TWO MINUTES FOR THOUGHTS: APRIL 14TH, 2022
Apr 14, 2022Down the stretch we go. Following last night’s 1-0 loss at the hands of the Belleville Senators, the Hartford Wolf Pack have turned the final corner of the 2021-22 regular season and are now into their final five games of the campaign. Three of them will be on the road, including two this weekend, while a pair of tilts remain at the XL Center.
For Hartford, the task is quite clear. This is a five-game season to clinch the franchise’s first playoff appearance since the spring of 2015. Will it be easy? Of course not, nothing in professional sports is easy. Their fate is firmly in their hands, however. The Wolf Pack control their own destiny, with a magic number of 10 and a few colossal games left on the slate.
The Road Ahead
The Wolf Pack will conclude play against the North Division this weekend with a pair of tilts that finally bring to an end the team’s seven-game road trip. On Friday night, the Pack will be in Toronto for the first time since October of 2018 to take on the Marlies. The Pack scored a 5-2 win over the Marlies back on January 19th at the XL Center in the only other meeting this season.
On Saturday, the bus makes a stop in Rochester as the Pack will visit the Americans for the second and final time. Hartford dropped regulation decisions to the Americans on January 2nd and 7th before defeating them in overtime on February 12th in Hartford. The Pack will be looking to earn a split of victories in the season series.
Next weekend will see three tilts, all against Atlantic Division opponents. On Friday night, the Charlotte Checkers are in town for the sixth and final meeting between the sides. The Checkers took each of the first four meetings, but the Wolf Pack did score a 4-3 victory this past Sunday in overtime thanks to Maxim Letunov’s heroics. The Checkers did win the previous two meetings in Hartford, but both were games decided by a single goal.
That includes an overtime tilt on January 12th that featured a few tough bounces going against the Wolf Pack.
On Saturday night, April 23rd, the Wolf Pack may play their biggest game in seven seasons. As things stand, the Pack and Bridgeport Islanders are gunning for the sixth and final playoff spot in the Atlantic. As of this writing, they are tied with a points percentage of .507 each. The Islanders will conclude their regular season with a visit from the Wolf Pack on this night. It’s very possible that the loser of this game could find themselves without a ticket to the dance.
Finally, the Pack close the season out with ‘Fan Appreciation Day’ on April 24th against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Hartford is 2-2-1-0 against the Penguins this season, but the home team has won each of the first five meetings. This game could prove vital for seeding in the Atlantic Division’s bracket of the Calder Cup playoffs. Heck, the Wolf Pack may need points in the finale to punch their ticket to the dance.
What Will It Take?
The simplest way for the Wolf Pack to make the playoffs? Go 5-0-0-0 the rest of the way. If Hartford does that, the club is guaranteed a berth in the Calder Cup Playoffs. With a magic number of 10, the club still controls its own destiny and can simply win out to punch their ticket.
Five-game winning streaks are difficult to achieve, however. If Hartford can manage a record of 4-1-0-0, 3-2-0-0, or even perhaps 2-2-1-0 or 2-2-0-1, they should be okay. The key to getting in while winning two or three more games, however, will be beating Bridgeport.
A regulation win over the Islanders on April 23rd means Bridgeport likely has to win all three of their other remaining games. That’ll be a tough task with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Springfield Thunderbirds as their other three opponents.
A split of the two road games this weekend, then taking two out of three next weekend with one of the wins being against the Islanders, is the most likely path at this time. It’s quite doable, especially considering Hartford’s success against the Islanders this season and how important home ice has been in the series with the Penguins.
Of course, we’ll also be watching closely to see how the Phantoms do. While they are currently further behind the Wolf Pack and Islanders, the Phantoms have extra games remaining and could very easily become a threat to catch both clubs should either falter in the final five games of the season. Wolf Pack fans will be hoping that the Phantoms see their share of regulation loss in the final few weeks of the season.
This N’ That
A 1-0 loss is never fun, but two big positives emerged on Wednesday night. Special teams has been a bit of an issue for the Wolf Pack over the last month, but the club went a perfect four-for-four on the penalty kill in Belleville. In their last three games, the Wolf Pack have killed off eight of nine penalties taken. Things are trending in the right direction here.
In goal, Keith Kinkaid was arguably the best player on either team. Kinkaid made 34 saves, including 14 in the first period. The veteran goaltender gave Hartford a puncher’s chance in a game in which scoring chances were hard to come by. Kinkaid was one of the biggest reasons why the New Jersey Devils made the Stanley Cup Playoffs back in 2018. He was terrific in goal during the stretch drive and has a history of being very good in pressure spots. If Hartford punches their playoff ticket and goes on a run, Kinkaid is going to be a big reason why.
Speaking of pressure situations, Bobby Trivigno began his professional career in one as he joined the Wolf Pack in the midst of a playoff push. Luckily for Trivigno, he’s quite used to playing meaningful games thanks to his decorated NCAA career up the road at UMass. Trivigno recently discussed the transition and some of the lessons he’s taking to pro hockey with yours truly.
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ABOUT THE HARTFORD WOLF PACK: The Hartford Wolf Pack has been a premier franchise in the American Hockey League since the team’s inception in 1997. The Wolf Pack are the top player-development affiliate of the NHL's New York Rangers and play at the XL Center. The Wolf Pack has been home to some of the Rangers newest faces including Igor Shesterkin, Filip Chytil, and Ryan Lindgren. Follow the Wolf Pack on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.