TWO MINUTES FOR THOUGHTS: FEBRUARY 2ND, 2023
Feb 2, 2023Crunch time is starting to arrive for the 2022-23 edition of the Hartford Wolf Pack. No, I’m not talking about this past weekend’s game against the Syracuse Crunch or the upcoming February tilt in Syracuse. I’m talking about the stretch drive and the push to the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs.
As of this writing, only seven points separate third-place Charlotte and eighth-place Hartford. Only four points, meanwhile, separate fourth-place Lehigh Valley and eighth-place Hartford. Things are tight and with so many Atlantic Division games remaining, it’ll almost certainly stay that way into the final weekend of the season.
It’s go time, and the Pack has some home cooking to try and jump-start a push for the postseason.
Onto the blog, which this week features a crisp six-pack of thoughts!
1.) What an interesting week it was for the Wolf Pack. It started with a dud of a first period on January 25th, with the Pack down 3-0 just 7:30 into the hockey game. The final 50 minutes were played relatively even with the Bridgeport Islanders, but a 3-0 hole proved to be too deep to dig out of.
On Friday night, the Pack played one of their best five-on-five games of the season, claiming a 2-1 overtime win over the Providence Bruins. Saturday, however, was a different story. The Pack surrendered seven five-on-five goals to seven different Syracuse goal scorers in a 7-3 loss. After taking a 1-0 lead in the game, Hartford gave up seven of the game’s next eight goals, including three consecutive goals in the first period, and four consecutive goals in the second period.
Last night’s 4-2 loss to Providence stings on paper, but the Pack can take pride in the fact that their game returned to form. A terribly unfortunate bounce gifted the Bruins their second goal of the night, while the Pack hit three posts and the Bruins hit none. It was that kind of night, but if Hartford plays that type of game moving forward, they’ll continue to bank points.
2.) Can we take a minute to appreciate the beauty that was Zac Jones’ second-period goal on Wednesday? Jones split the Providence defense and then undressed Kyle Keyser for his sixth goal of the season. For my money, it was the prettiest goal scored by a Wolf Pack player this season. Jones also had the overtime winner in Providence on Friday, the first of his professional career.
3.) If the two goals aren’t enough for Jones, he was named to the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic on Friday, replacing Cam York of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. It’ll be Jones’ first All-Star selection, in this his second season. Jones will not, however, be joined by Will Cuylle. Cuylle was initially named to the roster but was replaced by Bridgeport’s Ruslan Iskhakov on Wednesday. Cuylle is now unavailable for the event.
4.) Here’s a bit of good news for the Wolf Pack, the powerplay has come alive. Prior to Wednesday’s loss, the Hartford powerplay had scored in three consecutive games and in four of their last five outings. It’s the first time this season they have hit either mark. Hartford’s powerplay also struck twice in games on January 21st against Rochester, and January 28th against Syracuse. It’s just the second and third times, respectively, this season that they have done that.
Despite not scoring on Wednesday, the Pack snapped the puck around pretty well and feel that they are getting the required looks. Jones said postgame on Wednesday night that he feels the powerplay is better than the numbers would indicate, and that the group has been getting looks and chances as of late. He’s absolutely right.
5.) This weekend’s two games, the final two prior to the All-Star break, are vitally important. The Utica Comets come to town on Friday, while the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are in town on Saturday. That game against the Penguins is going to be huge for the playoff picture. The Penguins are one of the teams Hartford needs to pass to find a playoff spot.
These games also represent two things. One, a chance at revenge. On January 6th and 7th, the Pack was in Utica and then Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. On the 6th, Hartford let a 2-0 lead get away from them before falling 3-2 in the shootout to the Comets. The next night? Hartford saw a 3-0 lead escape them as the Penguins stormed back for a 4-3 decision in overtime. This is a chance for Hartford to erase the bad taste from those two outings.
Secondly, the Pack must start stringing together victories at home. Hartford is a pedestrian 8-8-0-5 at home this season. By points, they are .500. Overall, the club has lost 13 of their 21 games at the XL Center. On the road, Hartford has been stellar this season and is currently on a seven-game point streak. At home, however, the club has struggled thus far to string together wins. That has to change if the playoffs are to be reached. It starts this weekend, in the third and fourth games of a season-long five-game homestand.
6.) Weird stat from Saturday’s loss to Syracuse. It was just the third time in franchise history that the Wolf Pack had not been shorthanded in a hockey game. The other two times? December 15th, 2017, against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and March 5th, 2005, against the San Antonio Rampage. The two penalty minutes taken in the game were tied for the franchise record for the fewest penalty minutes in a game. It’s the 27th time in franchise history that this has happened.
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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.