By Bruce Berlet
Wolf Pack coach Ken Gernander has never been averse to shuffling lines to try to shake up his troops, but he has changed them more this year than his socks.
And that’s something considering the Wolf Pack usually don’t play more than four games in a week, a rare exception coming Tuesday night at 7 when the Toronto Marlies come to the XL Center for the Wolf Pack’s fifth game in seven days.
But barring a major lapse, Gernander won’t be making major changes from Sunday night, when the Wolf Pack (4-8-2-1) scored a season-high seven goals, including Norwegian import Mats Zuccarello’s first hat trick in North America, in a 7-1 rout of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. But he will inserting forward Evgeny Grachev, reassigned by the Rangers on Monday after not having a point in his first six NHL games since being called up on Oct. 28. Before leaving the Wolf Pack, the Rangers’ third-round pick in 2008 had one goal and one assist in nine games.
For the third consecutive game Sunday night, Gernander had Zuccarello skate alongside center Tim Kennedy and left wing Brodie Dupont. The trio has been together since Kennedy returned from a groin injury sustained in a 2-1 overtime loss to Syracuse that sidelined him for four games. They have a combined 13 points in three games, including eight points Sunday night, when the Wolf Pack ended a nine-game winless streak (0-7-2-0), the longest in the franchise’s 14-year history, and a 0-5-2-0 slide at home since a season-opening, 4-2 victory over Charlotte on Oct. 9.
So why did Gernander add Dupont-Kennedy-Zuccarello to his collection of line combinations?
“As we’ve said, Zuccarello is adjusting to the game a little bit,” Gernander said, referring to more physical play and smaller ice surfaces in North America after being the leading scorer and MVP in the Swedish Elite League last season with MoDo. “You can’t really go back and wind it up like you can on the bigger ice, but he and Kennedy started to develop some chemistry.
“They seem like they play a similar style where they like to move the puck and jump into holes. They’re not big guys who are going to lug it down the ice and hold off attackers. They’re going give it to someone with some hockey savvy, jump in the hole, hopefully get it back and keep people at bay that way. It makes (Zuccarello) that much more effective because he’s a give-and-go guy who he can move the puck to Kennedy, get his feet moving and that accentuates everything.”
Kennedy, signed by the Rangers as a free agent on Aug. 30 and assigned to the Wolf Pack on Oct. 13 after clearing waivers, said each player adds something different to the line.
“I’m more of a passer, Mats is more of a shooter and Brodie is a big body who works well in the corner and can score when he has a chance,” said Kennedy, who has five assists with his new mates, including three Sunday night. “Something I’ve learned is that you can’t do too much on your own. You have to use your linemates. You might be able to beat one guy at this level, but usually someone else is coming over to help out.”
Gernander said it’s a good combination because Dupont can go hard to the net and create space in behind him.
“Sometimes he goes in on the forecheck and creates a turnover so those two can take possession of it,” Gernander said. “He’s been a good fit to the line.”
The three hope they can stay together for an extended period.
“Tim is a skilled player with good speed, and Brodie is throwing his body around making room for us,” said Zuccarello, who has four of his six goals and two of his three assists in the last three games. “It has been working good. You have to give it to my boys for finding me in the slot.”
After having only one assist in the first 12 games, Dupont scored his first goal of the season in a 4-1 loss to the Sound Tigers on Saturday night. He set up Zuccarello’s hat trick goal 5:58 into the second period with a pinpoint pass into the high slot, leading to a laser shot that beat Nathan Lawson to the stick side.
“I’ve liked our line from the start,” Dupont said. “They’re fun to play with because they give-and-go with each other a lot, so I think my role is pretty clear. I just kind of forecheck for them, make some room for them and get them the puck. I tried to fill lanes, and they tried to hit me going hard to the net a few times. You’ve got two super-skilled guys who like to cycle and go against screens, and they showed it (Sunday night). I just have to forecheck for them, make some room for them and get them the puck.
“Zuccarello obviously had a big offensive outbreak finally, and that’s what they’ve been looking for him to do. He’s a good scorer in the high slot, so I just try to get him or TK the puck and let them do the rest. I just have to make sure I don’t find myself watching them. I felt good the last few games with them, and I think we can get something going. We’ve got good chemistry and showed the coaches we can score and still be responsible defensively. It definitely gives Kenny another option.”
It took three weeks for the Wolf Pack to finally win a game, and Gernander was happy because “the more you lose the more the streak takes on life.” It finally ended after five one-goal losses and another by two goals, including an empty-netter. That was almost as frustrating as what Kennedy had to endure earlier this season when he wasn’t re-signed by the Buffalo Sabres after winning an arbitration case after getting 10 goals and 16 assists in his first NHL season.
“We’ve been snake-bitten the last couple of weeks, so hopefully we turned it around,” said Kennedy, who led all AHL rookies in assists (49) and points (67) and was named to the all-rookie team for the Kevin Dineen-coached Portland Pirates in 2008-09. “We had seen so many chances miss, so hopefully we’ve turned it around.”
Gernander hasn’t had many clunkers from his team and could epitomize with their struggles after playing the game professionally for 15 seasons, including with the Wolf Pack.
“(Losing) is not always necessarily effort or hockey-related, it becomes a figure that everyone wants to throw out at you,” Gernander said. “But I think there were some games during that stretch that with a little bit of luck here or there … It wasn’t like we were blown out for nine games, so now we can quit talking about it and hopefully forge ahead and make some progress.”
Chad Johnson, who had 24 saves in ending a personal seven-game losing streak (0-6-1-0) since a 2-1 victory at Bridgeport on Oct. 16, hopes the scoring outburst doesn’t throw the team off kilter.
“It was a relief for everybody to know that we can put the puck in the net, but it’s one game,” Johnson said. “It was a good outing for us, something that we can definitely build off. It’s going to be a tough game against Toronto, so we have to make sure you’re ready to go. You can’t get too high or too low in these situations.”
Newbury To Face Former Mates
The first Wolf Pack-Marlies game of the season will have Wolf Pack veteran center Kris Newbury facing some old friends on the other side in the first game against a Western Conference team this season. Newbury, a fifth-round pick of the San Jose Sharks in 2002, played his first six pro seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Marlies before being signed by the Detroit Red Wings on July 7, 2009. On March 3, the Rangers acquired Newbury from the Detroit Red Wings for energetic forward and fan favorite Jordan Owens. Many Wolf Pack fans squawked, but Newbury proved quite the addition, getting four goals and 14 assists in 18 games while putting together a seven-game assist streak, a season high for the Wolf Pack. He also showed terrific leadership qualities that helped earn Newbury a new two-year contract on June 16. He has only one goal this season, but his eight assists shares the team lead with veteran defenseman Wade Redden. Owens had one goal and four assists in 17 games with the Grand Rapid Griffins last season and is 1-1-2 in 11 games this season. … Zuccarello’s six goals are tied for the team lead with Jeremy Williams, who had two power-play goals Sunday night, ending a six-game goalless streak. Williams also assisted on captain Dane Byers’ goal, increasing his point total to a team-high 12, three more than Newbury and Byers (three goals, six assists). Zuccarello (6, 2) and Kennedy (2, 6 in nine games) are tied for fourth in scoring. … The Marlies (4-6-0-2) are led by center Nazem Kadri (5-6-11), the seventh overall pick in 2009 by Toronto, defenseman Matt Lashoff (2-6-8) and goalie James Reimer (4-3-0, 2.89 goals-against average, .919 save percentage, one shutout). The Barons are in the midst of a 10-game road trip, which included a wild, 7-6 shootout loss to the Oklahoma City Barons on Sunday. The Marlies led 4-1 before Barons left wing Linus Omark scored five goals in the last period and a half and a shootout goal. Not surprisingly, Omark was named AHL Player of the Week after getting six goals in three games, including the AHL’s first five-goal game in nearly two years. Omark, a 23-year-old from Overtornea, Sweden, was a fourth-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 2007 and is playing his first season in North America. Zuccarello was the Wolf Pack’s nominee, and former Wolf Pack center Corey Locke was named by Binghamton. … Johnson said a meeting with Rangers goaltending coach Benoit Allaire after a 4-1 loss in Bridgeport on Saturday, when he backed up Cameron Talbot, was more a mental refresher. “(Allaire) didn’t really talk about much technically,” Johnson said. “It was more like, ‘Keep going, keep playing well, stay focused, do what you can.’ He said he broke down of the tape and said I was doing good things, but it’s just sort of a thing with results. It was like the previous game where I had some bad bounces (in a 4-1 loss at Manchester on Friday night). It just happens, and it’s part of the game, but you just keep going. Eventually things are going to turn around like (Sunday night), guys are going to put the puck in the net. That’s just a good thing to hear from him, make sure to tell me just to worry about making saves and not worrying about what the score is. Just make the next save and make sure you compete on everything. He’s always good to talk to because he’s always so positive, and he works really hard with the goaltenders to be positive.”
All-Wolf Pack Team To Be Announced Saturday
Voting for the All-Time Wolf Pack Team ended Sunday. The team will be announced Saturday night before a game against the Springfield Falcons, the last for the Wolf Pack at the XL Center. The first 3,000 fans will receive a free Wolf Pack commemorative poster, and there will be video highlights of the 13-plus years of the team, which will be re-branded as the Connecticut Whale on Nov. 27 against the Sound Tigers.
Fans voted for one goalie, two defensemen and three forwards. The candidates were goaltenders Jason LaBarbera, J.F. Labbe and Steve Valiquette, defensemen Dan Girardi, Mike Mottau, Thomas Pock, Corey Potter, Dale Purinton and Terry Virtue and forwards Gernander, Byers, Derek Armstrong, Nigel Dawes, Alex Giroux, Todd Hall, Greg Moore, P.A. Parenteau, Richard Scott, Brad Smyth, P.J. Stock and Craig Weller.
Wolf Pack Bowl-a-Thon on Sunday
The Wolf Pack will host their annual Bowl-a-Thon on Sunday at the AMF Silver Lanes, 748 Silver Lane, East Hartford. There will be sessions at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
All Wolf Pack players will be bowling with teams of four bowlers, who have collected pledges to benefit Special Olympics Connecticut Eastern Region. A minimum pledge of $200 is required for a team to enter, and the top fund-raising teams will win prizes, including the use of luxury suites at Wolf Pack home games.
Register online at www.soct.org. For more information, call 877-660-6667.
Rangers’ Heritage Week Starts Friday
This season is the Rangers’ 85th anniversary and in honor of that milestone, the team is unveiling Heritage Week, a weeklong schedule of activities and programming from Friday through Nov. 17 that will provide fans with many opportunities to help celebrate the team’s history.
The celebration begins Friday, when the Rangers unveil a new third jersey that the team will wear during select regular-season games. The jersey is a contemporized throwback that will pay homage to Rangers’ rich history and iconic alumni. A special version of the jersey featuring unique embellishments will be available only at Madison Square Garden.
Also on Friday, there will two grand launch events at the Rink at Rockefeller Center and the NHL Powered by Reebok store on Sixth Avenue. Both events will feature top current Rangers players and alumni, including Hockey Hall of Famer and Cheshire native Brian Leetch, former Whalers enforcer Nick Fotiu, Eddie Giacomin, Adam Graves, Ron Duguay, Vic Hadfield, Brian Mullen, Gilles Villemure and Pete Stemkowski.
The event at Rockefeller Center will feature the unveiling of the third jersey at 7 p.m., followed by a free public skate for fans from 8 p.m. to midnight. At the same time, the NHL Store will offer Rangers fans the opportunity to be the first to don the new jersey from 6 to 10 p.m. The lucky customer who makes the first purchase of the anniversary jersey will win a package that includes tickets to the home game against the Boston Bruins on Nov. 17, when the Rangers will skate in their heritage jerseys for the first time. Rangers past and present will visit the NHL Store throughout the night, stepping into the radio booth for interviews fro Sirius/XM’s NHL Live! show. Fans will have the opportunity to submit questions for the radio interviews and win raffle prizes and giveaways.
On Saturday, Rangers partner community rinks will host free public skating sessions to celebrate the anniversary. The sessions will feature appearances by Rangers alumni, raffles and fan giveaways at Floyd Hall Arena, 1:15-3:15 p.m. with Duguay; Danbury Arena, 1:30-2:30 p.m. with Hadfield; Brewster Arena, 3:30-4:30 p.m. with Hadfield; World Ice Arena, noon-1:30 p.m. with Giacomin; Staten Island Skating Pavilion, 2:30-4:30 p.m. with Fotiu; and Stergiopoulos Rink, 2:30-4:30 p.m. with Giacomin.
Throughout the week, Rangers fans will be treated to a special Hockey Hall of Fame exhibit located at the mall area in front of MSG. Featured items will include Conn Smyth, Norris, Calder and Vezina Trophies, game-used equipment from Rangers greats, as well as a one-of-a-kind display area highlighting the evolution of the Rangers jersey ranging from the original 1926 jersey to the 85th anniversary heritage jersey.
The weeklong celebration will end Feb. 17 with a special Heritage Night when the Rangers play the Bruins wearing the jersey for the first time.
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