This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS (37-7-2-1) vs. Cleveland Monsters (25-15-6-1) // Wed., Feb. 18 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 6:45 p.m.

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey 

Season Series: 2-1-0-0 Overall, 2-1-0-0 Home. Fourth of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at Van Andel Arena  

All-Time Series: 80-42-9-14 Overall, 47-19-4-4 Home

NHL Affiliation: Columbus Blue Jackets

Noteworthy: The Monsters are on a two-game win streak and are 8-1-1-0 in their last 10 games. 

GRIFFINS vs. Chicago Wolves (24-11-5-5) // Fri., Feb. 20 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 6:45 p.m.

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey 

Season Series: 4-1-0-1 Overall, 1-1-0-0 Home. Seventh of 10 meetings overall, third of five at Van Andel Arena 

All-Time Series: 108-92-2-8-6 Overall, 52-41-2-6-4 Home

NHL Affiliation: Carolina Hurricanes

Noteworthy: Chicago is led by Bradly Nadeau (20-24—44) and Justin Robidas (20-24—44), as both are tied for 10th in the AHL rankings. 

GRIFFINS at Milwaukee Admirals (20-21-2-2) // Sat., Feb. 21 // 7 p.m. EST // Panther Arena

Listen: 96.1 The Game at 6:45 p.m.

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey 

Season Series: 5-0-2-0 Overall, 2-0-1-0 Away. Eighth of 12 meetings overall, fourth of six at Panther Arena 

All-Time Series: 122-87-7-11-8 Overall, 55-47-5-7-5 Away

NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators

Noteworthy: Milwaukee will be the Griffins’ most frequent opponent down the stretch, as the two teams will see each other five more times. 

Back in the Groove: The Griffins dropped six of 10 games from Jan. 7-30 but have since returned to form, showing a 5-1-0-0 record with a plus-13 margin (24-11) from Jan. 31-Feb. 15. Grand Rapids has scored five goals in four of its last six contests and has allowed more than two goals just once. The Griffins have continued their league-record start with a 37-7-2-1 ledger and 77 points through 47 games. Grand Rapids tied the 2005-06 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (34-6-3-2, 73 pts.) for the second-best start in AHL history through 45 games. The team saw its franchise-record tying 15-game win streak from Nov. 22-Dec. 27 come to an end in overtime on Dec. 31, which also tied for the sixth-longest run in AHL history. In addition, the Griffins’ 19-game point streak from Nov. 22-Jan. 7 (18-0-1-0) ended on Jan. 9, which tied for the longest run in franchise history (see table). The Griffins are 18-2-1-1 on the road and 19-5-1-0 at home. The 17-game points streak on the road from Oct. 10-Jan. 23 (15-0-1-1) set a new AHL record, eclipsing the 2010-11 Milwaukee Admirals’ 16-game run (10-0-4-2). Grand Rapids ranks first in the AHL in points (77), has a 19-point cushion over Chicago for first place in the Central Division, and is 37 points up on a playoff spot.

Shine On, Captain: Dominik Shine was named the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Feb. 15, 2026, when he logged five goals, 13 shots and a plus-six rating in two games. He also began the week competing in his first-career AHL All-Star Classic in Rockford, Illinois. In last Sunday’s 5-0 win against Texas, Shine collected his second hat trick of the season and surpassed Mitch Callahan for the third-most goals in franchise history (95), securing his first-ever 20-goal campaign. This marks Shine’s first-career AHL Player of the Week award, as he continues his 10th season as a Griffin. The 32-year-old has 34 points (20-14—34) in 34 games with 32 penalty minutes and a career-high plus-22 rating, ranking second on the team in points, goals and plus-minus rating. In the AHL rankings, the Detroit native is tied for 11th in goals and ninth in plus-minus rating. On the all-time regular-season franchise leaderboard, Shine ranks third in games played (517), third in goals (95), seventh in assists (123), fourth in points (218), fifth in penalty minutes (585), tied for fifth in shorthanded goals (6), tied for third in game-winners (15), tied for first in unassisted goals (10), and third in shots (888).

The Brick Wall: Sebastian Cossa, the 15th overall pick in 2021, collected his fifth shutout of the season last Sunday against Texas with 26 saves. His career-high five shutouts are the most by a Griffin since 2015-16 (Jared Coreau). Cossa has a 21-4-2 record with a 1.92 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage. He enjoyed a career-high 10-game win streak from Nov. 25-Dec. 27, showing a 1.51 GAA and a .939 save percentage, and a 14-game point streak from Nov. 25-Jan. 13 (12-0-2). In the AHL rankings, Cossa ranks second in GAA, second in save percentage, first in shutouts, tied for first in wins and eighth in minutes played (1595:01). Cossa won two straight AHL Goaltender of the Month awards (November and December), becoming the first netminder in franchise history to receive the honor twice in the same season. The 23-year-old also became just the third goaltender in team history to win the award twice in any fashion, joining Jared Coreau (Feb. 2018, Dec. 2015) and Jimmy Howard (Dec. 2007, March 2006). In parts of four seasons with Grand Rapids since 2022-23, Cossa has notched a 65-29-16 mark with eight shutouts to go along with a 2.37 GAA and a .914 save percentage in 111 outings, becoming just the sixth netminder to reach the century mark with the team.

Going for Gold: On Jan. 6, Team Latvia announced that forward Eduards Tralmaks will represent the country at the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games from Feb. 6-22. Heading into today’s win-or-go-home game against Sweden, Tralmaks had three points (2-1—3) in three games. Tralmaks is the seventh player to participate in an Olympics while playing for the Griffins (see table). Tralmaks is also the sixth current or former Griffin competing at the Olympics, joining USA’s Dylan Larkin, Germany’s Moritz Seider, Czechia’s Filip Hronek and Radim Simek, and Slovakia’s Tomas Tatar. Tralmaks, a native of Riga, Latvia, has 24 points (18-6—24), six penalty minutes and a plus-19 rating in 44 games with the Griffins this season. When he joined Team Latvia, he ranked among the Griffins leaders in goals (2nd), points (5th), and plus-minus rating (T2nd), while tying for 14th in the AHL in goals and plus-minus rating. Tralmaks has competed for Team Latvia at the two previous World Championships in 2024 and 2025, showing a combined nine points (4-5—9) in 14 games. At last year's World Championship, Tralmaks led Latvia in points (3-4—7) and assists, while ranking second in goals in seven games. Also in 2024-25, he potted one goal in three Olympic qualifying games with Latvia. 

Record Setters: Below is a list of team and league records that the Griffins have either set or tied this season. 
- Best record in AHL history through 25 games (23-1-0-1, 47 pts.), 30 games (27-1-1-1, 56 pts.) and 40 games (32-5-2-1, 67 pts.), while tying for the best start through 35 games (29-3-2-1, 61 pts.)
- Tied second-best record in AHL history through 45 games (35-7-2-1, 73 pts.)
- Reached the 60-point mark in just 32 games, three games faster than any team in AHL history
- AHL record 17-game road points streak from Oct. 10-Jan. 23 (15-0-1-1)
- Tied franchise-record 15-game winning streak from Nov. 22-Dec. 27, which also tied for sixth-longest in AHL history
- Tied franchise-record 19-game points streak from Nov. 22-Jan. 7 (18-0-1-0)
- Franchise-record start with an 8-0 record and was the league’s last undefeated team for first time since 2000-01 IHL season
- Started 6-0 at home for first time since 2009-10 (8-0)
- Franchise record for largest margin of victory (9) on Nov. 25 at Texas (10-1 W) 
- Franchise record for fewest shots in a game (10) on Jan. 17 versus Milwaukee

What’s The Password?: The Griffins’ defense remains the best in the AHL, as it ranks first with 1.91 goals allowed per contest. Grand Rapids posted its eighth shutout of the season on Feb. 15 against Texas, which are the most since 2016-17 (8). The Griffins shut out their opponent in two straight games from Jan. 17-21 in addition to posting consecutive shutouts from Dec. 21-27. Prior to this season, the last time Grand Rapids logged two straight shutouts was Feb. 15-17, 2018. The Griffins have allowed more than two goals just 12 times all season (25.5%) and have averaged 1.80 goals allowed in their last five outings. In addition, the team’s penalty kill is first in the AHL at 87.2%. In net, Sebastian Cossa sports a 1.92 GAA with a .930 save percentage and five shutouts, while rookie netminder Michal Postava possesses a 1.77 GAA, a .936 save percentage and two shutouts. Grand Rapids also has three of the top eight plus-minus ratings among defensemen. The Griffins have four defensemen who have played at least 100 games in the NHL in Erik Gustafsson (517) (currently with Detroit), Justin Holl (396), Ian Mitchell (110), and William Lagesson (107), totaling 1,130 appearances. 

Sha-BOO-ya: Second-year defenseman Shai Buium collected two assists in consecutive games from Feb. 7-13 and followed that with his first goal of the season last Sunday. The 22-year-old has five points (1-4—5) in his last three outings and six points (1-5—6) in the past five contests since Feb. 3. Buium, the 36th overall pick by Detroit in 2021, made his season debut on Jan. 9 against Texas after rehabbing an upper-body injury suffered during the NHL preseason. As a rookie last season, Buium registered 25 points (2-23—25), 22 penalty minutes and a plus-two rating in 67 regular-season games, adding three appearances in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Buium spent his collegiate career at the University of Denver from 2021-24, becoming a two-time NCAA champion in 2021-22 and 2023-24.

Back to Normal: Grand Rapids was held to under three goals in seven of nine games from Jan. 9-30 but has since scored five goals in four of its last six contests since Jan. 31, averaging 4.00 goals per game. The Griffins have returned to first in the AHL with 3.51 goals per game after a slow January. The team has outscored its opponents 165-90 and is 27-0 when scoring the game’s first goal. The Griffins have outscored their opponents 76-43 at home, while possessing an 89-47 advantage on the road. Grand Rapids has its largest scoring margin against its opponents in the third period (67-29). John Leonard leads the team and ranks second in the AHL with 26 goals, while Dominik Shine ranks second on the roster with 20 and Eduards Tralmaks places third with 18.

Leaders of the Pack: The Griffins have led the Central Division for the entire season, and are 19 points above second-place Chicago and 37 points up on a playoff spot. Grand Rapids is 29-5-2-1 against its division rivals and has outscored them 133-73, suffering its first regulation defeat against the division on Jan. 9 against Texas. The Griffins’ 29 wins are the most divisional victories since 2023-24 (30). Nineteen of the remaining 25 games for Grand Rapids will be against the Central Division (76.0%). The Griffins will see the most games against the Milwaukee Admirals (5) and Rockford IceHogs (5). 

The Well is not Dry: Sheldon Dries is on a three-game point streak (1-2—3) and had goals in three of four games from Jan. 31-Feb. 7. Throughout 39 games with this season, Dries has 33 points (17-16—33) and a career-high plus-18 rating. The Macomb, Michigan, native ranks third on the roster in points, fourth in assists, and fourth in goals. He had two points in four straight games from Dec. 17-27 (3-5—8) and was selected as the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Dec. 21 when he logged six points (2-4—6) and a plus-eight rating in three games. Throughout his nine-year AHL career, Dries has 277 points (155-122—277), 270 penalty minutes and a plus-45 rating in 378 games.

The Lombardi Trophy: Amadeus Lombardi is on a three-game point streak (1-2—3) and has seven points (3-4—7) in his last seven outings. He tied his career high with three points (1-2—3) on Jan. 31 at Chicago. This marked the second time he’s posted three points this season and was his fourth multi-point outing of the campaign. The third-year pro was sidelined for 20 straight games from Nov. 22-Jan. 9 due to rehabbing an injury. Since his return on Jan. 13, Lombardi has nine points (3-6—9) in 14 games. Last season, the Aurora, Ontario, native, logged a career-high 40 points (19-21—40) in 44 games with the Griffins. With Grand Rapids since the spring of 2023, Lombardi has 90 points (30-60—90) in 143 outings. He was the 113th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

Just Getting Started: Rookie netminder Michal Postava tied a franchise record by becoming the 10th netminder in team history to post back-to-back shutouts from Jan. 17-21. He collected his first AHL shutout on Jan. 17 with 10 saves in a 2-0 victory over Milwaukee and followed that performance with a 19-save blanking of Milwaukee on Jan. 21. His 10 saves on Jan. 17 set a new franchise record for fewest in a shutout. Postava logged a shutout streak of 156:20 from Jan. 9-25, which was 3:47 short of breaking the franchise record by Jared Coreau in 2014-15 (160:06). After beginning the campaign 5-0, the 23-year-old suffered his first AHL defeat on Jan. 9 against Texas. Postava is now 9-3-0 with a 1.77 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage in 14 games. Last season, Postava became a Czech Extraliga champion with Kometa Brno, showing a league-best .940 save percentage with a 1.97 GAA and a 10-7 record in 17 playoff games. During the regular season with Kometa Brno, Postava ranked among the Czech Extraliga leaders in save percentage (.921, 5th), GAA (2.39, 11th), wins (23, 4th), games played (42, T2nd) and shutouts (3, T7th). As an undrafted free agent, Postava signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Detroit Red Wings last summer.    

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:  
Michael Brandsegg-Nygard—Tied for third in game-winners (5), tied for eighth among rookies in assists (18), tied for 13th among rookies in points (26), fourth among rookies in plus-minus (+17), 12th among rookies in shots (89), tied for first among rookies in game-winners (5)
Sebastian Cossa—Second in GAA (1.92), second in save percentage (.930), first in shutouts (5), tied for first in wins (21), tied for ninth in games played (27), eighth in minutes played (1595:01)
Sheldon Dries—Tied for 10th in power-play goals (7)
x Erik Gustafsson—Tied for 10th among defensemen in plus-minus (+18), tied for ninth among defensemen in power-play goals (2)
Justin Holl—Tied for 11th in plus-minus (+20), tied for fourth among defensemen in plus-minus (+20)
Alex Kannok Leipert—Tied for fourth in shorthanded assists (2), tied for third among defensemen in shorthanded assists (2)
William Lagesson—Fourth in plus-minus (+26), second among defensemen in plus-minus (+26)
John Leonard—Second in goals (26), tied for second in shorthanded goals (3), first in game-winners (8)
Ian Mitchell—Tied for 10th among defensemen in plus-minus (+18)
Dominik Shine—Tied for 11th in goals (20), ninth in plus-minus (+22)
Antti Tuomisto—Tied for 11th in plus-minus (+20), tied for 12th among defensemen in goals (7), tied for fourth among defensemen in plus-minus (+20)
Austin Watson—Fifth in penalty minutes (123)

Milestones: In a 5-0 win against Texas last Sunday, Sheldon Dries competed in his 500th pro game and Dominik Shine collected a hat trick, surpassing Mitch Callahan for the third-most goals in team history (95).  
Dominik Shine—Five goals from 100 as a Griffin, one unassisted goal from claiming sole possession of the franchise record of 11
Austin Watson—One game from 100 as a Griffin 

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins