The Hartford Wolf Pack made a rare foray north of the border this week and came home with a pair of points, though they continued to chase the elusive “W” in the standings.

Both Saturday’s match-up with the Hamilton Bulldogs and Sunday’s tilt against the Toronto Marlies required extra time to decide a winner, and despite being tied for tops in the league in overtime victories, the Wolf Pack came away the loser in both: Saturday in a shootout, and Sunday with just 1.1 seconds remaining in overtime.

A pair of new faces were on hand for the latest round of losses, while some old friends moved on to greener pastures, victims of the NHL Trade Deadline. New York Rangers General Manager Glen Sather made two moves at Wednesday’s deadline, both with the goal of shoring up weak spots in the Wolf Pack line-up.

The first deal brought 27-year old center Kris Newbury to Connecticut’s capital. A veteran of 48 NHL games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings, Newbury was brought in to fill a gap down the middle that’s been an issue for the Pack since Tyler Arneson left for the KHL and Patrick Rissmiller was dispatched to Grand Rapids of the AHL in October. Newbury paid immediate dividends, potting a goal and an assist in his first weekend with the Pack.

Newbury didn’t come cheap, however, and in exchange for the hard-nosed center, the Wolf Pack sent 23-year old heart-and-soul winger Jordan Owens — recipient of last season’s Fan Favorite Award — to the Motor City.

The second addition was Anders Eriksson, a 34-year old veteran defenseman with almost 600 NHL games under his belt. Eriksson helps shore up a defense corps that’s been depleted by injuries all season, and suffered its latest when Michael Sauer went down with season-ending shoulder injury last month. And while the front office didn’t know it when they acquired him in exchange for goaltender Miika Wiikman and a sixth round draft pick, Eriksson’s arrival would prove fortuitous. On Thursday Matheiu Dandenault, who returned to the Pack line-up only a week ago after spending the majority of the season nursing a groin injury, opted to call it quits after learning he would not receive an NHL contract from the Rangers.

Both of the new additions stepped into important roles with the Wolf Pack: Newbury centering the top line with Dane Byers and Dale Weise and Erikkson joining Bobby Sanguinetti on the Wolf Pack’s top defense pairing.

Newbury’s arrival too was fortuitous, as the Wolf Pack once again found itself without the services of top forward P.A. Parenteau, who was forced to miss the road trip after his post-concussion symptoms returned after his brief three game return to the line-up last week.

And so it was that the Wolf Pack arrived in Hamilton on Saturday for the first of its two weekend games. Although the team bus arrived in plenty of time for the 7:00pm puck drop, the team itself failed to show up until late in the second period. Before the game was even five minutes old the Wolf Pack had spotted their hosts a two goal lead, with the first goal coming just 36 seconds in.  The second followed 4:07 later.

The Bulldogs had come into Saturday’s contest with a convincing 16 point lead in the Western Conference’s North Division, having won seven straight games by a combined score of 30-13. Yet it was the Wolf Pack that was the dominant team in the second period, doubling up Hamilton’s 9 shots with 18 of their own. The pressure paid off in the closing minutes of the period when defenseman Jared Nightingale cut the Pack’s deficit to one with 1:19 on the clock.  Weise would tie the score at two just 19 seconds later, and it would stay that way through an evenly played third period.

In overtime it was the Bulldogs that had the better of the chances, but Hartford goaltender Matt Zaba held off the charge to push the game in the shootout. Unfortunately, Hartford’s shootout woes continued, with Locke, Weise, Newbury and Evgeny Grachev all coming up empty, while a pair of Hamilton shots got past Zaba.

Given the Bulldogs’ record — only the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears are better — the point the Pack left Hamilton with can be seen as nothing but a positive. But for as much as leaving Hamilton with a point was a positive, the point gained in Toronto can only be considered a disappointment.

The Marlies entered the match extremely shorthanded, icing just 15 skaters thanks to a combinations of injuries and call-ups. Plus, they were coming in as losers of four straight and had been shut out in consecutive games prior to Sunday’s tilt.

But yet another slow start by the Wolf Pack allowed the Maple Leafs’ top farm club to put up a 10-3 shot advantage in the opening period. The hosts cashed in on the scoreboard with 44 seconds remaining in the frame, and then double their lead on the power play at 4:39 of the second.

As is becoming a habit, when faced with a multi-goal deficit, the Pack buckled down, limiting the Marlies to six shots in the middle period. While they only put up five of their own, one of them went in, on the power play, off the stick of newcomer Newbury, late in the frame. In the third period, the visitors poured on the pressure, outshooting the Marlies by a 15-9 margin. The tying goal at 7:38 came from an unlikely source: Rangers castaway Donald Brashear, who earned his first tally for the Pack with a slapshot from the top of the left circle.

Brashear’s goal set up Hartford’s fourth visit to overtime in five games, where a defensive breakdown allowed Brendan Mikkelson to skate in to the right circle unencumbered and blast the demoralizing game-winner over netminder Chad Johnson‘s glove with 1.1 seconds remaining.

What’s Next
The Wolf Pack wraps up its five game road trip with two visits to Atlantic Division foes before hosting the baby Devils at the XL Center to finish the week.

On Wednesday, Hartford’s heroes travel to Worcester to meet the division-leading Sharks. The Sharks currently own an 18-point lead on the Wolf Pack, but the Pack have won each of the four prior meetings between the two clubs this season — all in regulation. Game time is 7:00pm.

Moving from first to worst, the Wolf Pack travels to Springfield on Friday night for a 7:00pm face off with the last place Falcons. The eighth place Falcons remain holders of the AHL’s worst record, but — in case you doubted how bad the Pack’s season has been — are only nine points behind the seventh place Wolf Pack in the Atlantic Division standings.

Saturday’s 7:00pm match-up with the Lowell Devils kicks off a season-high six game homestand which could make or break the Wolf Pack’s playoff hopes. Lowell currently sits in fourth place in the Atlantic, nine points north of the Pack. The two clubs have split the season series so far, 3-3.

Laurie covers the Wolf Pack and the Rangers’ Russian players and prospects for her blog, Beyond the Blueshirts. She’ll be bringing us weekly updates on the Rangers’ top farm club throughout the 2009-2010 season. For updates as they happen, follow her on Twitter @byndblueshirts