Hartford Wolf Pack Weekly: Jake Leschyshyn breaks out, Matthew Robertson trends upward
Bright spots are emerging for the New York Rangers affiliate in the American Hockey League, after the Hartford Wolf Pack secured wins in four of their past six games. The winning formula was highlighted last week by Dylan Garand’s stellar performance, securing a 3-0 shutout against the Hershey Bears, and earning his ninth win of the season against the Laval Rocket in a 4-2 victory.
Despite a 5-2 loss to the Providence Bruins, the Wolf Pack remained on an upward trend, securing four of six points last week. Furthermore, previously elusive consistent play is spearheading their winning ways.
Entering the final week before holiday break, Hartford is 12-10-2-1 for 27 points. They are fifth in the Atlantic Division, 10th in the Eastern Conference, and 17th in the AHL. Three points separate Hartford from second-place Providence.
Related: What’s Rangers end game with ‘uncomfortable’ handling of Mika Zibanejad?
Hartford Wolf Pack news-n-notes
Matthew Robertson — photo courtesy of Hartford Wolf Pack
Jake Leschyshyn on roll
Forward Jake Leschyshyn has stepped up with a five-game point streak (six goals, one assist), and helped awaken Hartford’s power play. The Wolf Pack scored power-play goal in four straight games (5-for-18) and are 4-for-11 in their past three three games. Hartford registered two power-play goals against Laval, which was a deciding factor in the win.
Leschyshyn has recorded five goals on the man advantage, sparking a down-and-out Hartford power play. In addition to his production, he has a knack of getting shots on net, with 14 of them in the past five games. He was tied for the most shots in two games and had the second most in two other games. Leschyshyn’s 12 points (seven goals, five assists) puts him sixth on the Wolf Pack, as he climbs the list during his hot streak.
With the expected return of Brennan Othmann by the end of the calendar year, the Wolf Pack’s power play will get a further boost and have more options now that Leschyshyn has stepped up.
Matthew Robertson’s improved game
After struggling a bit at the start of the season, Matthew Robertson is finding his game and becoming a reliable force on the Hartford defense corps. The 23-year-old’s journey in Hartford is a roller coaster, after his shoulder injury in 2022-23 (played in 57 games) and a subpar season in 2023-24.
Focusing on the last several weeks, Robertson is stepping up at both ends of the rink. He is on a three-game assist streak (six assists) and had a three-point performance against Hershey. In fact, of the Wolf Pack’s three goals, Robertson recorded the primary assist on two of the three. Through 25 games, Robertson leads the defense corps with 14 points (one goal, 13 assists) and is tied (with Case McCarthy) for the best plus/minus at plus-3.
Robertson has excelled on the penalty kill and improved in blocking shots. His one-on-one coverage has been very good.
The only downer is that Robertson continues to be passed over when the Rangers need help on defense. It happened again when the more experienced Connor Mackey got the call after K’Andre Miller landed on IR with an upper-body injury.
Defensive play, PK improve in front of Dylan Garand
Hartford’s overall defensive play is much improved. Yes, that begins with Garand’s strong play between the pipes. But it’s been a team effort, allowing three goals or less in four of six games. The Wolf Pack were outshot 12-4 in the first period and 13-7 in the third against Hershey. The pressure was on from arguably the best team in the league. But the defense corps and forwards helped Garand since the shots he faced were from a distance and easy to read. Furthermore the high-danger opportunities against were limited.
A similar situation unfolded against Laval when Hartford was outshot 11-4 in the first and 12-5 in the third. Though Laval attempted more quality chances, the defense came to Garand’s aid and the Rocket did not score until early in the third. The Wolf Pack are able to recover when opponents have more chances in games. This is encouraging pivot from the recent past.
Shifting to the penalty kill, the Wolf Pack killed 14-of-15 penalties in three games. Their one goal against down a man was against Providence. Prior to that, the Wolf Pack were perfect against Hershey (3-for-3) and Laval (6-for-6). The impressive part of the penalty kill was that Hartford kept it simple, comfortably clearing the puck out. And the Wolf Pack also had a couple of scoring chances while short-handed.
Game Notes
- Dylan Garand had a shutout streak of 197:02, third longest in Wolf Pack history since 2004-05. The second longest belongs to David LeNeveu (200:31 in 2013-14) and the longest one belongs to Steve Valiquette (219:55 in 2004-05).
- Benoit-Oliver Groulx’s six-game point streak (two goals, 10 assists) ended against Hershey. The forward is second on the Wolf Pack and tied for 13th in the league with 23 points (eight goals, 15assists).
- Alex Belzile leads the Wolf Pack with 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) and is tied for eighth in the league.
Upcoming Games
All games can be watched on AHLTV and listened on Mixlr.
Friday, December 20th vs Providence Bruins (Boston) at 7pm, XL Center
- This is the fourth of 10 meetings in the season series. Hartford is 1-2-0-0 against Providence.
- Entering the week, Providence is 14-10-2-0 for 30 points, second in the Atlantic Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins have won six straight.
- Vinni Lettieri leads the Bruins with 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) and is fifth in the league in scoring. Georgii Merkulov has 23 points (six goals, 17 assists), tied for 13th in the league.
Saturday, December 21st vs Providence Bruins (Boston) at 7:05pm, Amica Mutual Pavillion
- The second half of a home-and-home set will be the fifth meeting in the season series. Hartford and Providence will hook up again on Dec. 28.
- Hartford is 1-6-1-1 on the road and Providence is 9-5-2-0 at home.
More About:New York Rangers News
Read This Next
