Crawford's Pack Report: Still Chasing the Bruins
Tuesday, December 18, 2007 - 10:57 PM
A split of two home games for the Wolf Pack last week, running their record over a span of 10 games to 8-1-0-1 and to 12-2-0-1 in 15.
Even with all that success, though, the Pack have seen the gap widen between themselves and the league pacesetters down in Providence, whose record is starting to look a lot like the winning ways that the 1998-99 edition of the P-Bruins enjoyed, on the way to that franchise's first, and so far only, Calder Cup. The Wolf Pack finished last week eight points behind the Bruins, who have failed to get a point in all of four of their first 29 games. Wow!
Eighteen bad minutes stopped the Wolf Pack from possibly sweeping their short week last week. That's a fairly small segment of time, to be sure, but boy, it was bad! From the 15:05 mark of the second period of Wednesday's game against Houston to the 13:07 mark of the third, the Aeros scored six goals. That marked the fastest six goals-against in Wolf Pack history.
It would be hard to pinpoint what went wrong in that stretch. To my eyes, it was just one of those meltdowns that you sometimes see teams go through where the whole club seems to forget how to play the game at the same time. And the more they seemed to try to turn in the other direction, the worse it seemed to get. The Pack gave up goals every which way, surrendering three power-play goals to the least-successful power-play unit in the league, allowing a shorthander and a pair of even-strength tallies.
The Wolf Pack didn't score until it was already 6-0 for Houston, and only 3:02 remained in the game. Ironically, that one goal was a good illustration of the value of the little things that the Pack had a hard time accomplishing all game. On a penalty kill, Nigel Dawes took a hit to make a play, advancing the puck to Greg Moore, who used his speed well to take the puck hard toward the net and put it in the top shelf.
I had to feel bad for Al Montoya in that game, as he matched counterpart Nolan Schaefer save for save during the first 35 minutes of the evening, only to see his stats take a beating as a result of the quick Aero burst.
The game doesn't get much stranger than the Wolf Pack come off of a game where they had a merry time lighting up the scoreboard in Worcester, dominating the Sharks to the tune of a 7-1 laugher, and then have the tables totally turned on them the very next game, by a team that came into the contest second-to-last in the league in average offense.
The Wolf Pack haven't had too many downers over the past month, and they certainly passed the test of their resilience that Wednesday's loss presented, rebounding strongly in Saturday night's divisional game against Manchester, which they won by a score of 2-1 in overtime. Montoya, in particular, I thought showed good character, shaking off the six-spot that got behind him Wednesday nearly to blank a Manchester club that came in winners of three straight and clicking at better than 28% on the power play. He only allowed one goal, and came pretty close to stopping the one that got by him, a late second-period deflection by former Yale short-timer David Meckler.
The Pack had nearly spoiled Worcester's Teddy Bear Toss the Saturday before, and with the way Manchester netminder Dan Taylor played in the first period, there was a sense of nervousness among the anticipatory toy-tossers inside the Civic Center as well, but that was negated by a Thomas Pöck rebound that beat Taylor 3:27 into the second frame, the Pack's 12th power-play goal in a span of eight games. Once the stuffed animals were cleared from the ice (the generous fans chipped in a total of nearly 750 stuffed toys for holiday gifts for local youngsters), it settled into a pretty good netminding duel between Montoya and Taylor.
Meckler's goal was the last mark on the scoresheet in regulation, and overtime was needed for the second time in four games on the year between the Pack and Monarchs (Manchester had beaten the Pack in a shootout, 5-4, October 12th up in Manchester, in the Wolf Pack's second game of the season).
I'll jinx things and throw out that the Wolf Pack have been fairly effective in overtime this year. They have yet to lose on an OT goal through their first six trips beyond regulation, and have now won twice. Their speed and eagerness for a strong forecheck seem to work well in the four-on-four, highly-paced environment of OT, and Ivan Baranka's winner on Saturday, off of a sweet pass from behind the net by Dawes, came as a result of a dominating offensive-zone shift by those two, along with Greg Moore and Andrew Hutchinson.
So after allowing three power-play goals to the lowest-rated power play in the league in a dismal loss Wednesday, of course the Wolf Pack shut out the best PP in the league and win one game later. Go figure!
Now to entertain some input from readers…
Dave from West Hartford, CT writes, “I was surprised to see that the Rangers organization is going to allow Artem Anisimov to go over and play in the World Junior Championships at the end of the month. Specifically I'm surprised the organization is willing to allow his adjustment to the North American game to be interrupted by a return to the larger ice surface and different style of play. Do you know when he'll be leaving, and how long he'll be gone? He's become a pretty steady contributor to the Wolf Pack recently.”
Dave, the tournament starts the day after Christmas, and the Gold Medal game is Saturday, January 5th. I don't know exactly what the plan is, but Artem will definitely miss the Pack's games the 28th, 29th and 30th, and I would imagine there's a good chance he won't be around for the following week's games, either, and that is obviously a definite if the Russian team goes deep in the tournament.
I haven't seen a lot of World Junior action, but I don't think it is going to serve to interrupt his adjustment to the North American game. It is being played in the Czech Republic, so it will be on the bigger international ice, but with Canada being such a force in the tournament traditionally, and the U.S. often a force to be reckoned with as well, I think if the European teams are to do well, they have to play somewhat more of a straight-ahead style than they normally would in their own leagues. Plus, the competition is so intense, I think it is an opportunity for a guy like Artem to grow as a player, in a situation where every game and really every shift is huge. A chance to represent your country on an international stage, too, is something that most players treasure, and I think it is a smart move on the Rangers' part to give Artem that opportunity. They have measured him against the high-level pros in the AHL for a couple of months, and the World Juniors represents a chance for them to put him back against players of strictly his own age group and see if his AHL experience helps him be a dominant force.
Tyrone from Waterbury, CT asks, “Is Hartford going to get Alexei Cherepanov next year or is he going to be a Ranger? I hear a lot of good things about this kid.”
His skills sure are generating a lot of buzz among fans and inside the organization, Tyrone.
My guess is, if he is as dynamic as advertised, the organization will find a spot for him in New York. It's quite possible, though, that like many very young players, he will need an adjustment period to orient himself to the North American style of play, and lifestyle. If that is the case, then the Wolf Pack could indeed get the use of his talents for a period of time.
Chris Mac from Hartford writes, “With Mitch Fritz and Francis Lessard out, the Pack are a little short in the grit department. Are they actively pursuing a replacement?”
Chris, maybe they are short on true heavyweight tough guys with those two players out of action, but I would argue that there is no shortage of grit. Mitch and Frankie are as tough as they come and great team guys, but the Wolf Pack throughout its history has prided itself on its team toughness. The identity of this franchise has been built around guys who bring grit to the rink every night, even if it is not in the form of dropping the gloves. It might be in terms of strong forechecking or being a key defensive player, or a guy who will camp out in front of the net and take a beating to generate a scoring chance.
If the coaches sense that, with Mitch and Frankie out, that other teams are starting to take liberties against Pack players, then you might see the Wolf Pack scour the market for some extra muscle, but I would be surprised if that became necessary.
Michael Desmond of Enfield, CT asks, “Why did Nigel Dawes get reassigned to Hartford?”
Basically, Michael, the Ranger coaches wanted Nigel to be more consistent in his play. He certainly showed an ability to generate some offense at that level, and it sounds like they wanted him to work on bringing his top game in that area every night. And, as you've probably seen, Nigel was called back up this past Sunday, after scorching the AHL for 11 points in his last four games and 22 in his last 10.
TJ Cahill of Hartford writes, “I watch a lot of hockey, and it seems to me that Ryan Callahan just needs to play. He needs minutes, which are in relatively short supply right now with the Rangers. My questions is, what are the limitations on NHL players rehabbing the in the minors? Is it a waiver situation, a contract issue, or personal preference? Regaining fitness, timing and confidence through limited minor league stints makes sense to me. Beyond the benefit to the player and team, the fans get to see some NHL players back in the AHL, if only for a few weeks. Any thoughts? Also, if another team wanted to acquire a player that cleared waivers like Thomas Pöck, what would they have to do and what would be the cost?”
TJ, a player who is not subject to waivers, and a second-year pro like Callahan would not be, can be assigned to the AHL at any time. There is no contractual restriction regarding assignments to minor pro, and players who are subject to waivers (this is a complicated calculus involving experience, number of NHL games played, the players age when he was drafted or signed, and possibly some other factors that I am not aware of) can be sent to the AHL for a two-week conditioning period without having to clear waivers. A guy like Pöck, who has already cleared waivers, is treated like any other minor pro player as far as a potential acquisition goes. If he is claimed off waivers, the claiming team owes only the waiver price, but if he clears, the team that holds his contract still holds his rights, and a team wanting to acquire him would have to negotiate a deal with the team to which he is under contract.
With respect to a player like Callahan, it's a tough call. I don't necessarily disagree with you about his need to play more to be more effective, but I also thought he had proven all he needed to prove in the AHL by the time he was called up for good last year, and I'm not sure how much he would be helped by coming back to this level.
And finally, Leighton from Cromwell, CT asks, “When is the Bowl-a-thon?”
The Wolf Pack Community Foundation's Bowl-a-Thon to assist Special Olympics Connecticut Eastern Region was scheduled for this past Sunday, December 16th, Leighton, at AMF Silver Lanes in East Hartford, but was postponed due to the storm that hit the area that day. A new date is in the process of being scheduled and will be announced as soon as it is finalized.
Seeing as how I have a feeling I won't get around to writing anything for the week that begins with Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, here's wishing you and yours a joyous and safe holiday!
