abt, and Sam Lafferty were all injured Jan. 18.
• Zach Trotman returned to the lineup Friday for the first time since Nov. 4. ... Sam Miletic returned to the lineup Friday after sustaining a lower-body injury on Nov. 30.
THE NEWS
• Wilkes-Barre's Newswatch 16 station reports that the Penguins organization and Luzerne County Convention Center Authority are continuing to work on a new lease for the Penguins at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza, and both sides are seeking "a long-term deal that is mutually beneficial" and "making good faith efforts to structure a deal that reflects today's challenges and changing market."
The Penguins' current 10-year lease at the arena expires in June, but a new deal would ideally be reached by March for sponsorship and ticket sales purposes.
THE GAMES
• Jan. 18: vs. Rochester, 5-4 loss
Angello's 13th goal of the season opened the scoring on Friday, and the Americans tied the game just over a minute later. Jimmy Hayes' fifth goal of the season and first since Dec. 29 gave Wilkes-Barre the lead heading into the first intermission.
The Americans took a 3-2 lead after two goals in the middle frame, but Adam Johnson tied the game back up with 5:33 remaining in the period. It was his 10th goal of the season, and his first goal since Dec. 29.
The Americans again took the lead in the third period with two goals. Angello scored his second goal of the game and 14th of the season with just over a minute remaining, but the rally fell short.
Tristan Jarry took the loss with 33 saves on 38 shots.
Wilkes-Barre's power play went 0-for-3, and the penalty kill went 2-for-3.
• Jan. 19: vs. Hershey, 5-3 loss
Special teams was the story on Saturday.
The Bears scored the first goal of the game on a power play, and extended their lead to 2-0 before the first intermission. Johnson scored the lone goal of the second period on a power play to cut the Bears' lead to one.
Former Penguin Jayson Megna restored the Bears' two-goal lead with a power play goal 2:10 into the third period, and Blueger scored a power play goal of his own less than two minutes later. The Bears answered back with another power play goal two minutes later.
With four minutes remaining in the game, Megna extended the Bears' lead to 5-2 with a shorthanded goal. Johnson scored his second goal of the game and 12th of the season with 1:34 remaining in the game, but it was too little, too late.
Anthony Peters took the loss in net with 25 saves on 30 shots.
The power play went 2-for-8 and allowed a goal, and the penalty kill went 4-for-7. Just an awful special teams showing by the Penguins of late.
THE LEADERS
• Goals: Blueger, 18 in 42 games.
• Assists: Lafferty, 19 in 41 games.
• Points: Blueger, 34 in 42 games.
THE COMBINATIONS
Cam Brown – Teddy Blueger – Anthony Angello
Adam Johnson – Jean-Sebastien Dea – Sam Miletic
Ryan Scarfo – Jarrett Burton – Ryan Haggerty
Joseph Cramarossa – Linus Olund – Jimmy Hayes
Kevin Czuczman – Macoy Erkamps
Kevin Spinozzi – Ethan Prow
Tim Erixon – Danny Fick
THE STANDINGS
• After this week, the Penguins record is 19-18-4-1. They dropped to sixth place in the eight-team Atlantic Division. Only eight points separate the third-place Lehigh Valley Phantoms and eighth-place Hershey Bears.
• The power play sits at 16.7 percent, 23rd in the 31-team league. The penalty kill dropped to 78.8 percent overall, 26th in the league.
THE SCHEDULE
• The Penguins will close out January with three games. They'll host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (22-15-2-2) on Monday afternoon at 1 p.m. They'll visit the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (23-14-4-2) on Wednesday morning at 10:30 a.m. as part of the Sound Tigers' school-day game. They'll then visit the Binghamton Devils (19-21-4) on Saturday evening.
• The Penguins will practice Thursday and Friday at 10:30 a.m. at the Toyota SportsPlex.
GOALS OF THE WEEK
Blueger scored this power play goal. That's Angello quarterbacking the power play from behind the net:
Johnson's speed was BUILT for all of this open ice:
Johnson may be on the leaner side, but when he puts all of his power behind his shot ... Wow:
WILKES-BARRE FUN THING
Jarrett Burton, Joseph Cramarossa, and Will O'Neill got into a pretty serious game of Jenga:
An epic game of @JENGA just wrapped up after practice. How high did these guys make it? We’ll fill you in later... pic.twitter.com/YJ2B5999CH
— WBS Penguins (@WBSPenguins) January 16, 2019
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