ALLENTOWN, Pa. — There he was again, in front of the net, bent and spun like a wind-blown inflatable as the puck moved around the outer edges of the offensive zone. You want to play in the big-boy league, you better be ready to take big-boy punishment, Oskar Lindblom has discovered, and you better be able to function when you do.
So there he was in the crease Wednesday night as one Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defenseman cross-checked him into another Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defenseman, pushing, spinning and somehow always managing to return to that contentious area where dirty goals are scored.
“I’m feeling more comfortable on the smaller ice, for sure,” Lindblom said after adding his fifth goal and 14th point in Lehigh Valley’s 5-0 victory over their closest rivals.