TWO MINUTES FOR THOUGHTS: FEBRUARY 18TH, 2022
Feb 18, 2022
If you have stepped outside over the last week, you’ve felt it in the air. Yes, it’s just the middle of February, but there has certainly been a touch of spring in the air in Hartford lately. Spring is an interesting time in the hockey world. Yes, it’s sad in the sense that is signals the end of the regular season, but it is also thrilling in the sense that it means the start of the playoffs.
The Hartford Wolf Pack haven’t tasted playoff hockey since the spring of 2015. That streak could be snapped in the coming weeks as the club continues to string together solid performances. Currently, the Wolf Pack sit second in the Atlantic Division with a record of 23-13-4-2 and are right on the tail of the Springfield Thunderbirds with just 30 games remaining.
It’s fitting that the weather has had a spring feel to it recently, because the hockey has too. That will only intensify over the next few weeks.
Statement Time
The Wolf Pack will host the North Division’s Belleville Senators at the XL Center on March 2nd. Other than that, play a strictly Atlantic Division slate until a visit to Syracuse on March 16th. The next nine days in particular are going to be quite interesting for the Wolf Pack.
The Pack will host the Providence Bruins tomorrow night at the XL Center, then play a home-and-home with the B’s next Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s game will also be at home and will be Providence’s final visit here during the regular season.
In addition to three games against the Bruins, the Wolf Pack will face a Bridgeport Islanders team eager to play spoiler on Sunday afternoon and will travel to Springfield with first place on the line next Friday night. The game against Springfield stands out in particular.
The Wolf Pack and Thunderbirds have played some epic games this season. Last time at the MassMutual Center, the Wolf Pack played a great road game but couldn’t put the T-Birds away. They eventually lost 3-2 in overtime. Last Friday night, the Wolf Pack were stung by three special teams’ goals against in their first defeat at home against Springfield. Not only is this game important for the standings, but it’s also important from a message sending standpoint.
Hug Your Goalie
We’ve talked about the young defensemen a lot this season. We’ve also talked about the veteran forwards who are putting up big numbers, and the younger forwards who have stepped up in a big way as of late. One area of the team that hasn’t gotten enough love? The goaltending.
Keith Kinkaid would have certainly been an All-Star had the game taken place earlier this month in Laval. The veteran goaltender is 16-3-2 this season with a .911 save percentage and 2.65 goals against average. His 16 wins are tied for third in the entire AHL. What makes that more impressive? Kinkaid has only appeared in 21 games due to stints on both the taxi squad and the Rangers active roster. Every other goaltender in the top-five in wins has played at least 26 games.
It's not just Kinkaid, either. Adam Húska has given the Wolf Pack consistent goaltender all season long. His record is 5-5-3, but Húska has a .917 save percentage to go along with a goals against average of 2.40. He was stellar on Saturday in the 2-1 overtime victory against the Rochester Americans, keeping them off board through 40 minutes while the Pack went to work on Aaron Dell.
Goaltending in hockey is a lot like quarterbacking in football. It’s not the entire game, but if you don’t have it, you aren’t going to win. The Wolf Pack have goaltending, and it’s been a constant since the puck dropped on this season. Kinkaid, Húska, François Brassard and Tyler Wall deserve a lot of credit for that on the ice. Jeff Malcolm, the team’s goaltending coach, deserves a lot of credit for his work too.
This N’ That
Talk about a clutch moment for former Wolf Pack forward Marek Hrivík. He is currently playing in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing for the Slovakian side and scored one of the biggest goals in the country’s hockey history earlier this week. Hrivík lit the lamp with the extra attacked late Tuesday night here in the States with his team trailing 2-1 against Team USA. The goal forced overtime, where Slovakia completed upset. After a loss to Finland on Friday morning, Team Slovakia will play for Bronze against former Wolf Pack players Magnus Hellberg and Carl Klingberg and Team Sweden.
Wolf Pack fans, your support does not go unnoticed. The XL Center has been rocking as of late, and the atmosphere was outstanding once again last weekend. It’s great to see the ‘Believer’s Bandwagon’ continue to load up as the stretch drive approaches. There’s no doubt that the team both notices and feeds off the energy as well. Let’s keep it going as the Pack look to clinch their first playoff spot since 2015!
The Bruins are in town tomorrow night for the lone home game of the weekend. The B’s will be back next Saturday night as well on a busy evening. Join us for our annual ‘Hartford Hockey Heritage Night’ and for Hockey ‘N Hops and Hockey ‘N Vine. The Pack will also be at home for the first visit from the Senators on Wednesday, March 2nd. For tickets, visit us at www.hartfordwolfpack.com. Hope to see you around the rink!
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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.