Losers in five of their past six games, the Hartford Wolf Pack enter the AHL Holiday break seeking answers on both sides of the puck.
The AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers was outscored 24-10 in its past six, and allowed at least five goals three times in that span. Through 27 games, the Wolf Pack conceded 90 goals, eighth most in the American Hockey League. Scoring is a struggle too; their 71 goals is seventh fewest in the league.
There were two more losses this past weekend, a 5-3 to Syracuse on Friday, and a 2-1 shootout loss to Lehigh Valley on Saturday. The Wolf Pack are winless in their past three games (0-2-0-1).
The eighth-place Wolf Pack (9-13-4-1, 23 points) are a point behind the Springfield Thunderbirds and Bridgeport Islanders for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. Hartford plays Bridgeport four times in their next seven games.
Jaroslav Chmelar — Photo courtesy Hartford Wolf Pack
Returning to Hartford from his second stint in New York (three games), Jaroslav Chmelař provided an immediate impact Friday. He scored his fourth goal of the season in his first game back. In addition, the 6-foot-5, 220-pound forward was engaged physically throughout, stuck is nose into a scrum, and did not back down against Syracuse.
Coach Grant Potulny inserted Chmelař on a top-six line with Brett Berard and Trey Fix-Wolansky, which will be leaned on for offense and strong two-way play moving forward. Berard has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in his past 14 games, and Fix-Wolansky is tied for the active team lead in points with Justin Dowling (since their leading scorer Gabe Perreault is now up with the Rangers). Fix-Wolansky has 16 points (nine goals, seven assists).
As a rookie pro last season with Hartford, Chmelar played 71 games and totaled 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists) and 48 penalty minutes.
Derrick Pouliot leads blue line
Signed to a two-year contract as a free agent last summer, Derrick Pouliot leads Hartford defensemen with 12 points and 11 assists. Overall, the 31-year-old's tied for fourth in points (with Chmelař) and tied for first in assists (with Justin Dowling).
The former first-round pick is instrumental in generating scoring chances and quarterbacking Hartford's first power play unit. Pouliot has three power-play assists and six primary helpers overall this season. His experience (226 NHL games, 436 in the AHL) is also an invaluable resource for younger teammates.
Though Pouliot is on pace for fewer points than his past wo seasons (53 points in 2024-25, 46 points in 2023-24), he is one of the more consistent players on the Wolf Pack roster. Potulny leans on Pouliot, playing him big minutes on Hartford's top defense pairing with veteran Connor Mackey.
Bryce McConnell-Barker – Photo courtesy Hartford Wolf Pack
Similar to the Rangers, injuries are piling up in Hartford. The Wolf Pack are missing three key players at the holiday break.
Dowling, who was injured on Dec. 12, remains day to day with an upper-body injury. The 35-year-old is Hartford's first-line center, and a dependable scorer. Dowling has 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in 23 games.
Juuso Pärssinen, who was injured on Nov. 28, also remains week to week with an upper-body issue. When healthy, the 24-year-old forward very well could be Hartford's best offensive player, considering his skill set, youthful age, and 151 games of NHL experience.
New to this list is Bryce McConnell-Barker, who sustained an unspecified injury Saturday. The forward was rocked by a high hit and did not return. It's a shame if McConnell-Barker misses any time because the 21-year-old is progressing nicely in his second pro season. McConnell-Barker has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 27 games, four shy of his total last season (15 points; seven goals, eight assists).
All games can be viewed on AHLTV and heard on Mixlr .
This is the third of 12 meetings in the season series. Hartford is 0-2-0-0 against Bridgeport.
Bridgeport is 11-13-1-1, (24 points), tied for sixth in the Atlantic Division and tied for 13th in the Eastern Conference (both with Springfield).
Matthew Maggio leads the Islanders with 19 points (four goals, 15 assists). Next is Joey Larson (11 goals, six assists) and Alex Jefferies (five goals, 12 assists), who each have 17 points.
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