This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS at Milwaukee Admirals // Fri., Feb. 7 // 8 p.m. EST // Panther Arena 
GRIFFINS at Milwaukee Admirals // Sat., Feb. 8 // 7 p.m. EST // Panther Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 7:45 p.m. EST on Friday and 6:45 p.m. EST on Saturday

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey 

Season Series: 3-2-0-0 Overall, 1-1-0-0 Away. Sixth and seventh of eight meetings overall, third and fourth of four at Panther Arena

All-Time Series: 116-85-7-9-8 Overall, 53-45-5-6-5 Away

NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators

Noteworthy: Last weekend, the Griffins were shut out in back-to-back nights for the first time in franchise history, as Colorado’s Adam Scheel made a combined 55 saves in the two games. The Griffins are now scoreless over their last 121:53 played overall, going back to Austin Watson’s late empty-netter on Jan. 29 in a 4-1 win over Rockford. 

Much Needed Break: Between the flu bug, call-ups, and losing a combined 8-0 in the previous weekend series against Colorado, the all-star break came at a great time for the Griffins. Prior to last weekend, Grand Rapids had been on a season-high six-game point streak (5-0-0-1). They also rattled off a four-game win streak from Jan. 18-29. During the last four games, Grand Rapids has averaged 1.50 goals per game while giving up 2.50 tallies. The defense has been solid once again, allowing just 2.09 goals per game in January. Grand Rapids remains in first place in the Central Division, tied for second in the Western Conference, and tied for fifth in the AHL with a 25-14-3-1 record and 54 points through 43 games. The Griffins are 16-10-2-0 against their division rivals with a plus-nine scoring margin and have held at least a share of the top spot in the division since Nov. 8. 

Goose Egg: Last weekend, the Griffins were shut out in back-to-back nights for the first time in franchise history, as Colorado’s Adam Scheel made a combined 55 saves in the two games. The 6-0 defeat on Jan. 31 against the Eagles was just the third time in franchise history that Grand Rapids allowed a hat trick and was shut out in the same game. The Griffins were last shut out in consecutive home games in 2019, on Dec. 27 (0-3 vs. MIL) and 31 (0-2 L vs. CHI). The last time they were last shut out in consecutive games was in 2016, on Jan. 23 (0-2 L vs. RCH) and 27 (0-4 L vs. TOR). The Griffins are now scoreless over their last 121:53 played overall, going back to Austin Watson’s late empty-netter on Jan. 29 in a 4-1 win over Rockford. 

Leaders of the Clubhouse: Veteran leadership has led the way for the Griffins this season, as the average age of their top four scorers is 30. Dominik Shine, currently on recall to Detroit, leads the team in with 32 points (11-21—32), while Austin Watson places second with 29 (12-17—29), Joe Snively third with 28 (15-13—28), and Sheldon Dries rounding out the top four with 24 points (17-7—24). The four players are also the only four to score at least 10 goals this season for Grand Rapids. Combined, the players have 1,984 games under their belt with 924 points (442-482—924). 

Come Out Firing: When the Griffins start hot, things usually turn out pretty well for the team, as they have a 15-1-2-1 record when scoring the game’s first goal compared to a 9-13-1-0 mark when they allow the first tally. They also have yet to suffer a regulation loss when leading after the first period (9-0-2-1) or when leading after the second period (14-0-2-0). When Grand Rapids is trailing after the opening frame, it is 3-10-1-0 and 4-11-0-0 when it trails after the second period. 

Hit The Road: From Jan. 10-Feb. 1, Grand Rapids played eight of 10 games inside Van Andel Arena and finished with a 5-4-0-1 mark. Now, the team will hit the road for four of its next five games, making stops in Milwaukee and Iowa. The Griffins are 13-6-2-0 on the road this season and have points in seven of their last eight games in foreign territory (6-1-1-0). Under head coach Dan Watson, Grand Rapids is 27-22-6-2 (.544) away from home.  

Lock it Down: The Griffins allowed just 2.09 goals per game in the month of January and are tied for first overall with 2.51 goals allowed per game. When teams do score on Grand Rapids, it is usually in the second period, as it has given up 37% of its goals in the middle frame (40 in 2nd, 31 in 1st, 33 in 3rd).   Sebastian Cossa has shown a 2.20 GAA and .920 save percentage through 25 games, Jack Campbell has a 2.39 GAA and a .911 save percentage in seven appearances, and Ville Husso possesses a 2.37 GAA and a .922 save percentage in 10 contests. Dating back to last season, Grand Rapids has allowed just 59 goals in its last 25 regular-season games at Van Andel Arena (2.36 GA per game). Also dating back to last season, the Griffins have allowed 59 goals in their last 23 regular-season road games (2.57 GA per game).

Ups and Downs: After going 6-for-13 (46.2%) in five games from Jan. 15-25, Grand Rapids has failed to score on the power play in its last three games (0-for-8). However, the power play has converted nine of its last 41 opportunities (22.0%) in the previous 15 games. The power play ranks 15th on the circuit at 18.2% (26-for-143). If you break it down further, Grand Rapids’ home power play is 12-for-66 (18.2%, 17th) and its road power play is 14-for-77 (18.2%, 16th). The Griffins have given up six short-handed goals, which is tied for the seventh-most. The Griffins’ penalty kill has struggled as of late, allowing a power-play goal in seven of their last 11 games (27-for-36 on PK, 75.0%). Grand Rapids has also surrendered a power-play goal in 14 of its last 23 outings (62-for-79 on PK, 78.5%). However, the penalty-kill unit remains in the top half of the league, as it is tied for 11th at 84.0%. Grand Rapids has also scored six short-handed tallies, which is tied for eighth in the AHL. When scoring on the power play, the Griffins are 14-4-2-1 and 7-10-1-1 when they allow a power-play goal.

Holy Goalies: Sebastian Cossa, the 15th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2021, has been the go-to netminder for the Griffins this season, as he has a 14-8-3 mark with a 2.20 GAA and a .920 save percentage in 25 games. Cossa ranks among the AHL leaders in minutes played (1,475:06, 9th), games played (25, T8th), GAA (T5th), wins (T6th), and save percentage (6th). The 22-year-old collected his first NHL victory during his debut on Dec. 9 at the Buffalo Sabres with a 6-5 shootout victory behind 12 saves and two stops in the shootout. Cossa became the first netminder in NHL history to win his debut via a shootout in a relief effort. Veteran Jack Campbell made his Griffins debut on Dec. 6 against the Chicago Wolves and later bagged his first win as a Griffin on Dec. 17 at Texas behind 20 saves in a 4-2 decision. Through seven games with Grand Rapids, Campbell is 2-3-1 with a 2.39 GAA and a .911 save percentage. Campbell has 445 pro games under his belt with a 2.67 GAA and 231 wins since 2011-12, splitting time between the NHL (176 GP), AHL (242 GP) and ECHL (27 GP). In the AHL, Campbell has shown a 119-85-27 record with a 2.71 GAA and a .911 save percentage. Ville Husso was reassigned by the Red Wings on Jan. 18 and has shown a 7-2-0 mark with two shutouts in 10 games with the Griffins this year to go along with a 2.37 GAA and a .922 save percentage. Throughout his 11-game career with Grand Rapids since 2023-24, Husso has an 8-2-0 ledger with three shutouts, a 2.13 GAA and a .928 save percentage.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:
Shai Buium—Seventh among rookie defensemen in assists (15), 10th among rookie defensemen in points (15), tied for 10th among rookie defensemen in plus-minus rating (+7), tied for 10th among rookie defensemen in power-play assists (4)
Sebastian Cossa—Ninth in minutes played (1,475:06), tied for eighth in games played (25), tied for fifth in GAA (2.20), tied for sixth in wins (14), sixth in save percentage (.920)
Nate Danielson—Tied for eighth among rookies in assists (18), tied for first in short-handed assists (3), first among rookies in short-handed assists (3), tied for ninth among rookies in power-play assists (7)
Josiah Didier—Tied for fourth in short-handed assists (2), tied for second among defensemen in short-handed assists (2)
Alex Doucet—Tied for seventh in short-handed goals (2), tied for first among rookies in short-handed goals (2)
Sheldon Dries—Tied for 13th in goals (17), tied for fourth in game-winners (5)
x William Lagesson—Tied for 15th among defensemen in plus-minus rating (+13)
Amadeus Lombardi—Tied for 14th in game-winners (4)
Austin Watson—First in major penalties (9), tied for 14th in penalty minutes (73), tied for seventh in short-handed goals (2)

Milestones:
Joe Snively collected his 200th point in the AHL on Jan. 29 with an assist against Rockford and Carson Bantle scored his first AHL goal. 
Josiah Didier—One game from 100 as a Griffin
Sheldon Dries—Two assists from 100 in the AHL, four goals from 150 as a pro
Carter Mazur—Three points from 50 as a pro
x Dominik Shine—One unassisted goal from claiming the franchise record of 11 in a career, one goal from moving into a tie for ninth place in the franchise’s all-time goals scored list (Derek King, 73), two assists from 100 as a Griffin, one assist from 100 as a pro
William Wallinder—One game from 100 as a Griffin

Photo by Brianna Nevins/Admirals