On to the All-Star Break

It was more Atlantic-Division warfare for the Wolf Pack this past week, as the AHL reached its annual All-Star break.

Providence, whom the Wolf Pack have had good luck against this year, came calling at the XL Center on Saturday, and then the Wolf Pack traveled to Manchester, where they haven’t fared well, on Sunday.

And form held in both situations.

The Pack delighted a nice “Faith and Family Night” crowd of nearly 8,000 with an entertaining, 3-2 overtime win over the Bruins, improving to 5-1-1-0 in the season series against the Baby B’s, but then stumbled against the Monarchs, falling behind 3-0 in the first period and losing by a score of 4-1.

The Wolf Pack have been dynamite in overtime this year—they are tied for the AHL lead in overtime wins with six--and Evgeny Grachev, whose second goal of the game at 3:19 of Saturday’s extra period won it for the Wolf Pack, became the fifth different Pack player to score an OT goal on the season. That marked the second straight time that the Wolf Pack had squelched the Bruins in overtime after losing the lead late in regulation. Guillaume Lefebvre’s goal in a delayed penalty situation with 3:59 left in the third had tied it up, after the Bruins had wiped out a 1-0 Wolf Pack lead the previous Sunday in Providence with a goal at 16:20 of the third.

Grachev showed some nice hands on the winner, deflecting a Dave Urquhart heave through the legs of Bruin goaltender Dany Sabourin, who had played a tremendous game. It was a smart play by Urquhart too, as instead of winding up for the big bomb he put some touch on his shot, making it very tippable.

Another French-Canadian backstop, Manchester’s Jonathan Bernier, frustrated the Wolf Pack on Sunday, however, and the Pack didn’t do themselves any favors by coming out flat and falling behind 3-0 before the game was 11 minutes old.

The Monarchs were scuffling a bit coming into the game, having lost their previous two and with only two wins in their previous eight, and missing no fewer than 12 players either to recall or injury. It was the Wolf Pack, though, who looked like the compromised team off the start, as Manchester scored on the game’s first shift, and took control with two goals in 17 seconds later in the period.

The Pack got things settled down after that, outshooting the Monarchs by a combined margin of 25-9 in the last two periods, but the damage was done. Bernier, who has been perhaps the biggest reason why a Manchester team that I think, even with their full roster, is not as strong on paper as several other teams in the division (like the Wolf Pack, Lowell and Portland) has been in first place for the whole year.

It’s tough to say the Wolf Pack haven’t played good hockey over the last month, with only four regulation losses now in their last 15 games, but this week again showed that the team is still not to where it wants (and needs) to be in terms of consistency. Although they would make the playoffs if the season ended today, the margin for error is so slight in the Atlantic Division that they have to find a way to eliminate lapses like the first 11 minutes in Manchester.