It’s hard to read into a win over the Springfield Thunderbirds, the worst team in the Atlantic Division and arguably the worst in the American Hockey League (AHL). It’s not a statement for the Hartford Wolf Pack, even if the final score was 5-2. Gabe Perreault scored twice in the game, giving prospect watchers something to note.
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It’s easier to read into three wins in a row. The Wolf Pack defeated the Cleveland Monsters twice on the road over the Thanksgiving weekend and started the weekend with another win. Suddenly, the Wolf Pack sit comfortably in sixth place in the division, which isn’t great but a significant improvement from where they were a month ago.
The Wolf Pack have found their footing lately and are playing the best hockey of the season. It’s coming at the right time as teams are figuring out their identities, and in the Wolf Pack case, it’s coming on the back of great play from Perreault. He’s not a great skater and doesn’t have a power forward presence but his nose for the goal and great play make him a player the Wolf Pack can build a strong team around.
Perreault Can Deliver The Knockout Punch
Perreault is the leader of the offense, and there isn’t a close second. Trey Fix-Wolansky has nine goals and 13 points as a steady veteran but Perreault has done more despite playing five fewer games. He leads the Wolf Pack with 10 goals and 17 points and is the difference-maker in the offensive zone.
It’s not just about whether he scores or the number of goals he has. It’s also about when Perreault is scoring. He can find a goal when the Wolf Pack need it the most or that clutch goal when needed. Against the Springfield Thunderbirds on Dec. 7, that’s what happened as he got to the net to deliver the knockout punch in the third period. “That was a big goal by Gabe to get that insurance, a little separation,” head coach Grant Potulny noted after the game.
Perreault drives play and makes the skaters around him better. That said, the entire line, with Justin Dowling centering it and Jaroslav Chmelar on the other wing, is clicking. “When you have a line that has a little bit of everything, if they find chemistry, they can be dangerous,” Potulny added after the latest game. Perreault does it all while Dowling is a speed-based player, and while Chmelar is the power forward on the other side, it’s a mix of everything that is tough to stop. They are the line the Wolf Pack lean on to win games, which Potulny has done lately.
Perreault’s Play Connects Potulny’s Vision to Wolf Pack Execution
During the losing streak, there were questions about whether the message Potulny was delivering was working. The Wolf Pack looked like a mess and a team that would make significant changes at the end of the season. Potulny has a great hockey mind but wasn’t connecting with the players in the room.
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Perreault is the forward who processes Potulny’s message. They both have a great understanding of the game and are putting it to use. They know how to get the puck to the dangerous ice and where to find goals. The problem with the team is the execution. Perreault, however, does what Potulny wants to see from the entire team.
It’s why Potulny is leaning on him. It’s why Perreault and the rest of his line were out a lot in the third period as the Wolf Pack leaned on their trio to win the game. Potulny used the last change with 10 minutes left in a 3-2 game to get them on the ice and then kept them out there to deliver the knockout punch. “I felt bad for the Terrance line,” he noted as the bottom-six group had a great game but didn’t see much action because of the late-game situations.
Can Hartford Win Without Perreault?
The strong play from Perreault indicates that it won’t be long until he’s called up again to the New York Rangers. Sure, the Rangers don’t want to put him on the AHL-NHL roller coaster where he’s sent up and down and can’t find a routine in a key development year. That said, it doesn’t help him to dominate the AHL as he’s too good and too smart for the league (although the surplus of ice time at this age is a big plus).
The recent play for the Wolf Pack suggests that they can win without Perreault. They’ve started to pressure teams, and on defense, they’ve limited shots while goaltending is finally giving them stability. Specifically, Dylan Garand has found his footing in recent starts and uses his athletic ability to make an impact. “If you can break a puck out as a goalie, you can save yourself five or six shots in a game,” Potulny noted after his latest start, which fueled the 5-2 win.
The problem is that the Wolf Pack are a significantly worse team without Perreault. He’s only missed five games because of his NHL stint earlier in the season, and the team lost all five games. It’s not a coincidence that the Wolf Pack were at their worst when he was gone.
There’s a chance that the Wolf Pack are better in a future stretch without Perreault. They lost a lot of one-goal games, and now that they have structure to their game, they can win those games even without Perreault around. The turnaround starts with him but ultimately will be determined by how the rest of the team plays and it makes the upcoming stretch ahead pivotal.
