Wolf Pack Still Figuring It Out

When you look at the stats from this past weekend, the numbers would lead you to believe that the Pack played well enough to win all three of their games.

That they won only one of the three is an indication that, as the team nears the halfway point of the season, it is still figuring out what it is going to take to win on a consistent basis.

A consistently successful team has to keep opponents’ chances to a minimum, and the weekend’s shot totals say that the Wolf Pack did a good job of that. They held a Bridgeport team that is battling for first place overall to only 17 shots on the road Friday, and only seven in the final two periods. In Saturday’s game in Springfield the Falcons managed only 21 shots, and only 12 after the first period, and the Pack outshot Lowell 34-24 Sunday in Lowell.

The aggregate shots advantage in the three games was 96-62 for the Wolf Pack, and even though the save percentage, with losses of 3-1 and 5-4 and a 4-3 overtime win, wasn’t great, I don’t think you can lay the two defeats at the feet of the goaltenders.

Though the chances-against weren’t plentiful, when the Pack did give up an opportunity it tended to be a good one, and the neutral-zone turnovers in Sunday’s battle with Lowell, a neutral zone-trapping team, had to be particularly frustrating for the coaching staff, particularly in that the Wolf Pack seemed to have the Devils right where they wanted them, up 2-0 and later 3-1.

Costly mistakes notwithstanding, it is very clear that the Wolf Pack, when they put their minds to it, are capable of getting pucks deep and pinning opponents in their own end with the best of them. Maybe that’s something that the goaltenders are in the process of working around, that there have tended to be long stretches in which the action has all been at the other end, and then when the puck comes toward the Wolf Pack zone, it’s often a good scoring chance.

One bright spot in the 1-2-0 week was the continuing dynamic play of Artem Anisimov.

The big Russian had goals in all three games, and I’ve heard some league observers, both media and scouts, raving about how well he’s come along.

His overtime game-winner in Springfield was a thing of beauty, surpassed only by his goal celebration, which was one of the best I’ve ever seen. After beating the Falcons’ Devan Dubnyk with a great move, the 20-year-old slid across the ice on his rear end and did kind of a paddling pantomime with his stick, as if he were whitewater kayaking. Great stuff, and creative too!

Anisimov also scored a shorthanded breakaway goal Sunday in Lowell with a pretty deke to the backhand, and at 6-4, if he keeps using his skills like he has been lately, he’s going to be a real gem for the Rangers.

To Chris, you are not mistaken, the Griffins are the top affiliate of the defending Stanley Cup-champion Red Wings, and it is an in-State partnership. Grand Rapids is located near the western edge of Michigan, about 160 miles from Detroit.

And to T.B., Brian Fahey has been out with an injury since being hurt in Hershey on December 6th. He is back practicing and I am told he is progressing well towards a return soon.

Happy New Year!