ALBANY, NY -The Hartford Wolf Pack took a 2-0 lead into the third period Sunday at the Times Union Center, only to see the Albany Devils score five times in the third and hand the Wolf Pack a 5-3 defeat.
The loss snapped a run of five games with at least a standings point (4-0-0-1) for the Wolf Pack, who fell to 34-22-5-4 (77 points) on the season. 
The Devils scored three times on power plays in the third period, against a Hartford penalty-killing unit that had been 26-for-28 in the previous seven games.
“When you play PK (penalty kill) it’s tough to score goals, and they get a chance to score goals, so that’s probably the story of this loss,” said Wolf Pack forward Carl Klingberg, who had a goal and an assist in the game. “I thought we played a good game, though, when we were not playing PK.”
Albany’s comeback began almost immediately in the third session, after Oscar Lindberg, who also had a goal and an assist for the Wolf Pack, took a high-sticking penalty at the 12-second mark. The Devils used that power play to get on the board at 1:02, when Paul Thompson scored his 26th goal of the season on a rebound of a Mike Sislo shot.
Exactly 60 seconds later, at 2:02, Albany tied the score after the Wolf Pack failed to break cleanly out of their own zone. Sislo got this goal, deflecting Corbin McPherson’s shot from the left point past Wolf Pack goaltender Jeff Malcolm (23 saves).
The worst of the penalty trouble for the Wolf Pack started at 5:14, when Steve Spinell was sent off for slashing, and Lindberg was whistled for interference at 5:47, creating a two-man advantage of 1:27 for the Devils.
Albany scored on both halves of the five-on-three, taking a 3-2 lead at 6:23 on Scott Timmins’ eighth of the season. Timmins, stationed in front of the goal, knocked in a centering pass by Thompson from the left-wing side.
Then, 1:04 after that, at 7:27, Raman Hrabarenka scored what turned out to be the game-winner, with Lindberg still in the penalty box. Hrabarenka took a feed from fellow defenseman Brandon Burlon and drilled a one-timer through Malcolm from the top of the left circle.
That made it 4-2 for the Devils, and the Wolf Pack answered back with 4:16 left, with Lindberg scoring his 22nd of the season. Klingberg worked the puck to Lindberg just above the left faceoff dot, and Lindberg’s low shot went through a screen and underneath Devil netminder Scott Clemmensen (15 saves). That tally extended a goal-scoring streak for Lindberg to a team season-high five games.
The Wolf Pack could get no closer, though, and Tim Sestito put the game away for Albany with an empty-net goal with 15.6 seconds left.
The Wolf Pack fought off an earlier two-man disadvantage of 1:02 midway through the first period, and then took the game’s first lead with 49.3 seconds left in the first, on a goal by Joey Crabb.
Crabb took a long feed from Conor Allen and got a half-step on Burlon. Crabb’s forehand shot was stopped by the right pad of Clemmensen, but it went off Clemmensen’s leg, hit the goal post to his right and went over the goal line.
The Wolf Pack also scored late in the second period, making it a 2-0 advantage at 17:03, with Klingberg scoring his second goal in nine games since joining the Wolf Pack.
Justin Vaive took a hit on the right-wing boards to work the puck to the corner for Lindberg, who immediately backhanded it to Klingberg in front. Klingberg one-timed the feed over Clemmensen’s catching glove and into the net.
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