Griffins Game #52 * Road Game #26 * AHL Game #804

Season Series: 1-0-2-0 Home Series: 0-0-1-0 Road Series: 1-0-1-0
All-Time Series: 43-29-7-5 All-Time Home Series: 23-12-2-4 All-Time Road Series: 20-17-5-1

Griffins at Stars
Fourth of eight meetings overall, third of four at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park...Tonight’s game is a battle for second place in the Central Division, as the two teams are currently tied for second and Texas has the opportunity to move into a tie for first place with Milwaukee...This is the first meeting between the teams since Dec. 22 when the Stars won 3-2 in overtime at Grand Rapids...In the last five seasons since the 2020-21, the Griffins are 11-11-4-1 (.500) against Texas with a minus-12 scoring margin (87-75)...Also since 2020-21, Grand Rapids is 6-5-3-0 (.536) against the Stars in Texas and has been outscored 51-44...Texas is the fourth-highest scoring team in the AHL with 3.47 goals scored per game, while conceding the ranking 16th with 3.06 goals allowed...Texas ranks 14th in shots per game (29.6) and 12th with 28.3 shots allowed...Texas is 5-3-2-0 in its last 10 games and 12-7-3-0 at home this season...The Griffins are 2-7-1-0 in their last 10 and 14-9-2-0 on the road...The Stars’ penalty kill unit ranks 18th at 82.0% and their power play places second at 23.0%...Texas’ Matej Blumel is tied for third in the AHL with 23 goals, rookie Justin Hryckowian ranks second among first-year players with 39 points (13-26—39), and Kyle Capobianco is tied for sixth among defensemen with 27 assists...Jack Campbell competed with the Texas Stars from 2011-16, making his pro debut on March 23, 2012 at Oklahoma City (1-3 L, 32 saves). He then made his NHL debut with the Dallas Stars on Oct. 20, 2013 at Anaheim (3-6 L, 41 saves). With the Texas Stars, Campbell showed a 56-43-15 record during the regular season with a 2.79 GAA and a .908 save percentage. Campbell became a Calder Cup champion with the Stars in 2014, contributing with a 2-1 record, a 2.54 GAA and a .917 save percentage in four games...Sheldon Dries made his pro debut with the Stars on Oct. 6, 2017 at Chicago and totaled 30 points (19-11—30) in 70 games during his rookie season with the club...Cross Hanas is a native of Highland Village, Texas and played for the Dallas Stars Elite in the T1EHL from 2015-18 at the U13, U14 and U16 levels before joining the WHL.

Last Time Out
The Griffins earned a point in front of a sellout crowd at Van Andel Arena on Sunday but fell to the Iowa Wild in overtime, 3-2. Amadeus Lombardi scored his first goal since returning from injury on Feb. 19 and Sheldon Dries posted his team-high 19th of the year. Austin Watson skated in his 800th professional game while Brogan Rafferty collected an assist in his 300th professional outing. Goaltender Sebastian Cossa manned the crease for Grand Rapids, saving 29 shots in the contest. Through 29 games (15-10-4), Cossa has maintained a .914 save percentage alongside a 2.34 goals-against average. The sellout crowd of 10,834 at Van Andel Arena marked the Griffins’ fourth sellout this year and their second straight dating back to Friday’s game against Lehigh Valley.

This Date in Griffins History
2006: Grand Rapids records its 40th win, a 5-4 shootout decision at Syracuse, marking its seventh consecutive 40-win season overall and fifth straight as members of the AHL, tying for the second-longest run in league annals.

Getting Settled In
Carter Mazur was sidelined for 35 straight contests from Oct. 19-Jan. 18 and now has five points (2-3—5) in his last five outings and eight points (3-5—8) in 13 games since returning from his upper-body injury. In total, Mazur has 10 points (4-6—10) in 16 appearances with the Griffins this season. Last campaign, Mazur ranked second on the team in points (17-30—37) as a rookie before tying for second on the roster in points (3-5—8) during the Calder Cup Playoffs. The 70th overall pick by Detroit in 2021 spent two seasons at the University of Denver prior to turning pro and won two NCHC titles (2022, 2023) and became a NCAA champion in 2022, showing a combined 75 points (36-39—75) in 81 career games.  

No Need to Panic
After posting a four-game win streak (Jan. 18-29) and a six-game point streak (Jan. 15-29), the Griffins have struggled in the month of February, which has included a season-high five-game losing skid (Jan. 31-Feb. 12) and just two wins in nine games this month (2-6-1-0). However, the team now has points in three of its last five games (2-2-1-0) and are just two points out of first place in the division. The Griffins are tied for second place in the Central Division after being in first place or a tie for first from Nov. 8-Feb. 7. The Griffins have averaged 1.90 goals in their last 10 contests while allowing 3.70 tallies. Scoring at least three goals has been key for Grand Rapids, as it has a 22-1-0-1 mark (.938) when reaching at least three goals and a 5-18-4-0 (.259) record when it fails to do so. The defense, a usual strong spot for the Griffins, has allowed 3.89 goals per game in February but is still tied for seventh overall with 2.69 goals allowed per game this season. In addition to falling into a tie for second place in the division, Grand Rapids is now tied for sixth in the Western Conference and tied for 14th in the AHL with a 27-19-4-1 record and 59 points through 51 games.  

He’s Back! 
After being sidelined for 28 consecutive games from Dec. 6-Feb. 15 due to rehabbing an upper-body injury, second-year pro Amadeus Lombardi returned to the ice last Wednesday against Lehigh Valley and collected an assist in the process. Last Sunday, he scored his first goal since returning and now has two points (1-1—2) in three games. At the time of his injury, Lombardi ranked third on the team in points (9-6—15) and first in goals (9) through 20 appearances. The 21-year-old also had four game-winners which ranked first on the team and tied for first in the AHL as of Dec. 6. Currently, Lombardi is tied for seventh on the roster with 17 points (10-7—17) and fifth in goals (10). As a rookie last season, Lombardi produced 26 points (5-21—26) in 70 outings during the regular season before adding one goal in eight playoff games. The Aurora, Ontario, native was selected with the 113th pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2022. 

Out of the Ordinary
It has been an unusual stretch of games for the Griffins since Jan. 31, as they have two wins in their last 10 contests (2-7-1-0). The special teams have been unlucky, as they are 3-for-41 on the power play (7.3%) and 28-for-38 on the penalty kill (73.7%) this month. The power play did score two goals on Friday against Lehigh Valley after scoring just once on the man-advantage in the previous nine games. At the start of February, the power play was ranked 10th (now 27th), and the penalty kill sat in seventh place (now 16th). Grand Rapids has also allowed 35 goals in nine games this month (3.89 per game) after allowing 23 goals in 11 outings in January (2.09). One thing that has improved is the Griffins’ shot count. They have outshot their opponent in eight of the last 11 games with an average of 32.1 shots, which includes at least 40 shots in two of the last three games. At the start of the month, Grand Rapids was averaging just 26.1 shots per contest.   

Nate The Great
Nate Danielson, the ninth overall pick by Detroit in 2023, tied his season-high of a four-game point streak from Feb. 14-21 after being held scoreless in the previous eight games. He has had a promising rookie season with 26 points (6-20—26), 29 penalty minutes and a plus-one rating in 50 appearances. In addition to ranking fifth in points and second in assists on the team, Danielson is tied for 10th among AHL rookies in assists (20) and first in short-handed assists (3). Prior to turning pro, the 20-year-old spent four seasons in the WHL with Brandon (2020-24) and Portland (2023-24), producing a combined 217 points (83-134—217) in 199 career games.   

A Season to Remember
Dominik Shine has already set a career high with 36 points (11-25—36) in 48 games and is on pace to reach 52 (16-36—52) this season. On Feb. 14 at Iowa, Shine collected his career-best 34th point with his career-high 23rd assist and is also six goals from tying his career high of 17 (2021-22). He has also notched career-high totals in power-play goals (4), game-winners (3), and multi-point outings (8). Shine ranks first on the roster in points (11-25—36) and assists (25), fourth in goals (11), and third in power-play goals (4). Since returning from Detroit, the 31-year-old has four points (0-4—4) in eight contests. On Jan. 27, Shine signed his first NHL contract, a two-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings, and later that evening, he made his NHL debut against the Los Angeles Kings. Shine, 31, became the oldest skater to make his NHL debut since defenseman Evgeny Medvedev did it with the Philadelphia Flyers at 33 on Oct. 8, 2015, and the oldest Red Wings player to make his NHL debut since center Vaclav Nedomansky did it at 33 on Nov. 18, 1977. Shine later bagged his first NHL point with an assist on Feb. 1 at Calgary and finished his call-up with one assist in four outings. 

A Few Loose Ends
Despite allowing 3.89 goals per game in the month of February, the Griffins’ defense has been a bright spot for the team this season. Grand Rapids is tied for seventh in the AHL with 2.69 goals allowed per contest and has averaged 2.90 goals against since the start of the calendar year. At the start of February, the Griffins ranked first in the AHL with 2.43 goals allowed per game. Sebastian Cossa has shown a 2.34 GAA and .914 save percentage through 29 games, and Jack Campbell has a 2.34 GAA and a .910 save percentage in eight appearances. Dating back to last season, Grand Rapids has allowed just 75 goals in its last 29 regular-season games at Van Andel Arena (2.59 GA per game). Also dating back to last season, the Griffins have allowed 72 goals in their last 27 regular-season road games (2.67 GA per game). 

Ups and Downs 
After going 6-for-13 (46.2%) on the man-advantage in five games from Jan. 15-25, Grand Rapids failed to score on the power play in six straight outings from Jan. 29-Feb. 12 and are now 3-for-43 (7.0%) on the man-advantage in its last 11 games. However, the power play registered two goals last Friday against Lehigh Valley to break a 1-for-31 drought. The power play has quickly fallen into 27th place on the circuit at 16.3% (29-for-178) after being ranked 10th at the beginning of February (18.7%). If you break it down further, Grand Rapids’ home power play is 14-for-82 (17.1%, 21st) and its road power play is 15-for-96 (15.6%, T24th). The Griffins have given up six short-handed goals, which is tied for the 10th-most. The Griffins’ penalty kill has also struggled as of late, allowing a power-play goal in seven of the last 10 games (24-for-35 on PK, 68.6%) and in 13 of its last 19 games (51-for-68 on PK, 75.0%). The penalty kill ranks 16th at 82.3% after starting the month of February in seventh place at 85.1%. Grand Rapids has scored six short-handed tallies, which is tied for 12th in the AHL. When scoring on the power play, the Griffins are 16-4-2-1 and 9-13-2-1 when they allow a power-play goal. 

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Shai Buium—Seventh among rookie defensemen in assists (17), 12th among rookie defensemen in points (17), tied for 12th among rookie defensemen in power-play assists (4)
Sebastian Cossa—Seventh in minutes played (1,716:07), tied for sixth in games played (29), seventh in GAA (2.34), tied for ninth in wins (15), tied for seventh in save percentage (.914)
Nate Danielson—Tied for 11th among rookies in assists (20), tied for first in short-handed assists (3), first among rookies in short-handed assists (3), tied for 12th 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 eighth in short-handed goals (2), tied for first among rookies in short-handed goals (2) 
x Sheldon Dries—Tied for second in game-winners (6)
Austin Watson—First in major penalties (10), tied for ninth in penalty minutes (92), tied for eighth in short-handed goals (2) 

Milestones 
Last Saturday against Iowa, Austin Watson skated in his 800th pro game and Brogan Rafferty competed in his 300th pro game. 
Josiah Didier—One game from 500 as a pro
x Sheldon Dries—One assist from 100 in the AHL, two goals from 150 as a pro
Brogan Rafferty—Three games from 300 in the AHL
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)
Joe Snively—Two games from 300 as a pro
Antti Tuomisto—One assist from 50 as a pro 

Photo by Logan Foust/Texas Stars