TWO MINUTES FOR THOUGHTS: APRIL 20TH, 2022
Apr 20, 2022Last call for points, ladies and gentlemen. This is it. The 2021-22 AHL regular season comes down to this for the Hartford Wolf Pack. The club will play three games this weekend and will determine their fate. Will Hartford make the Calder Cup Playoffs for the first time since the spring of 2015, or will they fall short after the season began with so much promise?
There’s really not much to breakdown, not much to analyze. All of the hard work that was done training in the off-season, done at first Rangers and then Wolf Pack training camp, done throughout the preseason and the first 69 games of the regular season, comes down to this.
The Wolf Pack will face the Charlotte Checkers, Bridgeport Islanders, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with a playoff berth on the line.
Fail to win at least two games, and that’ll be lights out. Win two or more? Get your shoes, we’re going dancing.
This week’s edition of ‘Two Minutes for Thoughts’ is devoted exclusively to the playoff chase.
The Map
The Wolf Pack will kick the weekend off with a home date against the Checkers on Friday night (7:00 p.m.) before travelling to Bridgeport on Saturday to take on the Islanders (7:00 p.m.). On Sunday, the regular season concludes with Fan Appreciation Day at the XL Center against the Penguins (3:00 p.m.).
The Checkers have won four of the first five meetings between the sides, including both at the XL Center, but Hartford did score a 4-3 overtime victory in the last meeting on April 10th. Both of the previous meetings in Hartford were close, as well. The Pack fell 3-2 on October 30th, starting the game sluggishly before nearly coming all the way back.
On January 12th, Hartford took a 1-0 lead into the third period before eventually falling 2-1 in overtime. It was a tightly-contested game that could have gone either way.
Although Hartford is just 1-3-1-0 against Charlotte, almost all of the games have been close and could have gone either way. Losing four out of five probably isn’t a proper reflection of Hartford’s play in the season series.
On Saturday, the Wolf Pack will face a team they have enjoyed success against this season. Hartford is 6-2-0-1 in the ‘Battle of Connecticut’ and took a 4-1 victory in the last meeting on March 6th. The Pack are 2-2-0-0 in Bridgeport this season, including a heartbreaking last minute loss on November 7th.
The sides have split two meetings during the 2022 portion of the schedule, with the home team winning both. The Islanders blanked the Wolf Pack 2-0 on February 20th in the most recent meeting at the newly anointed Total Mortgage Arena.
Lastly, the Wolf Pack and Penguins will meet for the sixth and final time. The Wolf Pack are just 2-2-1-0 against the Penguins and have lost both meetings in 2022. The good news? Hartford is 2-0-0-0 at the XL Center against the Penguins, and the home team is 5-0-0-0 in the season series. The Wolf Pack scored a 3-2 shootout victory on October 29th, and a 4-3 regulation win on November 6th at home.
What Will It Take?
If Hartford can manage to go 3-0-0-0 on the final weekend, they will advance to the Calder Cup Playoffs regardless of what the Islanders do on Friday night and what the Lehigh Valley Phantoms do in their final five games.
Winning all three games in a three-in-three weekend is an extremely difficult task, however. It’s something the Wolf Pack have yet to do this season.
Most likely, if Hartford makes the playoffs, they will do so on the strength of a 2-1-0-0 or 2-0-1-0/2-0-0-1 weekend. That’s where things get a little complicated.
No matter what happens, the Wolf Pack must win on Saturday night in Bridgeport. A loss of any kind will end Hartford’s playoff hopes. A loss on Friday night could also spell the end of the season. If the Wolf Pack lose in regulation on Friday night, and the Islanders win, Bridgeport will clinch a playoff spot and the Wolf Pack will be eliminated.
If Hartford AND Bridgeport lose on Friday night? Saturday night essentially becomes a playoff game. Hartford would be eliminated with a loss, while the Islanders would be on their last breath with one. If Hartford were to beat the Islanders in regulation on Saturday after both teams lost on Friday night, the Pack would need to secure at least a point on Sunday and need the Phantoms to lose a pair of games in regulation down the stretch.
If Hartford and Bridgeport both win on Friday night? The Wolf Pack will need a regulation victory on Saturday and a victory on Sunday afternoon.
If Hartford wins on Friday and Bridgeport loses? The Pack could be all set with a regulation victory on Saturday night.
Now, here are the scenarios that have less of a happy outcome. Obviously, if Hartford drops all three games, then they have no chance to make the postseason. A loss to Bridgeport also ends the season. 1-2-0-0, with a win in Bridgeport and Bridgeport losing on Friday night in regulation, also would not be enough for the Wolf Pack.
Essentially, the club must win at least two games, and will likely need a little helping hand from their friends up I-91, the Springfield Thunderbirds. The T-Birds are in Bridgeport on Friday night and could do the Wolf Pack a huge favor with a regulation victory.
This N’ That
We will have you covered for all three games this weekend. I’ll have the call of both games from the XL Center AND the game from Bridgeport on Saturday night. We’ll have you covered with 15 minutes of pregame on all three days. That means coverage starts on AHLTV and Mixlr at 6:45 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night, then at 2:45 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.
Tickets are on-sale for both home games this weekend as well at www.hartfordwolfpack.com. On Friday night, we will celebrate Pride Night at the XL Center! As it is a Friday, we will also have $2 beers and $1 hot dogs compliments of Nomads Entertainment. On Sunday, it’s Fan Appreciation Day! We will have tons of great giveaways, a chance to shoot for $100,000, and more!
Fans, your support has been awesome this season. While the last few weeks have not produced the amount of wins we were all hoping for, the Wolf Pack 100% control their own destiny. This is the most exciting time of the season, and we can’t wait to see you down at the XL Center this weekend. Playoff hockey has been seven years in the making in downtown Hartford. The Pack are right at the goal line. Let’s pack the barn and get them over the finish line!
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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.