Rangers prospect report: Hartford trying to keep AHL playoff run alive

Wednesday's AHL playoff elimination game won't be the first time the Hartford Wolf Pack find themselves staring down long odds.

They only have to look back a couple months.

In mid-March, the New York Rangers' minor-league affiliate was barely hovering around .500, with their playoff chances fading by the day. They would need to go on a heater to crawl out of the basement of the AHL's Atlantic Division and avoid the disappointment of missing the postseason for the second straight year.

Then the Wolf Pack did just that. They concluded the regular season by winning 11 of their final 14 games, including eight in a row, to rally their way into playoff position.

They followed that by marching through the first two rounds, losing only one game combined in series against the Springfield Thunderbirds and Providence Bruins. But with a berth in the AHL's final four on the line, Hartford is facing another moment of truth.

This will come in the form of an 0-2 deficit in its best-of-five series against the Hershey Bears, with Game 3 set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. on home ice at the XL Center.

"I think the team is still up," defenseman Zac Jones told lohud.com, part of the USA TODAY Network, following an optional practice on Monday. "We've put ourselves in a little bit of a hole, but we've been fighting adversity all year, in the sense that we were in last place the whole year and we battled our way to get back into the playoffs. I have nothing but full faith in this group that we can get the job done."

The Wolf Pack even being on this stage should register as a surprise.

Their roster doesn't boast any first-round draft picks or can't-miss prospects, rather a mishmash of minor-league veterans and long-shot young players who will have to scratch and claw to carve out NHL roles. Jones and forward Will Cuylle probably have the best chance to stick there eventually, while captain Jonny Brodzinski, center Ryan Carpenter and defenseman Libor Hájek have some experience at the world's highest level. But consider that Hartford didn't have anyone among the AHL's top 72 scorers this season.

Instead, this assembly of role players has succeeded through a collective approach. Ten skaters finished between 30 and 48 points, with unheralded trade-deadline acquisitions in forwards Anton Blidh and Will Lockwood and defensemen Adam Clendening and Wyatt Kalynuk aiding the late-season push.

"It just shows how much depth we have," said Cuylle, who led the team with 25 goals. "We don’t have any crazy superstars who are going to score 100 points or anything, but I think we have a bunch of really hard workers and a really balanced lineup."

That, coupled with strategic changes by fourth-year head coach Kris Knoblauch − "We mostly encouraged our players to take some more chances (and) be a little more aggressive," he said − helped Hartford overcome a few frustrating months.

Now, after blowing a 2-0 lead entering the third period in Game 1 and losing Game 2 by a score of 4-2, the outlook is bleak once again.

It begs the question: Do the Wolf Pack have another rally in them?

"I thought everyone was playing their ‘A’ game through the first two series, and now we’ve got another hurdle," Knoblauch said. "I don't want to take any credit away from Hershey, because they are a good team and they're making things difficult for us. ... I guess the hurdle for me is trying to find out how we can get our team back to playing the way we were, because I think those two games in Hershey were not as good as we can be."

How Zac Jones 're-upped my love for the game'

Jones is as optimistic as any about Hartford's chances of coming back in this series, which is befitting his usually upbeat personality. But there was a brief period when the 22-year-old defenseman lost that spark.

After making the Rangers' roster out of training camp, he largely struggled in 16 NHL games to begin the season. That led to an early December demotion, with Jones saying at the time, "I felt like I was almost nervous with the puck out there, which, I've never had that feeling in my life.”

With his confidence shaken, the 2019 third-round pick determined he had to clear his mind, let his instincts take hold and get back to having fun.

"I was thinking too much at the beginning of year," he said. "I was just too much in my head. When everything happened and I got sent down, I kind of let all those thoughts go. It's the game you love. You’ve got to enjoy playing the game every day to be able to do as a job. I kind of lost it for a second and I'm happy that – I wouldn't say I gained the love back, but just re-upped my love for the game and kind of let everything else go."

Jones has mostly been successful in those efforts while leading all Wolf Pack defensemen with 31 points (eight goals and 23 assists) through 54 games played, plus another six points (two goals and four assists) through eight playoff contests.

Knoblauch quickly points to him as one of the team's most important players.

"Zac Jones has been a key part of our team all season long," he said. "Almost every night, he leads our team in ice time, leading our first power play unit and quarterbacking that. Usually, he's playing anywhere from 22-to-23 minutes a night, and we rely heavily on him."

While the Rangers haven't given him a very long leash in previous stints, an opening could exist in the near future. Only one of their three regular left-handed defensemen is under contract for next season, with Jones also in need of a new deal as he approaches his first summer as a restricted free agent.

He could provide a cheap option if they're willing to give him a chance, but he's learned that getting bogged down by expectations can often have an inverse effect.

"The biggest thing for me is it's still a development," Jones said. "I'm still 22 years old. I’ve still got time to make the jump, so I'm not really pushing it and not really forcing myself to really think, ‘I've got to be here. I've got to be here.’ I'm enjoying the ride. I'm enjoying every opportunity I'm getting down here. It's not often you get to play playoff hockey, so I'm loving every opportunity."

Will Cuylle finishes strong

The other player Knoblauch mentioned as making the most noticeable strides this season is Cuylle.

"I’m not sure what he had for his goal total at Christmas time," said the coach, insinuating that it took time for the 21-year-old winger to get comfortable in his first full professional season. "By the end of the season, he was on our first power play unit, one of our top penalty-killing forwards, on our top line and handling a lot of responsibility. Certainly, he was one that really progressed and is coming along. There were high expectations for him and I think he's been doing a very good job of meeting those expectations."

Cuylle's combination of a heavy left-handed wrist shot and growing knack for tips and deflections around the net transformed him into Hartford's leading goal-scorer, despite being one of its youngest players.

To Knoblauch's point, 18 of his 25 goals came after Christmas break, earning the 2020 second-round pick two brief NHL call-ups in the second half of the season.

That four-game taste suggested he could crack the Rangers' bottom six next season, with Cuylle among a handful of candidates to fill one of those roles at an affordable salary cap hit.

"I got to see what it’s like at that level," he said. "That will just motivate me more to work harder during the summer."

Dylan Garand stands out in playoffs

While Jones and Cuylle were leaned on heavily to help the Wolf Pack get to the playoffs, another prospect with legitimate NHL hopes has made his most valuable contributions in the last few weeks.

For much of the regular season, Dylan Garand served as the No. 2 goalie to veteran Louis Domingue. Adapting to that reduced role − along with his first season as a professional, far away from his home in Victoria, British Columbia − came with what the 20-year-old described as "a lot of ups and downs."

The results were underwhelming, with a 13-14-3 record, 3.01 goals against average and .894 save percentage in 32 appearances. But then an opportunity to change the narrative came knocking. The Rangers recalled Domingue as their third goalie for the NHL playoffs, leaving Garand as Hartford's clear-cut starter.

"I was really given the keys and was given an opportunity to play the games, and that was really exciting," he said. "Maybe something that's a little misconception is that I'm just a rookie and I don't really have much experience. But last season I played 17 playoff games (in the WHL) and we went on a really long run, and I also played in the World Juniors, too. I've had experience in the playoffs before, so I think this season, it was nothing really new to me. I really leaned on the experiences that I have in the past. I just tried to do my job and give the team a chance to win."

He's done more than just give the Wolf Pack a chance.

Through eight playoff games, he's been one of their best players. The 2021 fourth-round pick has been lights out with a .935 SV% that ranks first among goalies from the eight teams that are still alive, as does his 1.78 GAA. That includes two shutouts, with Garand noting, "I watch my games at the start of the year compared to now, and I think I've improved a lot."

"My tracking has gotten a lot better," he added. "I’m a lot more patient and I'm a lot more focused on the puck. I'm really in control of that, and then also just my skating and my movement. I'm not ripping around the crease or overusing my speed. I'm not opening up holes. I'm just kind of staying more calm and in position, and I think that all stems through tracking. That's definitely something that I've really been focusing on the whole year, but specifically lately, and it's been a huge help."

Even with Domingue back to begin the series against Hershey, Knoblauch stuck with Garand in net for the first two games. It remains to be seen if that will change for a win-or-go-home Game 3, but a decision either way won't take away from Garand's eye-opening postseason.

With NHL backup Jaroslav Halák heading for free agency, it's not out of the question to think Garand could compete for that role with the Rangers in the near future. If he learned anything in his first year as a pro, it's to prepare for all scenarios.

"It was just about controlling what I can control," he said. "Whether or not I get to play or not, I'm going to be ready to go. I'm going to focus on my process and what I need to do to be successful if I do get to play. And if not, then I'm going to go practice and get better."