Another week goes by and another week of scoring woes for the Hartford Wolf Pack. Since last Thursday the Pack has played three games and the results have been the same disappointing results as the weeks before. Over the past 7 days the Pack played a home and home with Springfield and last night took on Manchester at the XL Center, Hartford. Unfortunately for the Rangers affiliate the only consistency at present is the losses and scoring woes continue to persist. In the two losses to Springfield (2-1 in OT on Friday, 3-2 in regulation Saturday) and the loss last night to Manchester (4-1) the Pack have – do the math – totalled a grand sum of 4 goals. It doesn’t matter if you have Henrik Lundqvist, Patrick Roy or even both in net; you are not winning many games when you are averaging just over a goal a game and that is the case right now for the Pack.

On Friday night the Packs sole scorer was Kris Newbury while Chad Johnson saved 23 of 25 shots faced. Despite playing well Johnson needs to be perfect at present to even sniff a win. Shots were not an issue in this game as the Pack threw 42 on net as another ex Ranger and Wolf Pack player came back to haunt them as David LeNeveu was huge in goal for the Falcons. LeNeveu enjoyed a good brief spell with the Pack a few seasons ago and clearly enjoyed playing at the XL on this night. Saturday was a different story. Stop the press, the Pack scored 2 but as in previous weeks even 2 wasn’t enough or the club as they gave up 3 goals to the Falcons, this time in Springfield. There was some positive news from Saturday’s game however as prospect Tomas Kundratek scored his first pro goal as he and Devin DiDiomete grabbed the Wolf Pack goals in the loss. Chad Johnson was pulled in the game after giving up 3 goals on 14 shots faced. David LeNeveu got the win again although didn’t have to be as spectacular as the night before, stopping just 22 of 24.

Last night and the story was all too familiar once more. Justin Soryal scored the goal on Wednesday night as the top scoring lines continue to produce nothing for the Pack. Chad Johnson stopped 35 of 39 on the night while new signing Tyler Donati went -2 on his debut. The Packs struggles offensively can probably be summed up by their PP production. Over the past 3 games the powerplay has gone 0 for 13. An unproductive powerplay is a huge hindrance to any side let alone to one that struggles so much at even strength. Ryan McDonagh’s struggles continue as the young rearguard is now -8 in 12 games while still pointless and key forward Mats Zuccarello-Aasen is -3 with just 2 points on the season (both goals). ‘Veteran’ AHL’ers Dane Byers (7pts but -2), Brodie Dupont (just 1pt, -4) and Jeremy Williams (8pts -2) are not leading this team offensively as they need to.

The ‘Pack is in a world of hurt right now. They are missing core players such as Evgeny Grachev (in New York), are limited on the skill front and with the string of losses come rumours; such as Mats Zuccarello apparently heading for the exit door (which was quickly refuted by management). The team need to find a way to win a game and maybe one win might spark something but if the losing continues much longer then the 3-6-2-1 Wolf Pack will be looking at consecutive non-playoff seasons for the first time in their history. With all the losing, the attention may soon turn to the management and it’s not inconceivable the coaching staff could be on the hot seat. While winning is not a sole priority for the Pack (and the Rangers) winning helps prospect development and it’s hard not to worry about the prospects as they struggle through this miserable sequence of losses.

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