"For our guys, this is playoff hockey before playoff hockey," said Phantoms coach Scott Gordon after his team dropped a 4-3 overtime game against division-leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday night at the PPL Center.

The good news is that this isn't playoff hockey yet, because the Phantoms have lost three straight to the Penguins after taking the first two games of the season series.The bad news is that the Providence Bruins have catapulted ahead of the Phantoms in the Atlantic Division standings, leading Lehigh Valley by four points, although Lehigh Valley does have two games in-hand over both Providence and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, who leads the Phantoms by eight points.Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Lehigh Valley still have seven games remaining against each other this season."None of these games are easy. They're in first place for a reason," stressed Gordon. "We got the ball rolling against them the first two games and we at least got a point tonight, but we had a tough go of it in the two games in their building."I liked the way we bounced back and came out and were able to at least get the point. Quite honestly, we gave ourselves a pretty good chance to get the second."The Phantoms now hit the road for a four-game stretch, making it six out of seven games away from their home ice. The upcoming road trip has stops in Springfield, Hartford, Providence and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, making it a key run for the Phantoms as the season slowly dwindles down.Overall, the Phantoms have gone 5-5-1-0 in the month of February. Both goalies, Alex Lyon and Anthony Stolarz, have slowly seen their goals-against average start to climb slightly. Stolarz, in particular, has been in a mild slide, giving up 13 goals in his last three starts for the Phantoms."We've been giving up a lot of shots recently," said center Corban Knight. "We were better tonight in getting better shots for ourselves and limiting them, but we've got to do even better and limit how many looks they get."BUNDLE UP ... Just as the Phantoms and Penguins were taking to the ice Saturday night, the Hershey Bears announced that they'll host next season's Outdoor Classic at Hersheypark Stadium on Jan. 20. The Bears and Phantoms will square off in the event, with Phantoms season ticket holders having a chance to buy tickets for the game before they're available to other fans. The date for the pre-sale hasn't been announced.PLAYOFF ATMOSPHERE ... There's no denying that the fans are not just into the rivalry between the Penguins and Phantoms, but they're ready for playoff hockey at the PPL Center. A total of 8,869 fans - a standing room only sell out - were in attendance Saturday night and provided a raucous backdrop for the game. Lehigh Valley is 18-7-2-0 at home this season.SCHEDULING QUIRK ... As the Phantoms and Penguins battled in Allentown, their parent clubs played in Pittsburgh as part of the NHL's Stadium Series. Pittsburgh won the game, played at Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, by a score of 4-2.QUICK ON THE DRAW ... A week after setting a franchise record for the fastest back-to-back goals, the Phantoms did some quick handiwork again Friday night in Springfield. Radel Fazleev and Chris Conner scored just 15 seconds apart in the second period against the Thunderbirds. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough as the 'Birds rallied and then held on for a 5-3 win, their first over the Phantoms in four meetings this season.