TWO MINUTES FOR THOUGHTS: APRIL 10TH, 2024
Apr 10, 2024
Five more games. That is what separates us from the Calder Cup Playoffs. The Hartford Wolf Pack has yet to punch their ticket to the dance, but they are officially knocking at the door now.
These final five games will allow the club to not just punch their playoff ticket but also get their game going back in the right direction. It’s a determined group right now, one that’s ready to turn the page and get things back on track.
Onto the blog!
1.) Let’s start with the most important item on the menu this week, clinching a playoff berth. There are a plethora of scenarios in which the Wolf Pack can put an ‘X’ next to their name in the standings. The easiest, least complicated way of doing that?
Winning in regulation time on Friday night against the Springfield Thunderbirds. If the Wolf Pack can manage that, they’ll be on their way to the Calder Cup Playoffs for a second straight season.
2.) The Pack cannot clinch a playoff berth on Friday night with an overtime or shootout victory. In that event, the club’s magic number would drop to one.
In this scenario, the Wolf Pack would clinch on Saturday, despite being idle, with a Springfield loss of any kind against Charlotte. If the Pack wins in overtime or the shootout on Friday night and the Thunderbirds win on Saturday? The Pack would clinch on Sunday with a point against the Checkers or a Thunderbirds loss of any kind against the Providence Bruins.
Again, there are a lot of scenarios at play this weekend.
3.) Yes, the last stretch has been frustrating for everyone. The Wolf Pack have lost six straight games (0-5-0-1), their second-longest losing streak of the season. Yes, the club has dropped 13 of their last 14 games (1-10-1-2).
At the end of the day, should the Wolf Pack punch their playoff ticket, it won’t matter. When the Calder Cup Playoffs begin, it’s a completely new season. Everyone has the same record, what has happened in the past will have no bearing on the future.
Especially in hockey, anyone who gets in has a chance. We’ve seen it many times before in this sport, at every level. The goal is to make the playoffs, where anything can happen.
Despite the struggles of late, the Wolf Pack can achieve that goal on Friday night.
4.) That might be exactly what this team needs. The Wolf Pack’s game isn’t broken by any stretch of the imagination. Right now, the club isn’t getting many bounces on a nightly basis. The confidence boost of a big victory on home ice and a playoff berth could be exactly what the doctor ordered for this group down the stretch.
5.) Obviously, things did not go as planned in Charlotte over the weekend. The Wolf Pack were outscored 8-1, went 0-2-0-0, and didn’t score a goal until the 19:56 mark of the third period in the second game of the weekend.
On the whole, I think there is more to build on from this weekend than meets the eye.
The Wolf Pack didn’t play poorly, despite what the statistics show. For me, the biggest thing was how opportunistic the Checkers were. It simply came down to them converting on their opportunities, while the Wolf Pack was unable to solve the tandem of Spencer Knight and Magnus Hellberg.
6.) Something that stuck out to me was how this team, on both days, did not back down from the fight. On both days, the physicality was up several notches from your typical regular season game. The Pack did not back down from that, which is a great sign.
It shows that this team is still very much engaged and that this group is still fighting for each other every single day. Things may not be going their way right now, but this team cares immensely and showed that again this weekend.
7.) The Wolf Pack’s penalty-killing units were terrific over the weekend. Throughout two penalty-filled games, the Pack went 15-for-16 on the kill. That includes a full two-minute five-on-three powerplay for the Checkers on Saturday.
If the penalty kill is clicking on all cylinders like this, that’s a good sign for the Pack.
8.) It was great to see Louis Domingue back in the net on Saturday afternoon. Not only is the veteran one of the better goaltenders in the AHL, but he’s also a key leader for the team. Having him back will be a big boost down the stretch for the Wolf Pack.
He and Dylan Garand have formed one of the better tandems in the league since the start of last season. That’ll be huge to have for the Wolf Pack during the final five games of the regular season and into the Calder Cup Playoffs.
9.) So, where can the Wolf Pack slot in the Atlantic Division? We know the Hershey Bears have already clinched the Division title, so that’s out of the question. After their two regulation losses over the weekend, the Wolf Pack can no longer catch the Bruins, Checkers, or Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
That means the highest Hartford can finish is fifth, which is their current spot. That’s also where the Wolf Pack finished last season.
In the event they finish fifth, the Pack will take on the fourth seed in a best-of-three, First Round series. Last year, the Wolf Pack swept the Thunderbirds 2-0 in that series.
10.) The most likely scenarios? The Wolf Pack finish fifth or sixth and face either the Checkers or the Penguins in the First Round. If the Pack takes on the Checkers, the entire series will be played in Charlotte. If it’s the Penguins, the series will feature one game at the XL Center and potentially two games at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Pennsylvania.
There is also the outside possibility that the club will face the Providence Bruins in the First Round. For that to happen, the Checkers or the Penguins will need to catch the Bruins to earn a bye through the First Round as the second seed. As of this writing, both the Checkers and the Penguins sit four points back of the Bruins.
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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.