Igor Shesterkin Dominant

The 23-year-old prospect continues to play magnificently in Hartford. Shesterkin played in two straight games last week, winning both contests. The goalie has won his last four starts and is arguably the best goalie in the American Hockey League today.

Shesterkin ranks first in the league in goals-against-average (1.81), third in save percentage (0.936), sixth for minutes played (1029:14), and eighth for shots faced (484 in 17 games). He has two shutouts so far along with one assist.

The prospect is one of the main reasons that Hartford ranks atop the Atlantic Division. Shesterkin continues to make fantastic saves, keeping the team in numerous games, and being one of the best goalies to face in the league. Scoring on Shesterkin is not an easy task.

Shesterkin faced 30 shots last Wednesday and 26 shots last Friday. The prospect pitched a shutout against Lehigh Valley on Friday for Hartford’s 900th franchise win.

Vitali Kravtsov Returns

The 19-year-old prospect returns with a clean slate to Hartford after going overseas earlier in the season.

OFFICIAL: #NYR have recalled Vitali Kravtsov from Traktor (KHL) and have assigned him to @WolfPackAHL. pic.twitter.com/gcP4jV9BM3

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 13, 2019

Prior to rejoining Hartford, Kratsov played in 11 games recording two goals and an assist with a +/- rating of -4 with the KHL’s Traktor Chelyabinsk. It will be interesting to see how he plays in the three games this week for the Wolf Pack. In his first appearances with Hartford, he struggled mightily, having played in five games recording an assist with a +/- rating of -2

Kravtsov’s development is still in the early stages of his career. If he struggles again, there is no need to worry as he continues adjusting to the style of play in the AHL and the rink size. The prospect needs confidence in his play and the Rangers management must manage him delicately. The forward has a lot of development to do. He is expected to debut on Tuesday night against the Charlotte Checkers.

Standings Update

Hartford is first in the Atlantic Division, going 16-5-2-5 for 39 points. The Wolf Pack own the tiebreaker against the Providence Bruins, who also have 39 points in the division. The Bruins played two more games than Hartford entering the week and the Wolf Pack lead the season series against Providence.

The second-place Bruins are 18-9-1-2 with a .650 point percentage (Hartford is .696). The Hershey Bears are 14-9-2-3 for 33 points good enough for third in the division. The Wolf Pack has a six-point lead from third place, which is great to see.

Captain Steven Fogarty Leading the Way

Check out Greg Markiewicz’s piece on Hartford’s top veteran of the season here.

One-Timers

• Nick Jones recorded his first two-goal game of the season on Friday against Lehigh Valley. The rookie has points in two of the last three games (3G, A).
• Vinni Lettieri leads the team in points (22). The forward has points in three of the last four games (3G, A). Through 28 games, Lettieri has 10 goals and 12 assists.
• Joey Keane ranks fourth among defensemen in the league for points (19). The prospect ranks 2nd among rookie defensemen in the league for points as well. Keane has 25 points (6G, 19A) through 27 games, and has recorded a point in seven of the last nine contests.
• Cristoval “Boo” Nieves has points in five of the last seven games. The forward has a goal and four assists for five points.
• Tim Gettinger has points in three of the last four games (G, 3A).
• Lias Andersson has been held without a point in his last four games since his three-point outing last Saturday against Binghamton.

Ville Meskanen Leaves Organization

Meskanen terminated his contract last week to play overseas. The forward spent his rookie season in Hartford, playing in 70 games and recording 12 goals and 22 assists for 34 points.

Prior to the termination of his contract, Meskanen was pushed down in the depth charts in Hartford as he played in 20 games with the team this season. He registered four assists with a +/- rating of -2. Meskanen was often scratched as he was utilized as an extra forward on the roster.

Meskanen had a good rookie year and had potential. However, since the Rangers bolstered their organizational depth and signed higher-end prospects, Meskanen was unable to outperform the new up and coming prospects in the system.

Best of luck to Ville Meskanen in his future endeavors.

Roster Moves

• Shawn McBride was assigned to the Norfolk Admirals of the ECHL on December 10th. McBride participated in two games.
• Ryan Gropp was called up to Hartford on December 11th, a day before Meskanen’s contract was terminated.
• Ville Meskanen was officially terminated on December 12th.
• Vitali Kravtsov was officially signed to Hartford on December 13th.

Upcoming Games

Tuesday, December 17th vs Charlotte Checkers (Carolina) at 7 pm, Bojangles’ Coliseum

• This is the second of eight meetings in the season series. Hartford won the first meeting on October 5th by the score of 5-3.
• Charlotte enters the week with a record of 11-12-3 for 25 points. That ranks them seventh in the Atlantic Division. The Checkers are 5-5 in their last 10 outings.
• Defenseman Jake Bean leads the Checkers in scoring. Carolina’s prospect has 5 goals, 12 assists for 17 points. Morgan Geekie leads the forwards in points with 16 (7G, 9A).
• Hartford has not won a game in franchise history in Charlotte. The Pack could break the stat Tuesday or Wednesday.
• Listen – ESPN Charlotte. Watch – AHLTV.

Wednesday, December 18th vs Charlotte Checkers (Carolina) at 7 pm, Bojangles’ Coliseum

• The third of eight meetings in the season series.
• After the completion of the third game in the season series, the next game against Charlotte will be at the XL Center on January 10th.
• The last trip to Charlotte this season will be in February as Hartford will play against them on February 7th and 8th.
• Listen – ESPN Charlotte. Watch – AHLTV.

Saturday, December 21st vs Providence Bruins (Boston) at 7 pm, XL Center

• This is the fifth of ten meetings in the season series against Providence. Hartford leads the season series 3-0-0-1. The lone loss was in the shootout on November 15th.
• The Bruins enter the week tied with Hartford for points in the Atlantic Division (39).
• The Bruins enter the week winning two straight and are 8-2 in their last ten outings.
• Former Rangers forward Paul Carey and rookie Jack Studnicka lead Providence offensively. Both forwards are tied for points (24). Carey ranks 12th in the league for points while Studnicka ranks 14th. Among AHL rookie forwards, Studnicka ranks second in points.
  • Carey: 14 goals, 10 assists.
  • Studnicka: 12 goals, 12 assists.
• Listen – Mixr. Watch – AHLTV.

The trade deadline for the Hartford Wolf Pack was quiet. The New York Rangers did not tinker with the AHL roster, except with one addition. Going forward the rest of the season, the group is expected to remain the same until we reach April. As we enter this week, Hartford is still far from the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.

Hartford has a busy week ahead with three games on tap to end February and begin March. Coming into Wednesday’s contest, Hartford is tied for seventh in the Atlantic Division with the Springfield Thunderbirds. Hartford has a record of 23-25-6-3.

Standings Update & Positioning

The Wolf Pack are nine points out from a playoff spot. On the plus side, the Pack has won a string of games as of late and has kept up with the bottom tier teams. Hartford is now tied for seventh and is able to reach as high as sixth depending on the outcome of other games this week.

If Hartford continues to pick up points, they have to act fast if they want to jump up in the standings. Here are a few teams that Hartford could jump or be within reach of with the scenario of a Hartford win plus these teams losing:

• 7th- Springfield Thunderbirds – Tied
• 6th- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – four points ahead
• 5th- Lehigh Valley Phantoms – Five points ahead

These are teams Hartford can creep up to in the standings. In fact, the next two weeks feature multiple games against Springfield and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

After this weekend is complete, we will go from there and revisit the standings if it is worth to do so.

You can check the 2019 AHL Playoff Primer here as this is updated daily.

Information To Know

In addition to the trade deadline passing on Monday in the National Hockey League, there was another deadline that loomed in the AHL at 3pm.

The Rangers have elected to not assign any prospect to Hartford before the deadline. That means players such as Lias Andersson, Boo Nieves, and Connor Brickley will not be able to return to Hartford for the remainder of this season.

Normally teams will assign prospects to their minor league teams as a paper transaction. Then the following day, call them back up. This tells a story of how New York is not expecting Hartford to make the postseason.

Another deadline of note is the AHL’s trade and loan deadline. The deadline is strictly for players on AHL contracts, and I do not expect movement from Hartford here.

Farm Report: Injuries, Contracts, Roster Movements

This week featured a bit of news regarding multiple aspects of Hartford’s roster.

• Two Players Return Next Season
  • On Monday, the Rangers announced contract extensions for Steven Fogarty and Boo Nieves. I expect at least one of them to be in Hartford next season. Well deserved by both forwards.
• Transactions
  • Defenseman Matt Finn has been released from his PTO.
  • Defenseman Julius Bergman joins Hartford as he was acquired in the trade involving former Ranger, Adam McQuaid.
• Injury Updates
  • Ville Meskanen was injured in the opening shift of Saturday’s game, and he did not play on Sunday. I suspect a lower-body injury, around his knee and foot area. He was limping off the ice after a collision with a Providence player along the boards.
  • Brandon Crawley is still out for a brief period with an upper-body injury.

Steven Fogarty Impresses

The Rangers prospect found his offensive touch again. Sunday’s game against Providence was the Steven Fogarty show, as the forward notched a hat trick plus one assist. Check out his goals here.

In addition to two of the goals being shorthanded, Fogarty is now the third player in franchise history to register two shorthanded goals in the same game.

The prospect is on a six-game point streak and has points in seven of his last eight games (7 goals, 6 assists for 13 points). The hot hand continues as we enter into this week’s games. Impressive playing by the forward in the last few weeks.

One Timers

• Vinni Lettieri has points in seven straight games (5 goals, 5 assists for 10 points). Check out his shorthanded beauty here.

• John Gilmour and Steven Fogarty are tied for points on the team at 39.
• Matt Beleskey hasn’t recorded a point in his last four games. In addition, the veteran has not scored a goal in 19 games. He is looking to break that spell.
• Sean Day continues to produce points. He has points in four of his last five games (2 goals, 3 assists for 5 points).
• Ty Ronning has goals in back to back games.

• Hartford has three shorthanded goals in the last two games.

Upcoming Games

Wednesday, February 27th vs Hershey Bears (Washington) at 7pm, XL Center

• This is the third of six meetings against the Hershey Bears. This is the first time Hershey is in Hartford this season.
• Hershey’s 16 game winning streak ended on Sunday against Bridgeport as the Sound Tigers won 5-1. The Bears were on a 16-0-0-1 streak before the regulation loss.
• Hartford is 0-1-1 in the season series against Hershey. The first meeting ended in a shootout loss on November 4th and the second meeting was a 6-3 defeat on December 8th.
• Hershey is third in the Atlantic Division with a record of 31-21-0-3 for 65 points.

Friday, March 1st vs Springfield Thunderbirds (Florida) at 7:05 pm, Mass Mutual Center

• This is the eighth of ten meetings in the season series. Hartford is 3-4 against Springfield entering the contest.
• Springfield has stumbled this season, going from one of the top teams to now a tie with Hartford for last. The Thunderbirds are 2-7-0-1 in the last ten games.
• Depending on the outcome of Wednesday’s game between Hartford and Hershey, the Pack may be ahead of Springfield entering Friday’s game.
• This is the third meeting in Springfield. Hartford is 1-1 this season at the Mass Mutual Center.
• The Thunderbirds record is 22-23-6-5 for 55 points.

Saturday, March 2nd vs Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh) at 7:30 pm, XL Center

• This is the fifth of six meetings against the Penguins. Hartford is 1-2-1 in the season series.
• The Penguins are 26-22-5-2 for 59 points and is ahead of Hartford by four points. The Penguins are sixth in the Atlantic Division.
• The Penguins are 4-4-1-1 in their last ten meetings.

With the trade deadline just two days away the Rangers still have many decisions to make. Kevin Hayes, Adam McQuaid and even Chris Kreider are all heavily rumored to be on the move to any number of destinations depending on who you believe.

The possible departure of those players will have the Rangers needing to replace them. If we go with the theory that the Rangers will be loading up on picks and prospects rather than roster players, then there will be quite a few Hartford call-ups post deadline. Who are those call-ups going to be? The names that pop out are John Gilmour, Ville Meskanen, Vinni Lettieri and newly acquired defenseman Darren Raddysh.

Defense Call-Ups

Gilmour has proved himself admirably at the AHL level this year. With the trade of Peter Holland to the Chicago Blackhawks, he became the Wolf Pack’s leading scorer. He currently has 16 goals and and 23 assists for 39 points in 55 games. Those are fantastic numbers for the young defenseman and you can make the case he already deserved to be called up.

The Rangers defense has not been good this year with poor play from some players such as Neal Pionk, Brenden Smith and to some extent, even Kevin Shattenkirk. Gilmour deserves a chance to show what he’s got with the big club and show that his solid stint with the Rangers at the end of last season wasn’t a fluke. He was an AHL All-Star this season, has nice skating ability and a shot that can find the net. With the trade of Adam McQuaid a foregone conclusion, Gilmour’s call-up should be on top of GM Jeff Gorton’s post-deadline to-do list.

Besides Gilmour, there is another intriguing Wolf Pack defenseman for the Rangers to call up and that’s the player they acquired from the Blackhawks in exchange for Peter Holland: Darren Raddysh. Raddysh is a former OHL defenseman of the year; he put up 81 points in 62 games as an overager during the 2016-17 season with the Erie Otters. He went undrafted before being signed by the Blackhawks.

After a little over a season and a half with their Blackhawks’ AHL Affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, where Raddysh put up 48 points in 120 games, he was traded to the Rangers and assigned to the Wolf Pack. Gorton could possibly call Raddysh up to see what he has in the 23-year-old Caledon, Ontario native. A rebuild is all about finding which players can stick and be apart of the solution and which ones just don’t fit in long term plans. Raddysh could be a hidden gem of a player, or he may amount to just being a career AHLer. It’ll be up to Gorton to decide if he deserves a test with the big club during the last part of the season.

Now, there are two names that need to be pointed out here as well and those are Libor Hajek and Ryan Lindgren. Lindgren already had a call up this season and the organization most likely wants him to just play big minutes for the Wolf Pack. He’s a physical defenseman who will eventually carve out a niche for himself in New York. In Hajek’s case, he just flat out isn’t ready for the bright lights of Broadway. Make no mistake, Hajek will be a huge part of the Rangers future and will grow into a top-four defenseman on the Rangers blue line. But for this season, it’s the right call to leave him in Hartford. He needs big minutes, power-play time and a better understanding of the pro game before he gets his shot.

Forward Call-Ups

Now that Zuccarello has been traded and Hayes likely to depart, hat will leave two forward spots open. Two names that absolutely need to be on Gorton’s list to call-up are Ville Meskanen and Vinni Lettieri.

Meskanen, who was signed as a free agent after putting up 24 goals for Ilves of the Finnish Liiga, has had a great first season for the Wolf Pack. He currently has 29 points in 53 games (10 goals, 19 assists) and has looked to be a great pick up for Gorton. While Michael Lindqvist – who the Rangers signed along with Meskanen in the offseason – didn’t pan out, Meskanen has shown flashes of a player who could be a nice middle six player in the NHL within the next few years. Remember, Liiga is a men’s league and Meskanen did very well there. He has the talent but it’s all about putting it all together.

With so many questions regarding lineup decisions, Meskanen deserves a little stint on Broadway to see if he can hang with the big club. Worst case scenario is he ends up not doing much and he goes back to Hartford. Best case: he makes a nice case for himself, chips in a goal here and there and makes a good impression on head coach David Quinn going into the offseason. It just makes too much sense.

Lettieri has to be in the back of Gorton’s mind as well. His shot first mentality is something all fans can appreciate and the kid gives it his all every game. Seemingly too talented for the AHL but not yet ready to truly impact the game at the NHL level, a stint at the end of the season could do wonders for Lettieri’s confidence. If he becomes a nice bottom six winger who can add some offense on occasion and can be sound defensively than the Rangers will have done well with him. He hasn’t looked bad during his previous call-ups, but giving him some more responsibility and ice-time at the end of the season may be good for the kid in the long run.

The Wolf Pack enter the final full week of 2018 with three additional games to close out the year. After snapping a five-game losing streak, Hartford has found their way once again as they collected all six points last week. The impressive weekend was a confidence booster for the group and helped the club to climb back up in the standings slowly. The Wolf Pack are .500 with a record of 14-14-1-2 for 31 points, putting the club sixth in the Atlantic Division.

Standings Outlook

The competitive and tight Atlantic Division continues to show how tough it is for Hartford to climb back up once they fall. Despite being in sixth place, the competition is stiff. Only a handful of points separate seventh place Providence from second place Bridgeport. The Wolf Pack are four points behind Springfield and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to tie for the final playoff spot.

The good news is that Hartford faces Springfield multiple times in the next few weeks, along with Bridgeport. The rivalry games prove to be critical this season. A win helps, while a loss puts the club further down in the playoff race. We are nearing the halfway point of the season as the race is just getting started. You cannot count any team out this early on.

Depending on the outcome of other games, Hartford could be in a solid spot if they extend their winning streak entering Thursday’s contest with Bridgeport. Charlotte is the only team out of reach from Hartford, unless the Checkers hit a lengthy losing skid.

The group assembled in Hartford has proven they are capable of winning and playing fantastic. We have seen in past games where the group is firing on all cylinders but we’ve also seen other games where the group falls apart. Consistency is key. I am hoping they can go on a lengthy point streak to help their cause for later on in the season.

Peter Holland Out Two Games; Shenanigans in Rochester

On Wednesday morning, the American Hockey League announced that forward Peter Holland is suspended for two games. He is out on Thursday and Saturday, a home-and-home series with Bridgeport. He will return to the lineup on Sunday against Springfield.

“Hartford Wolf Pack forward Peter Holland has been suspended for two (2) games as a consequence of an illegal check to the head of an opponent in a game at Rochester on Dec. 21.

Holland was suspended under the provisions of AHL Rule 28.1 (supplementary discipline). He will miss Hartford’s games Thursday (Dec. 27) at Bridgeport and Saturday (Dec. 29) vs. Bridgeport. “

American Hockey League

This was unexpected on my end. Last weekend’s game against Rochester was heated. Peter Holland did not receive a penalty for his checks in either game on Friday or Saturday. However, Rochester forward Yannick Veilleux was suspended two games as well.

“Rochester Americans forward Yannick Veilleux has been suspended for two (2) games as a consequence of his actions in a game vs. Hartford on Dec. 22.

Veilleux was suspended under the provisions of AHL Rule 28.1 (supplementary discipline). He will miss Rochester’s games tonight (Dec. 26) at Cleveland and Friday (Dec. 28) vs. Toronto.”

American Hockey League

Rochester’s forward nearly caused a full-out brawl after he jumped Rangers prospect, Ryan Lindgren. You can see the sequence of events here, plus seeing head coach Keith McCambridge yelling at Rochester’s coach during the incident. On Friday, Bobby Butler was blindsided by a hit and the scrappy playing continued. Despite playing only a four-game season series, there has been dislike built up on both sides.

Hartford’s Goalies Perform

Dustin Tokarski played on Wednesday against Providence, earning a 3-0 shutout win (29 saves). He helped the group snap a five-game losing streak. Then on Friday, the veteran played a strong game against Rochester, stopping 28 of 30 shots. Dustin Tokarski won six straight when starting for Hartford, bringing his record up to 7-3-1 with a 2.95 GAA and .909 SV%.

Marek Mazanec played on Saturday and helped get Hartford a win, stopping 40 of 41 shots for the victory. Despite not playing in over a month, the veteran goalie held his ground well. Check out a few of his saves from Saturday. The goalie faced 23 shots on net in the first from Rochester.

Marek Mazanec improves his numbers to 5-5-2 for a 3.01 GAA and a .899 SV%. The game on Saturday was one of the best performances I have seen from the veteran goalie.

The Offense Heats Up

• Peter Holland had a three-point night on Saturday against Rochester. He registered two goals plus one assist and leads the team in points with 27.
• Cole Schneider has points in three straight and points in the last 10 of 13 games. In that span, he collected seven goals and seven assists for 14 points.
• Since returning from New York, Steven Fogarty has points in three of his last four games. The forward collected one goal and five assists for six points.
• John Gilmour continues to contribute offensively from the blue line as the prospect has points in the 11 of 16 games (4G, 10A).
• Ville Meskanen continues to add to his points total notching assists in his three of his last four games.
• Vinni Lettieri had back to back multi-point games over the weekend. The prospect has five points in his last two games (2G, 3A).
• Ryan Lindgren has assisted on goals in three of the last four games.

Tim Gettinger Injured From First Pro Fight

On December 19th against Providence, talented Rangers prospect Tim Gettinger had his first fight in the professional ranks. Unfortunately, he did not fare well as he took on Providence’s toughest guy on the roster, Chris Breen. Tim Gettinger left the game after the fight and will be out for an unknown amount of time as he may have a concussion.

Upcoming Games

Thursday, December 27th vs Bridgeport Sound Tigers (Islanders) at 7:00pm, Webster Bank Arena

• This is the sixth meeting in the season series against Bridgeport. Hartford is 3-2 against the Sound Tigers.
• Bridgeport won the last contest in regulation, 2-1.
• Bridgeport won their last seven of ten outings, but have dropped two of their last three games.
• Hartford is ten points behind the Sound Tigers.

Saturday, December 29th vs Bridgeport Sound Tigers (Islanders) at 7:00 pm, XL Center

• This is the seventh of ten meetings on the season series against Bridgeport.
• In the last home-and-home series, Hartford swept Bridgeport on November 23rd and 24th.

Sunday, December 30th vs Springfield Thunderbirds (Florida) at 3:00 pm, XL Center

• This is the second of ten meetings against Springfield. The Thunderbirds won the first meeting 6-2 on October 28th.
• Hartford is behind Springfield by four points.
• Springfield has lost their last seven of ten games.

When the Rangers first claimed Cody McLeod on waivers last season, the thought was that he would bring an element of toughness to a new crop of young Rangers. And when the team brought him back over the summer on a one-year deal, one would assume that Jeff Gorton had the same idea in mind, especially with prized prospects Filip Chytil and Brett Howden ultimately making the opening night lineup. However, McLeod has shown that while his toughness could be viewed as an asset, he is not worthy of being in the lineup night after night.

There is a multitude of reasons that McLeod shouldn’t have been brought back in the first place, let alone being on the ice for David Quinn’s squad. For starters, he isn’t the kind of player that would flourish in today’s NHL. Back in 2005, when McLeod started playing professional hockey for the Lowell Lock Monsters, the former Devils AHL affiliate, the NHL had 466 fights. Since the start of the 2014-15 season, there hasn’t been a season with more than 400 fights. Furthermore, hockeyfights.com projects that there will be just 271 scraps. The era for guys like McLeod, the guy who you send out to start a fight to change momentum or to stick up for a teammate on the following shift, is over. The Enforcer has been almost completely eradicated from the NHL, and in a time where speed and skill are more valuable than brute strength and toughness, McLeod is simply a holdover from another place in time.

Secondly, he isn’t playing well. He hasn’t played more than 12 shifts in any game he has dressed in and his highest ice-time of the season was 8:31. Additionally, in two of those games, most notably Sunday’s loss to the Kings, McLeod had more PIMs, nine, than he did time on ice. In Buffalo, McLeod played 5:23 and racked up five minutes of PIMs. In other words, he isn’t worth the ice time he is getting because there is a good chance he’ll end up in the box. What’s more, McLeod has just eight shots on net in the six games he has played this season. Now, granted, it’s hard to pile up the shots when you are playing only a handful of minutes every night, but he isn’t playing well enough to stay out of the press box.

To piggyback off of the previous point, if the Rangers are truly rebuilding, they already had guys within the organization that could’ve filled the same role, most notably Matt Beleskey. Beleskey, who the Rangers acquired in the Rick Nash deal, plays a similar style of game to McLeod and is a younger, and quicker player. Moreover, Vinni Lettieri, who has been riding the pine for the last few games while McLeod has been in the lineup, has far more potential in the long-term than the 34-year-old McLeod does. Putting aside the guys currently with the Rangers, the organization has a bunch of young guys down in Hartford like Tim Gettinger, Lias Andersson, and Ville Meskanen that are far more skilled than McLeod and would be a much better fit for today’s NHL.

Based on yesterday’s practice, it would appear that David Quinn may have finally picked up on this obvious point. Now it’s time for Jeff Gorton to pick up on this very thing and send Cody McLeod the way of the dodo bird.

Trust the process. We’ve all heard sports teams going through a rebuild mention that phrase. Now, Rangers fans, more than ever, need to trust the process. This season has already proven that it’s going to be one of the moral victories and hard-fought losses more than anything. I’ve seen people across all of social media already extremely angry with how the season is going and calling out players and coaches. Well, get used to this team but there are a lot of silver linings to look at this early in the season. Let’s jump in.

Yes, this team is indeed 0-3-0 but make no mistake about it, this is the most competitive 0-3-0 team you’ll ever see. This Rangers team is playing with a snarl, they’re playing with speed and tenacity and you can see the players beginning to buy-in to David Quinn’s system. The structure is there. Even the power-play has looked good these past three games. Pavel Buchnevich has been a revelation since the pre-season; you can tell he isn’t scared anymore. Jesper Fast, Chris Kreider, Filip Chytil and even Brett Howden have all been bright spots to begin the season. For a team that is 0-3-0, there is plenty to be excited about.

Opening night of the season this team went blow for blow with the Nashville Predators, a team many consider a favorite for the Stanley Cup. Two days later, they were stymied by Carter Hutton in Buffalo but still played a solid game overall. And on Sunday night, the team had the offense firing on all cylinders but the defense didn’t hold up. There are a lot of positives to take in this situation. The sky isn’t falling, Rangers fans. Of course, there are things this team needs to improve upon and that begins with the defense.

This year was always going to be a rough year for the Rangers’ defense corps. Kevin Shattenkirk is coming off of an injury, Marc Staal and newcomer Adam McQuaid have just not been that great. Brady Skjei has looked better than last season but it seems Neal Pionk and Tony DeAngelo still don’t have the full trust of their coaches just yet. This is the area of the team that will take the longest to improve over the course of this rebuild. The organization’s top defensive prospects in K’Andre Miller and Nils Lundkvist are still a few years away and at the top of next year’s draft there are too many elite forwards for the Rangers to pass up. It’s going to be up to Quinn and his staff to get the most out of this defense going forward. The defensive struggles will most likely be a season long thing.

This is a Rangers team that also requires some finishers. Guys with the ability to just put the puck in the net when the team needs it most. Help is coming and it will be here sooner rather than later. Vitali Kravtsov looks better than advertised and is already showing the Rangers why they were right to pick him ninth overall. Check out some of his KHL highlights, you won’t be disappointed.

Going back to the Rangers draft position this year, it’s clear that they will have a high pick. Some fans are already dreaming of Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko in Rangers‘ blue next season and it could very well happen. However, fans need to be prepared for how much losing it would take for us to achieve that goal.

All I’m trying to say here is don’t let this start worry you. Don’t simply just look at the record and be discouraged. This was supposed to happen. The Rangers need to go through this and management set this up with “the letter“ last season. We want our team to win, we want them to climb the mountain and achieve glory that the city of New York hasn’t experienced since 1994. We want Henrik Lundqvist to get his name etched on the Stanley Cup. We need to have a little more patience, we need to understand that sacrifices will need to be made this season to set us up for the draft lottery and we need to, above all, trust the process.

It’s go time. The regular season for the Wolf Pack begins on Friday night. The club has finalized their roster, which has the potential to make noise in the American Hockey League. I’m excited about this season since the organization has stocked up for the farm and the youth movement has begun in the big club.

Preseason Outcome

Hartford defeated Bridgeport by the final of 2-1. Shawn St. Amant registered both goals for the Pack. Brandon Halverson started in net and stopped 21 of 22 shots.

“I really liked our compete to loose pucks,” Wolf Pack head coach Keith McCambridge said. “We did a good job using our speed in the offensive zone to generate second and third opportunities.”

The Pack looked impressive in the outing as they had multiple chances and good transition. The players were playing with energy and precision from puck drop to the final buzzer and the Pack outshot Bridgeport 43 to 22.

Finalized Roster

The Pack have two goalies, eight defensemen, and 14 forwards.

Goalies: Marek Mazanec, and Dustin Tokarski.

Defense: Chris Bigras, Sean Day, John Gilmour, Libor Hajek, Ryan Lindgren, Rob O’Gara, Brandon Crawley, and Vince Pedrie.

Forwards: Lias Andersson, Bobby Butler, Steven Fogarty, Gabriel Fontaine, Tim Gettinger, Ryan Gropp, Peter Holland, Dawson Leedahl, Michael Lindqvist, Ville Meskanen, Shawn O’Donnell, Ty Ronning, Shawn St. Amant, and Cole Schneider.

Lines will be determined later in the week when they approach Friday’s game.

Who’s Cut?

The following players were sent down to Maine of the ECHL.

Goalies (3): Brandon Halverson, Chris Nell, and Connor LaCouvee

Defenseman (2): Derek Pratt and Scott Savage.

Forwards (6): Drew Melanson, Jason Salvaggio, Riley Bourbonnais, Alex Kile, Mike Marnell, and Brady Vail.

Upcoming Games

Week one of the AHL season features two home games for the Wolf Pack, and the first road game will be in the following week.

Friday, October 5th vs Providence Bruins (Boston) at 7:15 pm, XL Center

• Hartford’s opening night.
• Providence has lost a few powerful players in the off-season from free agency.
• The first of ten games against the Bruins.  There are 20 points on the table in the season series.
• The Pack play Providence three times in October.

Sunday, October 7th vs Laval Rocket (Montreal) at 3:00 pm, XL Center

• Hartford plays Laval twice, one home and one away.
• The Rocket struggled last season. The organization lost ten games to finish the 2017-18 season for 58 points. They had the least amount of points in the league.
• The Pack will finish the season series within a ten-game span. The next outing will be on Wednesday, October 17th in Laval.
• The Pack went 0-1-1 in the season series last year.

Watch and Listen

You can listen to the Pack on the iHeartRadio app on your mobile device. On the desktop, you can listen through here. The Pack is on News Radio 1410 WPOP Hartford.

To watch, there is a cheap way! Follow the action on AHL TV. Hartford’s package to watch every game is $59.99. For home or away games with Hartford, the pricing drops to $39.99. There is also a monthly pass of $19.99 or a daily pass for $6.99.

AHL Rule Changes

There are minor tweaks this season for the AHL. However, the biggest change is when a team takes a penalty. This raises the stakes higher.

76.2 – Apparently a late addition: When a penalty leads to a power play, they will still face off in the defensive end of the penalized team. But now, the team going on the power play will get to pick at which dot they’ll face off, and the defending team won’t get to change after that. (Even if that draw comes to the neutral zone, whether because the team going on the power play iced the puck, or because its defensemen joined a scrum below the dots, the team going on the power play still gets to pick the dot.)

The Pack has to be smart when taking penalties. Otherwise, this could bite them in critical moments in the game. This is being tried in the AHL, and if successful, it could be in the NHL down the road.

The Rangers have their opening night roster!

Earlier today, the Rangers announced their final roster cuts ahead of the 2018-19 season.

Some surprises here as Andersson was thought by many to be a lock for David Quinn’s roster. And now with Howden making the team out of camp, he will have some high expectations heading into the regular season. Hajek, Lindgren, and Meskanen all had solid camps with the Rangers but they will be better served playing big minutes in Hartford.

The goaltenders shook out exactly as expected with Georgiev continuing as the backup to Henrik Lundqvist. The defense is also as expected, but it will be interesting to see which players serve as the healthy scratch on a nightly basis. The Blueshirts will have four defensemen of each handedness on the squad, so a like for like swap would occur if the need arises. As for the forwards, Cody McLeod being on the team is still a bit disconcerting. It is possible that when Matt Beleskey comes off the injured list that he will take McLeod’s spot, but the 34-year-old will have to show a lot to make his place on the roster worthwhile.

Moments ago, the Rangers announced their roster for training camp.

While the top-six forwards are mostly set, the bottom-six is very much up in the air. Lias Andersson, Filip Chytil, Brett Howden, and Boo Nieves will all be battling for the third and fourth line center spots. Ty Ronning, Michael Lindqvist, and Ville Meskanen, three right-handed forwards will be looking to make the jump into the NHL. On defense, Marc Staal, Brady Skjei, and Kevin Shattenkirk are all guaranteed spots on David Quinn’s blueline, leaving a whole slew of players battling it out for the final three openings. Finally, the battle between Alexandar Georgiev, Marek Mazanec, and Dustin Tokarski will all be fighting for the right to be the understudy to Henrik Lundqvist.

https://twitter.com/NYRangers/status/1039920351126401025

Training camp means we are that much closer to Rangers hockey!

After the Rangers lost a wild one to the Stars on Friday night, the Blueshirts came back with a much stronger effort against the Minnesota Wild en route to a 4-2 victory on Saturday night.

Tim Gettinger – After laying a big hit in the first period, the 20-year-old Ohio native took a pass from Traverse City invite Jakub Stukel and came down on a breakaway. Gettinger took a couple of strides and beat the Wild goalie with a quick shot over the glove to give the Blueshirts a 1-0 lead.

https://twitter.com/mattcalamia/status/1038563274927861760?s=21

Brett Howden – One of the players who had been outspoken on his desire to make the team out of camp, Howden showed just what he could do scoring the second goal of the night for the Rangers. The Moose Jaw Warriors alum knocked in a loose puck at the side of the net, using his size and strength to outmuscle his defender. If Howden can play up to his potential, he will make it very difficult for David Quinn to send him down to Hartford.

Ville Meskanen – The 22-year-old Finnish winger showed just why Jeff Gorton wanted to bring him over to North America. Meskanen took a no-look drop pass from Filip Chytil and wired a shot by the Wild netminder. The Rangers haven’t had a right-handed bottom-six forward that can get off a shot like Meskanen in quite some time. If he can continue to impress, we may see him crack the lineup on opening night.

Ryan Lindgren – The physical defenseman put the icing on the cake in this one, scoring the empty-netter with 41 seconds remaining in regulation. Lindgren is known for his ability to play the body, but he also has the skating ability to keep up with today’s NHL. He made a smart decision jumping into the play and taking the puck down the ice for the final goal of the night.

Penalty Kill – With the Rangers nursing a one-goal lead in the third period, the Blueshirts penalty kill came up huge by killing off four minutes of penalties, including a 41 second 5v3. And it was one of the top Rangers youngsters that did the dirty work, blocking a shot with his team shorthanded.

Next Game: The Baby Blueshirts will face the Detroit Red Wings on Monday. Puck drops at 4!

LETS GO RANGERS!