AHL / BRUCE BERLET
The Wolf Pack have played short-handed much of the season, whether it's from being among the AHL leaders in penalty minutes or not having a full complement of skaters because of 327 man-games lost to injuries, illnesses and suspensions.
The manpower shortage is over, and coaches Ryan McGill and Nick Fotiu hope fewer penalties follow. If not, it'll give them another reason to make changes in a 17-day sprint to the end of the season in which they'll use 10 games to prepare for an eighth straight playoff appearance.
With defensemen Joel Bouchard and Jeff MacMillan and forwards Chad Wiseman, Layne Ulmer and Ryan Hollweg rejoining the lineup in Springfield tonight and center Dwight Helminen and defenseman David Liffiton being reassigned to ECHL Charlotte Thursday, the Pack have 19 healthy skaters, one over the limit. McGill doesn't want to make any threats, but the 18 performing best when the season ends April 17 against the Falcons will suit up for the postseason.
"We're going to play it one game at a time and try to finish as best as we can," said McGill, whose team is five points behind Atlantic Division-leading Manchester and six in front of Lowell. "I'm not expecting miracles from the new guys, but they're not going to be babied because we can't afford to do that at this time of the year. They have 10 games to get ready for the playoffs and will be used in every situation possible.
"I think [the injured] will be in good shape after working hard the last few weeks, so it's just a matter of getting used to the everyday grind of bumping other teams, not teammates. But we don't have time to wait for them. None of them are rookies, so they know what's expected, what the league's about and how important this time of the year is."
Bouchard, who played 22 games with the Pack in 2002 before being called up by the Rangers, will make his season debut after signing an AHL contract March 17. Hollweg returns from a two-game suspension, and MacMillan, Wiseman and Ulmer will be back from injuries. The additions give the Pack 15 healthy forwards and six defensemen, with Ken Gernander and Craig Weller having been used in both spots.
McGill hopes to find the right pairings in the first five games.
"I've got an idea as to who can fit with who and who brings some chemistry to the table, but it's going to have to be in games," he said. "It's not tryouts, but a coach has to make a call on how the player is playing and a gut feeling, so you want to be solid in the coach's mind and his gut feeling, otherwise you're not going to play. This isn't a threat, but if they're not playing their role then we have enough guys around to put people in."
Coaches usually look to one goalie to carry the load in the playoffs, but All-Star Jason LaBarbera and Steve Valiquette have played so well they're both likely to play. Valiquette is 4-0-0-1 with a 0.65 goals-against average against Lowell, the Pack's probable first-round opponent.
"It's a unique situation," McGill said. "And the best thing is they've been our two best players all year so we're not going to put one ahead of the other and aren't afraid to use either of them."
The Pack's penalty killing ranks second at 88.9 percent. McGill hopes the returning players can revamp an offense that has produced 28 goals in 16 games and gone 3-for-38 on the power play the last eight games.
"If you look at the games we've scored no goals or one goal, we've been a perimeter team, and in order to survive in the playoffs, you can't play on the perimeter," McGill said.
"It's great how hard the penalty killers have worked and how committed they are. We haven't been on the same page or committed enough to each other on the power play because we haven't been executing or bearing down even on dump-ins. But that's OK. We've got [most] everyone coming back, and whoever clicks on the power play is going to play."
Spezza Reaches Plateau
Jason Spezza's three points in Binghamton's 7-4 victory over Philadelphia Wednesday gave him 102 for the season. He's the first to reach 100 points since the Pack's Derek Armstrong had 101 in 2000-01. ... Bolton native Ron Hainsey had two goals as Hamilton beat Edmonton 5-1 Saturday to move into the final playoff spot in the North Division. All seven of the former Springfield Pics defenseman's goals have been on the power play.
Defenseman Ray Giroux, who played at Yale, scored the first penalty shot goal against Grand Rapids in the Griffins' nine-year history last Friday in Houston's 3-2 shootout loss.
The Chariots of Hope sled hockey team will play local celebrities before the Pack host Portland Saturday. Former UConn forward Donny Marshall will be among those in the game, which is 4 to 5 p.m. Admission is by donation, and proceeds go toward the team's trip to Ottawa. Fans wearing college apparel will get $4 off an adult ticket.
Voting for the Crossroadsconsulting.com/Wolf Pack Star of the Game Award ends at midnight April 13, with the winner announced after the game against Albany April 15. The winner of a drawing of fans who voted for the winning player will get two tickets to the Albany game and be brought on the ice for a picture with the player, a luxury box for as many as 10 people for a game and a game jersey signed by the team.
