Vitali Kravtsov’s return to the AHL on Tuesday went horribly for the Hartford Wolf Pack. After two periods they losing 5-1 and getting outshot 31-11 by the Charlotte Checkers. Igor Shesterkin was pulled early into the second period. The entire team looked off its game, with even usually reliable players like Steven Fogarty and Danny O’Regan making atypically careless mistakes.
The Wolf Pack lost, 6-3, and the coaching staff will want to either burn the tape or burn the footage into the players’ memories. On some small level, though, the team’s bad performance did pay off.