Griffins Game #76 * Road Game #38 * AHL Game #405

Season Series: 6-0-1-0 Home Series: 3-0-1-0 Road Series: 3-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 67-34-6-10 All-Time Home Series: 38-17-2-2 All-Time Road Series: 29-17-4-8

Griffins at Monsters
Eighth of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse…Grand Rapids is 13-3-1-0 (0.794) against Cleveland in the past two seasons and has points in all seven games this season (6-0-1-0)...Since the 2017-18 campaign, the Griffins are 23-7-2-1 (0.742) against Cleveland and have outscored them 116-82. On the road during that span, Grand Rapids is 11-3-1-1 (0.750) against the Monsters with a +18 scoring margin (62-44)...After finishing in second in the AHL a year ago with a 26.9% power play rating, Cleveland currently ranks 24th in the league with a conversion rate of 18.1%. The Monsters’ penalty kill ranks 20th with a kill percentage of 80.2%...Cleveland is on a three-game win streak...The Monsters come into the outing with a 4-6-0-0 record in its last 10 contests and a 13-19-4-1 ledger at home...The Monsters are the third-most frequent opponent of the Griffins, as this game marks the 118th meeting between the two franchises...Defenseman Wyatt Newpower skated for Cleveland a season ago, logging 10 points (3-7—10) and 14 penalty minutes in 24 games...Netminder Calvin Pickard began his pro career with Cleveland and was with the team from 2012-15, posting a 60-54-21 record and a 2.64 goals against average...Griffins head coach Ben Simon is a native of the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights.

Last Time Out
The Grand Rapids Griffins fell short 6-3 in the final season meeting against the Chicago Wolves on Thursday at Allstate Arena. Grand Rapids finished the season series against the Wolves with a 1-10-1-0 record. Rookie Jonatan Berggren pushed his point streak to 10 games (5-12-17) with two helpers in the contest and now has 62 points (20-42—62) this season. Riley Barber extended his AHL-leading and career-high point streak to 16 games (15-7—22), tallying his 25th goal of the campaign. Dominik Shine notched his third shorthanded tally of the season. Samuel Dove-McFalls recorded his first AHL goal of his career in his 10th game as a pro. Donovan Sebrango skated in his 100th game as a pro at the age of 20 while Barber recorded his 300th point in the AHL and as a pro.

Roster Shake Up
- April 19, 2022—F Brett McKenzie signed to a PTO; F Riley Barber reassigned by Detroit
- April 22, 2022—F Chase Pearson reassigned by Detroit; G David DeSander signed to a PTO
- April 23, 2022—F Riley Barber and F Taro Hirose recalled by Detroit; F Riley Barber reassigned by Detroit; G David DeSander released from PTO
- April 25, 2022—F Turner Elson signed by Detroit for the remainder of the 2021-22 season; F Brett McKenzie released from PTO
- April 26, 2022—F Riley Barber and F Kyle Criscuolo recalled by Detroit; F Max Humitz signed to a PTO; F Riley Barber reassigned by Detroit

This Date in Griffins History
2014: In the third straight series win for the visiting team, Abbotsford scored a power play goal with 1:02 remaining to take a 2-1 victory in Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. Tomas Jurco, Riley Sheahan and Mitch Callahan, who had missed a combined 74 consecutive games due to recall and injury, joined forces for the Griffins’ lone goal. The crowd of 7,193 at Van Andel Arena is the largest for a Grand Rapids playoff opener since 1998.

All Good Things Must End
The Griffins currently sit in seventh place in the Central Division standings with a 32-35-6-2 (0.480) mark. The top five teams from the division will qualify for the Calder Cup Playoffs, with the top three receiving a first-round bye. The Griffins were eliminated from playoff contention when Texas defeated Iowa on April 23. Grand Rapids has appeared in the last seven Calder Cup Playoffs, dating back to the 2012-13 season when it lifted the cup for the first time. During this playoff stretch, the Griffins went 52-31-3-0 (0.598) and outscored their opponents 282-233. In addition, Grand Rapids went 12-5 in playoff series since 2013 with two Calder Cups. Excluding the NHL lockout season of 2004-05, and the 2019-21 COVID seasons, this is the first time since Grand Rapids’ inception that neither the Griffins nor the Red Wings have qualified for the playoffs. Sunday’s contest in Chicago was the first game the Griffins played after having been eliminated from playoff contention since April 15, 2012. This will be the first time since the 2009-10 season that the Griffins will finish below the 0.500 mark.

Rewrite the History Books
Jonatan Berggren on April 24 became the first rookie in Griffins history to record 60 points when he bagged two assists in the outing. With those two points, Berggren passed Teemu Pulkkinen (2013-14) for the Griffins’ rookie single-season scoring title. Berggren has 24 points (6-18—24) in his last 17 games, including an active season-high 10-game point streak (5-12—17). The Uppsala, Sweden, native paces the Griffins and is tied for second among rookies with his 62 points, while his 42 assists are second in the league among first-year players. Berggren is also second among rookies with seven game-winning goals. His 42 assists are the most by a rookie in a Griffins uniform while his 20 goals are tied for eighth among Griffin rookies. Berggren is on pace for 63 points, four more than the previous record held by Pulkkinen. Berggren is on track to become the first rookie to ever lead the Griffins in assists, and the third to pace the team in either points (Teemu Pulkkinen 59 in 2013-14, Gustav Nyquist 58 (tied) in 2011-12) or game-winning goals (Landon Ferraro 4 in 2011-12 and Petr Schastlivy 6 in 1999-00). His seven game-winning goals and three overtime goals are both franchise records for a rookie.

Welcome to the Barber Shop
Riley Barber has been on a tear as of late, with points in a career-high 16 straight games (15-7—22), including his third-ever hat trick on April 9 at Toronto. There have been only two longer point streaks in franchise history (Derek King 17, 2000-01; Donald MacLean 19, 2005-06). Barber’s 16-game streak is the longest in the AHL this season and the longest by a Griffin in more than 16 years, since MacLean’s franchise-record run. Since being reassigned by Detroit on March 2, Barber has notched 30 points (17-13—30) in 25 games, including eight multi-point outings. The Pittsburgh, native ranks third on the roster with 49 points (25-24—49) in 48 outings. Through 80 contests with the Griffins, the 28-year-old veteran has 83 points (45-38—83) and 46 penalty minutes.

Streaking Good
This is the second season in franchise history that Griffins players have had at least three scoring streaks of 10 games or longer. Riley Barber (15-7—22, 16 GP), Jonatan Berggren (5-12—17, 10 GP) and Kyle Criscuolo (7-11—18, 10 GP) have all reached the 10-game plateau this year. The record of four players was set back during the 2005-06 campaign. If Barber would to get a point in today’s contest, his 17-game streak would tie for the longest run in the AHL over the last five season with Ontario’s Mike Amadio in 2017-18. His 16-game streak already ties for the longest over the last four seasons with Utica’s Reid Boucher in 2019-20, is one of only four streaks of 16 games or more over the last 10 seasons, and is tied for the seventh-longest streak over the last 16 seasons. The longest AHL point streaks since 2006-07 (last 16 seasons) are listed below.

The Roaring 20s
Turner Elson reached the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career on April 9. The ninth-year pro has had a career-high season on the offensive end, with a career-best 21 goals, 24 assists and 45 points. Elson, Riley Barber (24) and Jonatan Berggren (20) are the first three Griffins teammates with 20-plus goals each since Eric Tangradi (31), Matt Lorito (23), Matthew Ford (22), Matt Puempel (22) and Ben Street (21) in 2017-18. The alternate captain has turned it on as of late with 18 points (8-9—17) in his last 24 games. In comparison, Elson had just nine points (3-6—9) in the 24 contests before this run. On Monday, Elson signed with Detroit for the remainder of the 2021-22 NHL season.

Work Horse
Netminder Victor Brattstrom appeared in 14 consecutive games from March 22-April 20. His 14 straight appearances are tied for second all time among Griffins rookie goaltenders with Jimmy Howard (2005-06) and trailed only Jordan Pearce (2010-11, 26 GP). Through 31 games this season, the Goteborg, Sweden, native shows a 10-16-3 mark with a 0.893 save percentage and a 3.36 goals against average. Brattstrom’s 31 games played are the fifth-most ever for a Griffins rookie goaltender and the most since Petr Mrazek made 42 appearances in 2012-13.

Traffic Jam
The Griffins have won just three games in their last 12 contests away from West Michigan, having been outscored 56-35. Grand Rapids has secured seven out of 18 points in its past nine outings away from home. Grand Rapids went on a season-high five-game road trip from March 19-27 and finished with a 1-3-1-0 mark. The Griffins are 15-19-2-1 (0.446) this season away from Van Andel Arena while they are 17-16-4-1 (0.513) at home.

Northern Exposure
The Griffins have fared well against opponents from the North Division, as they hold a 7-2-2-0 record (0.727) and have outscored their opponents 38-28. In comparison, Grand Rapids is 22-29-3-2 (0.438) against Central-Division foes and 3-4-1-0 (0.438) against teams from the Pacific Division.

Stalled Engine
The Griffins have struggled out of the gate recently, allowing the first goal in 14 of their past 15 contests. The Griffins snapped an 11-game run on April 20 at Rockford. Grand Rapids has six wins in those 15 games, showing a 6-8-1-0 mark. During this run, Grand Rapids won its first opening period on April 28 at Chicago and snapped its 14-game stretch. The Griffins have been outscored 19-8 in the last 15 first periods. Narrowing it down even more, Grand Rapids has been outscored 15-7 in the last nine first frames while it has outscored its opponents 11-10 in the past nine second periods. When scoring first, the Griffins are 20-8-2-1 (0.694) this season while they are 12-27-4-1 (0.330) when conceding the opening goal.

Rarified Air
Brian Lashoff’s 579 games played for the Griffins ranks first among active AHL players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and fourth in league history among one-team players. Of the players ahead of him on that list, the most recent – and, coincidentally, the record-holder – last played during the 1970-71 season (Bill Needham of the Cleveland Barons, 981 games played). Lashoff overtook Paul Larivee (Providence Reds, 1952-62) for the No. 4 spot on April 6 against Cleveland and is now 29 games behind No. 3 Howie Yanosik (Hershey Bears, 1957-67). Lashoff is still 76 games away from breaking the Griffins’ all-time games played record, held by Travis Richards with 655 games (1995-2006).

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Jonatan Berggren—62 points (20-42—62) are tied for second among first-year players, 42 assists are second among rookies, seven game-winning goals are second among rookies
Jared McIsaac—24 points are tied for ninth among rookie defensemen, 19 assists are tied for eighth among rookie defensemen
Ryan Murphy—11 goals are tied for fourth among defensemen
Dominik Shine—141 penalty minutes are tied for second

Milestones
Riley Barber scored 300th point as a pro and in the AHL on April 28 at Chicago while Donovan Sebrango appeared in his 100th pro game at the age of 20. Other upcoming milestones include:
Riley Barber—One assist from 150 in the AHL and as a pro
Kyle Criscuolo—One point from 100 as a Griffin
Jan Drozg—Three goals from 50 as a pro
Ryan Murphy—Three assists from 200 as a pro, two points from 250 as a pro
Chase Pearson—Three games from 150 in the AHL

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins