Week 27 Primer

Devils Quick Hits:

-Albany begins the week with a 33-26-5-6 mark, good for 77 points.  They remain in 4th place in the Northeast Division (4 points behind 3rd place Springfield) and 10th in the Eastern Conference, 4 points behind 9th place Springfield and 5 points out of the 8th and final playoff spot, currently occupied by Portland.

-The first of the 2014 draft class has arrived, in the form of 6th round draft selection Brandon Baddock, who signed an ATO on Wednesday.  The 20-year-old just finished his third season with Edmonton of the WHL, registering 40 points (19 G, 21 A) in 71 games, along with 136 penalty minutes.

-On Thursday, with both Eric Gelinas and Jon Merrill recovering from injuries sustained in Tuesday’s home finale in New Jersey, Seth Helgeson and Raman Hrabarenka were both recalled, and were paired together in the Devils 4-3 overtime loss to the Lightning in Tampa.  Hrabarenka is the second A-Devil to make his NHL debut this season (Helgeson the other in November; you could count Damon Severson in that category, but he made his lone Albany appearances back in the 2012-13 season).

-Injury updates: Graham Black is done for the season after blocking a shot off his leg in Saturday’s win over Binghamton.  The rookie had a successful first season despite missing significant time to injuries and illness.  Joe Whitney, Tim Sestito (illness) and David Wohlberg are all expected back in the lineup this weekend.

4/10, Game #71 at Binghamton

Where: Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena, Binghamton, NY.

When: 7:00 PM.

Season Series: Albany leads 2-1.

Standings:

Binghamton: 30-33-7-1, 68 points, 4th place in East Division, 13th in Eastern Conference

Senators Leading Scorers/Goaltending:

Shane Prince, 59 points (25 G, 34 A); Chris Wideman, 54 points (17 G, 37 A); Cole Schneider, 50 points (24 G, 26 A)

Peter Mannino, 6-11-4, 3.80 GAA; Scott Greenham, 13-10-2, 2.80 GAA; Chris Driedger, 4-0-0, 2.74 GAA

Notes:

-With Saturday’s loss to Albany, the Senators were officially eliminated from the playoff race.

-Defenseman Chris Wideman (First) and forward Shane Prince (Second) were both named to the AHL’s end of season All Star teams yesterday.

-Binghamton kicked off a 4 game homestand on Tuesday with a 7-4 loss to the Admirals.  After Albany visits, they face Utica on Saturday and again on Wednesday.

Listen: AHL Live, US 96.9 FM

Twitter: @trace_1114, @AlbanyDevils, @BSens_Hockey

4/11, Game #72 at Hartford

Where: XL Center, Hartford, CT.

When: 7:00 PM.

Season Series: Hartford leads 5-3.

Standings:

Hartford: 38-23-5-4, 85 points, 2nd place in Northeast Division, 7th in Eastern Conference

Wolfpack Leading Scorers/Goaltending:

Chris Bourque, 59 points (27 G, 32 A); Oscar Lindberg, 51 points (25 G, 26 A); Danny Kristo, 42 points (20 G, 22 A)

Mackenzie Skapski, 15-8-3, 2.40 GAA; Yann Danis, 13-12-4, 2.64 GAA

Notes:

-The Wolfpack start the weekend with a magic number of 5 to clinch a playoff spot.  They can finish no higher than 6th.

-Hartford starts a 3 in 3 weekend by hosting Springfield on Friday and Albany on Saturday, then travel to Providence on Sunday afternoon.

-After spending the last 4 seasons in Hartford, Ryan Bourque finally made his NHL debut on Thursday night for the Rangers, who were shut out by Ottawa in their regular season home finale.

Listen: AHL Live, Fox Sports Radio 1410 Hartford

Twitter: @trace_1114, @AlbanyDevils, @WolfPackAHL

4/12, Game #73 at Worcester

Where: DCU Center, Worcester, MA.

When: 3:00 PM.

Season Series: Albany leads 2-1.

Standings:

Worcester: 40-24-4-2, 86 points, 2nd place in Atlantic Division, 5th in Eastern Conference

Sharks Leading Scorers/Goaltending:

Evan Trupp, 38 points (16 G, 22 A); 2 tied with 34 points

Troy Grosenick, 19-11-3, 2.62 GAA; Aaron Dell, 15-5-2, 1.80 GAA

Notes:

-Worcester’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot is at 3, meaning they can secure a playoff spot as soon as Saturday.

-The Sharks start a 3 in 3 weekend with a home and home series against Providence before hosting Albany on Sunday.

-This is the final visit to central Massachusetts for the unforseeable future, as Worcester is relocating to San Jose next year and playing at the SAP Center as the San Jose Barracuda.

Listen: AHL Live, WTAG 580 AM

Twitter: @trace_1114, @AlbanyDevils, @WorcesterSharks, @SharksAHLinGame