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TWO MINUTES FOR THOUGHTS: APRIL 6TH, 2023

Apr 6, 2023

And then there were four. The Hartford Wolf Pack have just nine days and four games left in the 2022-23 regular season. By the time we speak next in this space, we’ll know if the Wolf Pack are on their way to the Calder Cup Playoffs, or if the club will be spending another season on the outside looking in.

So far, from mid-March on, the Wolf Pack have been doing everything they have had to do to keep pace in the Atlantic Division playoff race. They control their own destiny. Win their final four games, and nothing Bridgeport does will matter. Win their final four games, and not only will they be in the playoffs, but they’ll likely finish in the number five spot. So little track left to run, yet so much to still determine.

Onto the blog.

1.) Congratulations to Adam Edström, who made his AHL debut on Saturday night in Allentown in Hartford’s 5-1 victory over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Edström comes to Hartford playing the best hockey of his professional career. He set new career-high in goals (nine), assists (ten), and points (19) this season with Rögle BK in the SHL.

A sixth round pick, 161st overall, by the Rangers in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, it’s probably fair to expect Edström to use the remainder of this season as a feeling out process for North America before his rookie AHL campaign in 2023-24.

2.) Another congratulations, this time for Jonny Brodzinski. Brodzinski was named the AHL’s ‘Player of the Month’ for the month of March after scoring 20 points (11 g, 9 a) in eleven games. Brodzinski is just the second player in franchise history to earn the honor since the AHL began awarding it. Forward Corey Locke won it for his efforts in November of 2009.

Brodzinski has been instrumental in Hartford’s recent playoff push. In four games against the Islanders in March, all victories for Hartford, Brodzinski notched eight goals. He also collected the first five-point game of his career, scoring a goal and four assists on March 24th in a 6-5 win over Springfield.

The captain now has 25 assists this season, which is a new career high. His previous high was 22 during the 2016-17 season while with the Ontario Reign.

3.) Brodzinski likely won’t get the MVP love he deserves. When it is all said and done, he’ll play less than 50 games this season in the AHL due to a lengthy stint in the NHL with the parent New York Rangers. That said, Brodzinski’s efforts cannot be ignored.

He cleared waivers on January 22nd and played in Providence that afternoon. Since then, Brodzinski has skated in 27 games with the team, scoring 37 points (19 g, 18 a). That’s good for a 1.37 points-per-game average. In that span, Hartford is 17-9-0-1 and firmly in control of their playoff destiny. Hard to find a player who has been more valuable.

4.) Let’s take a dive into Hartford’s five-game winning streak, shall we? The Pack were in seventh place on March 25th when they last lost by a score of 4-0 to the Springfield Thunderbirds. The next night, Hartford kicked off the winning streak with a 5-1 decision over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

During this streak, the Wolf Pack have outscored opponents by a 21-4 margin, their best stretch of the season in that regard. Their +17 goal differential over the last five games has actually turned Hartford into a positive goal differential team for the season. They are currently a +3, the only time this season they have been in the green.

Hartford has also taken care of some key business during this winning streak. Their win against the Penguins was their third in the season series, earning no worse than a split of the six-game set that concludes next week. Their win over Bridgeport made it four straight over the Islanders, earning at least a split of the season series and pushing Hartford into a playoff spot. The Wolf Pack also won their fifth game against the Bruins, earning at least a split of that season series too.

Hartford’s victory in Lehigh Valley last Saturday night not only won them the season series by a margin of 3-1, but it also inched the club within a point of the Phantoms for the fifth seed in the Atlantic. While the Phantoms did win on Sunday in Bridgeport, the Wolf Pack struck back with a victory last night over Toronto, once again moving within a point.

5.) So, where do we stand now? Hartford’s magic number is down to eight, meaning if the club wins the remaining four games on their schedule they will clinch a berth in the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs. Of course, there are other ways for Hartford to punch their ticket. With the Penguins officially eliminated on Wednesday night, the formula is simple. It’s now a combination of eight points gained by Hartford and lost by Bridgeport that will clinch the berth.

That means a regulation victory by Hartford on Friday night will trim the magic number in half, putting it at four. If that happens, Hartford could clinch a playoff spot as early as Saturday night if they beat Providence and the Islanders lose at home to the Penguins. If the Islanders win on Friday night in regulation? Hartford likely will need to find victories in all three of their remaining games.

To stay up to date with the playoff chase, visit the AHL’s Playoff Primer here.

6.) Here is an updated look at the Atlantic Division standings:

5. Lehigh Valley – 76 points, five games remaining
6. Hartford – 75 points, four games remaining
7. Bridgeport – 72 points, five games remaining

The path is there for Hartford to jump into fifth place as early as Friday night. If the Wolf Pack defeat the Islanders in regulation time, they’ll trim their magic number down to four, as we said above. They’d also jump the Phantoms if they lose in regulation to the Charlotte Checkers.

Here are the schedules for all three teams this weekend:

Lehigh Valley: Vs. Charlotte Checkers (Fri. 7:05 p.m.), Vs. Springfield Thunderbirds (Sat. 7:05 p.m.)
Hartford: Vs. Bridgeport Islanders (Fri. 7:00 p.m.), @ Providence Bruins (Sat. 7:05 p.m.)
Bridgeport: @ Hartford Wolf Pack (Fri. 7:00 p.m.), Vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Sat. 7:00 p.m.)

Buckle up, Wolf Pack fans. You’ve brought the noise all season long. Let’s get loud again this weekend. You’ve been terrific, and you more than deserve meaningful hockey in April. Let’s have some fun, shall we?

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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.  

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