Brutal night for Rangers prospects in latest Wolf Pack loss to Devils’ affiliate
It’s a good thing this act took place off-Broadway for the New York Rangers because it wouldn’t have been well received on the big stage.
Several of the Rangers top prospects finished with ugly stat lines when the Hartford Wolf Pack lost to the Utica Comets 7-3 on Wednesday. In a game that saw several momentum swings, the Wolf Pack fell behind 3-0 by 5:06 of the second period, then tied it with three goals in a span of 4:59 midway through the same period. Utica answered back with a goal before the period ended and added three more in the third period for what ended up to be a lopsided loss.
Rangers goalie prospect Dylan Garand allowed a season-high seven goals on 29 shots. It was only the fourth time in 19 starts this season that Garand, who will play in the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic, has surrendered four or more goals. His goals-against average jumped to 2.41 and his save percentage dropped .919 — still excellent numbers — after the defeat.
Much of the damage against Garand and the Wolf Pack was delivered by former New Jersey Devils first-round pick Simon Nemec. The 2022 No. 2 overall pick scored two goals and added three assists for the first five-point game of his pro career. Max Willman scored two goals for Utica.
Related: Rangers first-round bust tearing it up in KHL
Victor Mancini, Brennan Othmann among Rangers prospects to have tough night for Wolf Pack
All of this came at the expense of some of the top prospects in the Rangers system. Defenseman Victor Mancini was minus-4 and forwards Brennan Othmann and Brett Berard each was minus-3. None of the three recorded a point, nor was any of them on ice for any of Hartford’s goals.
Mancini, who had five points, including his first NHL goal, in 15 games earlier this season with the Rangers, was on for three of the final four Utica goals. He, Berard and Othmann were all on when Nemec scored at 13:01 of the second to make it 4-3 with what proved to be the game-winner.
It was Berard’s second game back in the AHL after the 22-year-old had seven points (three goals, four assists) in 19 games with the Rangers. In those two games with Hartford, Berard is minus-5. On the season, he has 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in 18 games with the Wolf Pack.
Othmann was held pointless for the fourth straight game and without a shot for the first time this season. New York’s first-round pick (No. 16 overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft had five points (two goals, three assists) in the first three AHL games this season before sustaining an upper-body injury that sidelined him for more than two months.
Since returning, Othmann has one goal and two assists in nine games as he struggles to regain his scoring touch.
The Wolf Pack try to get back in the win column this weekend when they play afternoon games in Charlotte against the Checkers on Saturday and Sunday.
More About:New York Rangers News
Read This Next
