The Hartford Wolf Pack have had a rocky 2024-25 season. For every three-game winning streak, there’s a losing streak or back-to-back losses that set them back. Through all the peaks and valleys, they have a 15-14-2-1 record and are in the middle of the Atlantic Division.
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A bright spot is their starting goaltender Dylan Garand, who has carried the Wolf Pack early on in the season. He put together a lights-out performance on Jan. 5 against the Bridgeport Islanders where he stopped 29 of the 30 shots he faced in a decisive 5-1 victory. The Wolf Pack won’t lean on him to lead them to the playoffs but he’ll be the reason this team gets there and does much more after that.
Garand’s Big Starts
The game against the Islanders was impressive, especially since he was tested early and often in his first game back since Dec. 27 against the Springfield Thunderbirds. “As many shots early on is the best way to get into a game,” Garand noted after the game, one where he faced 11 shots in the first period and 25 after two periods of play.
That said, it’s just another day at the office. Garand has two shutouts on the season including a 31-save performance on Dec. 11 against the Hershey Bears. In nine of his 16 starts this season, he’s allowed two goals or fewer. While wins aren’t a goaltending stat per se (teams win games, not goaltenders), the Wolf Pack have won 10 of their 15 games with him in the net. His .929 save percentage (SV%) and 2.17 goals-against average (GAA) on 490 shots are among the best in the American Hockey League (AHL).
When the Wolf Pack need Garand to steal a game, he can do just that. On Nov. 6 against the Syracuse Crunch, they were outplayed but his 31 saves allowed them to take it 2-1 in overtime, a game head coach Grant Potulny noted “Tonight, I thought it was his best stuff” afterward. He’s the player they can rely on not just as a star goaltender but arguably the best player on the team.
Hartford’s Lack of Reinforcements
The big issue for the Wolf Pack is their goaltender aside from Garand. Louis Domingue was called up to the NHL recently but that’s not because he’s the better goaltender. On the contrary, he’s having an awful season in the AHL with a .888 SV% and a 3.64 GAA on 454 shots. Domingue was called up because when Igor Shesterkin was placed on injured reserve, he was the only healthy goaltender available on the AHL roster.
Domingue isn’t a goaltender the Wolf Pack can rely on and Talyn Boyko, who the team called up this week, is still an unknown. He had an impressive debut on Dec. 31 against the Springfield Thunderbirds, saving all 32 shots he faced, but then allowed five goals on 31 shots on Jan. 4 against the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. Boyko can emerge as a reliable backup but until then, Garand is the only goaltender the Wolf Pack can trust to consistently win games.
Along with the goaltending issues are the forward unit woes that have been on display, especially in recent games. The Wolf Pack don’t have Brett Berard, who had seven goals and six assists before getting the call-up from the Rangers. Likewise, Matt Rempe was called up to the NHL and is still serving the eight-game suspension after his hit on Dec. 20 against the Dallas Stars. Without Berard or Rempe, the Wolf Pack are playing without two cornerstones of the forward unit, a dynamic scorer and a reliable forechecker.
The Wolf Pack have pieced things together, notably on the offensive end of the ice in recent weeks, and it’s worked at times but also flopped. The five-goal performance against the Islanders showed what the Alex Belzille and Benoit-Olivier Groulx connection is capable of as they connected for two goals in the game. However, the offense was shut out the night before and is averaging only 2.93 goals per game.
Hartford Can Lean on Garand
The Wolf Pack will split starts in the net with Garand and either Domingue or Boyko as the backup, at least for now. It’s the dog days of the hockey season and teams are battling the tough schedule and the injuries that pile up in December and January. The Wolf Pack are no exception and it’s why Potulny is thinking of the long game. “We’re coaching for the end of the year… We want to win the games in April and May more than the games in November and December,” he noted after the 6-2 Dec. 7 loss against the Penguins. Sure, they’d love to start Garand every night but with the big picture in mind, they’ll have a goaltending tandem instead.
There will be a shift down the stretch and the Wolf Pack will lean on Garand for more starts. “If it were up to me, I’d be playing 70 games,” Garand mentioned after the Jan. 5 win over the Islanders, and it speaks to the motor he has if needed. The elite goaltenders can start both games of a back-to-back and it’s something the Wolf Pack will keep in mind late in the season. When this team needs to make a push for the playoffs, they’ll keep starting him. Moreover, if the Wolf Pack makes it to the Calder Cup Playoffs, he’ll be in the net and give them an advantage.
There aren’t a lot of great goaltenders in the AHL and Garand is one of them. He can steal a game or a series and it’s why the Wolf Pack will rely on him when the season is on the line. Players have come and gone throughout the season and it’s hard to find consistency in the forward unit or the defense. One thing that has been consistent is Garand’s great play and it’s why there’s plenty of optimism for a middling Atlantic Division team.
