NHL or AHL, it is never a good sign when a team struggles to get consecutive wins. The struggles of the Hartford Wolfpack, AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers have been well documented. Could it be a sign of things to come for the Rangers?
From February 17-19, the Hartford Wolf Pack play three games, back-to-back-to-back. It is hard enough to play back-to-back games, so imagine the fatigue for that they endured at the end of the stretch.
Game 1
The opening game of the three looked to be a positive one. The Wolf Pack defeated the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3-2, despite being outshot 44-18. Brandon Halverson stopped 42 of 44 in the victory.
Some of the positives to be taken out of this game, starting with the scoring. Marek Hrivik scored his 11th goal of the season, Hrivik has bounced up and down between the Rangers and the Wolf Pack.
Along with Hrivik, another player who has been back and fourth between the Wolfpack and the Rangers, Nicklas Jensen scored on the power play, his 22nd goal of the season.
Another positive to take out of the game was the power play. An area right now where the Rangers are struggling, the Wolf Pack went 1 for 2. The penalty kill came up huge too, stopping all seven of the Phantoms opportunities.
Game 2
The second game of the three was, again, against the Phantoms, this time a role reversal. The Wolf Pack would outshoot the Phantoms 44-27, yet lose 6-4.
Halverson played in the back-to-back games, despite the lighter load of shots from the night before, he would not be able to collect the win.
As for the positives, Hrivik scored again, netting his 12th of the season. Other than that, the power play went 0 for 4 and the penalty kill, perfect the night before, went 2 for 6.
Game 3
The last game of the three was another disappointing loss, this one by a final score of 4-2 against the Springfield Thunderbirds. Magnus Hellberg got the start and stopped 23 of 27 shots. The game would not start off the way Hellberg would have liked. It took just 1:07 into the game and the Thunderbirds would strike to get the lead.
Adding salt to the wound, former Wolf Pack and New York Ranger Dylan McIlrath assisted on one of the four goals. To make matters worse, the power play went 0-fer again (0/4), and the penalty kill went 1 for 3.
Friday Night Game
On Friday, the Wolf Pack played the Hersey Bears, AHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals. This game, unfortunately, had the worst result. The Wolf Pack got shelled 6-1 after giving up five goals in the second period alone.
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Tonight, the Wolf Pack will face the Springfield Thunderbirds and will look to get even with them after their loss earlier in the week. The Wolf Pack need to win this game for the sake of their self-confidence.