The Hartford Wolf Pack enter the final stretch of the season where every game feels like a must-win. The recent tripleheader, which featured back-to-back home games, was a mixed bag for that reason. They won the Friday night game on Feb. 28 in a shootout against their divisional rival, the Springfield Thunderbirds, then lost in a shootout against the Utica Comets the next night before falling to the Providence Bruins 5-2 on Sunday afternoon.
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The recent stretch was a reminder that Wolf Pack goaltender Dylan Garand can put together great starts, as he stopped 26 of the 27 shots he faced. When he’s seeing the puck well, there are few goaltenders in the American Hockey League (AHL) better than him. He can carry the Wolf Pack down the stretch, but only to a point. With the team possessing a 22-26-5-2 record, they need elite play from him, but they need more than that to make a push for the playoffs.
Why Garand Is an Inconsistent Goaltender
Garand is one of the smaller goaltenders in the AHL at 6-foot-1 and weighing only 176 pounds, and he relies on his athleticism. It makes him an outlier in the development world, where every goaltender is a taller and bigger-bodied type who can stop the initial shot. However, Garand can make saves that other goaltenders can’t and can make a highlight reel stop now and then.
The problem is that he doesn’t cover a lot of the net like the other goaltenders in the league. Some quick shots or the initial shot from the point can get past him, or he’ll struggle to pick it up in time. It happened in his March 1 start against the Utica Comets in the third period, as a rush chance allowed the opposition to sneak the puck past him on a quick shot. That goal tied the game and sent it to a shootout, where the Wolf Pack would lose the game 3-2.
The Hot & Cold Streaks From Garand
Garand was named the Goaltender of the Month for December. It was a month where he had back-to-back shutouts and allowed only eight goals in six starts. He was lights out to start the season, and it not only earned him an All-Star selection, but it made the Wolf Pack look better than they were.
Then he started to struggle. On Jan. 15 against the Comets, he allowed seven goals on only 29 shots, the worst start of the season and possibly the worst of his career. Then, he went through a slump where he allowed 16 goals in three starts and 28 goals in six starts. He was allowing a lot of goals, and the defense in front of him didn’t help. He wasn’t making the saves he did early in the season, and the Wolf Pack saw their season spiral out of control, going from a middle-of-the-pack team to the second worst in the Atlantic Division.
His latest start is a sign that he’s turning a corner and might go on a run. It’s why the upcoming stretch is one where the Wolf Pack will need him to be great, and he has the talent to do so. The question is whether it will be enough with the Wolf Pack trailing both the Thunderbirds and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms by multiple points in the standings.
Garand Can Only Do So Much
The recent game against the Comets embodied how there’s only so much Garand can do to win a game. “Giving up one goal usually should be able to get it done for him,” head coach Grant Potulny stated after the game, one where they had a 1-0 lead and controlled the game but let it slip away. “It’s too bad, Dylan did his job he gave up two goals or less just the circumstances are crazy,” Potulny continued.
The crazy circumstances are the own goal in the second period. On a delayed penalty, the Wolf Pack had the puck in the offensive zone, and the only way they could score on their own goal was if they shot it into their net. Well, that’s what happened as the puck was passed up to the point, past the blue line, and into the Wolf Pack net. “I’ve been in hockey a long time, I’ve never been in a building ever as a fan, as a coach, or as a player where something like that happened,” Potulny noted after the game, one where the Wolf Pack once again had a bad bounce cost them.
The Wolf Pack are only going to make it to the playoffs if the entire team steps up. For a while, the forward unit has struggled outside of the top six, and the defense has failed to keep teams out of shooting lanes. Garand and Louis Domingue have stepped up in the net, but they can only do so much. The teams ahead of the Wolf Pack are playing good hockey at the right time, so making up ground in the standings won’t be easy, and making it to the playoffs is unlikely, albeit not impossible.
