HARTFORD WOLF PACK AND PROVIDENCE BRUINS TANGLE IN ATLANTIC DIVISION SEMIFINALS – PREVIEW
By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
PROVIDENCE, RI – For the sixth time in franchise history, the Hartford Wolf Pack are set for a playoff series against Providence Bruins. The sides kick off the series tonight with the first of a back-to-back set at the Amica Mutual Pavilion.
Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m., and coverage is available on both AHLTV and Mixlr.
Tale of The Tape:
The Wolf Pack and Bruins met ten times during the regular season, with Hartford winning the season series 6-4. Hartford collected points in seven of the ten meetings, posting a record of 6-3-1-0. Despite losing the season series, the Bruins did manage to grab points in seven games as well, going 4-3-3-0.
The Wolf Pack took the last meeting between the foes on April 8th, scoring a 5-3 decision in Providence that clinched the club a Calder Cup Playoff berth. Turner Elson opened the scoring 2:42 into the game, converting a backdoor feed from Zac Jones for his 14th goal of the season.
The Bruins answered back at 6:31, however, as Josiah Didier fired a shot from the point that beat Dylan Garand. Luke Toporowski gave the Bruins their first and only lead of the game at 10:54, rifling home his 14th goal of the season.
Elson pounced on a rebound at 16:46, burying his second goal of the night to send the game to the intermission tied 2-2. Hartford regained the lead for good at 6:03 of the middle stanza, as Ryan Carpenter found a rebound and beat Kyle Keyser for his 21st goal of the season. Libor Hájek tacked on the insurance marker at 2:21 of the third, stepping into a blast from the left-wing circle.
Didier scored his second goal of the night at 8:33 of the third to make things interesting, but Tanner Fritz hit an empty net to solidify the victory.
The Wolf Pack have won three straight in the season series. They took a 3-2 overtime decision at the XL Center on February 18th and a 5-0 decision on home ice on March 31st prior to their 5-3 win on the road on April 8th.
This is the sixth playoff series between the Wolf Pack and the Bruins and the first since 2015. The Bruins knocked the Wolf Pack out of the Calder Cup Playoffs in 1999, 2001, and 2007, while Hartford returned the favor in 2000 and 2015. The Wolf Pack won the 2015 Atlantic Division Quarterfinals series 3-2 over the Bruins.
Wolf Pack Outlook:
The Wolf Pack swept the defending Eastern Conference Champion Springfield Thunderbirds 2-0 in their Atlantic Division First Round series. Hartford completed the sweep with a 7-1 drubbing of their rivals in Game Two at the XL Center on Friday, April 21st. The win gave the Wolf Pack their first playoff series victory since 2015 when they advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Seven different Wolf Pack scored in the Game Two victory, with Wyatt Kalynuk being credited with the game-winning goal. Kalynuk’s goal was his first as a member of the Wolf Pack. Fritz (1 g, 2 a) and Anton Blidh (1 g, 2 a) both recorded three points in the victory, while Zac Jones and Turner Elson each recorded a pair of assists. Garand made 19 saves for his second career Calder Cup Playoff victory.
Fritz leads the Wolf Pack in playoff scoring with six points (1 g, 5 a) through two games. That ties him with Coachella Valley’s Kole Lind (3 g, 3 a) for the playoff scoring lead. Fritz does lead the Calder Cup Playoffs in points-per-game with a 3.00 mark through two games. Meanwhile, Ty Emberson, Blake Hillman, and Lauri Pajuniemi lead the Wolf Pack in goals with two each through two games this postseason.
Both Emberson and Blidh are +8 through two games, tied for the Calder Cup Playoff lead in +/-. In fact, seven of the top ten league-wide in +/- are Wolf Pack. Fritz, Hillman, and Pajuniemi are tied for third at +6, Jones for sixth at +5, and Tim Gettinger for ninth at +4.
Bruins Outlook:
The Bruins have not played since they defeated the Springfield Thunderbirds by a final score of 7-3 on April 16th. They will go 12 days between the end of their regular season and the start of their Calder Cup Playoff journey. The Bruins were one of two teams in the Atlantic Division, along with the Hershey Bears, to earn a bye through the First Round of the playoffs.
Providence finished with a record of 44-18-8-2, good for 98 points, and the Atlantic Division regular season championship. The Bruins also finished as the top team in the Eastern Conference and will have home ice throughout the Eastern Conference portion of the playoffs as a result. The Bruins finished third in the AHL, behind only the Calgary Wranglers (106 points) and the Coachella Valley Firebirds (103 points).
Rookie forward Georgii Merkulov led the Bruins in points with 55 (24 g, 31 a) in 67 regular season games. His 24 goals also led the Bruins in that category. Goaltender Brandon Bussi, meanwhile, led the way in goal for Providence with a 22-5-4 record in 32 games as a rookie. He was 0-0-1 against the Wolf Pack.
Game Information:
Play-by-play voice of the Wolf Pack, Alex Thomas, will have ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ starting live at 6:50 p.m. on both AHLTV and Mixlr.
Game Two of this Atlantic Division Semifinals series goes tomorrow night, right back in Providence, at 7:05 p.m. The series shifts to the XL Center in Hartford on Wednesday, May 3rd, for Game Three. The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. For playoff ticket information, please visit HERE.
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 is the top player-development affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers and plays 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.
