Griffins Game #53 * Road Game #27 * AHL Game #812

Season Series: 2-0-2-0 Home Series: 0-0-1-0 Road Series: 2-0-1-0
All-Time Series: 44-29-7-5 All-Time Home Series: 23-12-2-4 All-Time Road Series: 21-17-5-1

Griffins at Stars
Fifth of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park...In the last five seasons since the 2020-21, the Griffins are 12-11-4-1 (.518) against Texas with a minus-10 scoring margin (91-81)...Also since 2020-21, Grand Rapids is 7-5-3-0 (.567) against the Stars in Texas and has been outscored 55-50...Texas is the fourth-highest scoring team in the AHL with 3.48 goals scored per game, while ranking 19th with 3.13 goals allowed...Texas ranks 14th in shots per game (29.6) and 11th with 28.2 shots allowed...Texas is 4-4-2-0 in its last 10 games and 12-8-3-0 at home this season...The Griffins are 3-6-1-0 in their last 10 and 15-9-2-0 on the road...The Stars’ penalty kill unit ranks 18th at 82.0% and their power play places fourth at 22.5%...Texas’ Matej Blumel is tied for second in the AHL with 25 goals, rookie Justin Hryckowian ranks second among first-year players with 40 points (13-27—40), 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 tied their season-high scoring output, as they defeated the Texas Stars 6-4 on Tuesday at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park and claimed sole possession of second place in the Central Division. Three different Griffins secured two-point games, including Amadeus Lombardi (1-1—2), Joe Snively (1-1—2) and Ondrej Becher (0-2—2). Lombardi has scored four points in his first four outings since returning from injury (2-2—4). Rookie Nate Danielson earned his seventh goal of the year, his third in the past four games and Texas-native Cross Hanas also secured his seventh. Carter Mazur scored to extend his point streak to three (1-2—3), his sixth point in the last six games (3-3—6). Captain Josiah Didier skated in his 500th professional contest and Antti Tuomisto tallied his 50th assist as a professional. Goaltender Sebastian Cossa made 23 saves in the win, earning his 16th victory of the season (16-10-4). 

This Date in Griffins History
2004: Joey MacDonald makes 33 saves for his fourth shutout in a span of six home appearances, leading the Griffins to a 2-0 win over Utah that increases the team’s home unbeaten streak to 15 games.

Getting Settled In
Carter Mazur was sidelined for 35 straight contests from Oct. 19-Jan. 18 and now has six points (3-3—6) in his last six outings and nine points (4-5—9) in 14 games since returning from his upper-body injury. In total, Mazur has 11 points (5-6—11) in 17 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 three wins in 10 games this month (3-6-1-0). However, the team now has points in four of its last six games (3-2-1-0) and are just two points out of first place in the division. The Griffins are in 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 2.27 goals in their last 11 contests while allowing 3.73 tallies. The team has scored at least five goals in two of their last three games. Scoring at least three goals has been key for Grand Rapids, as it has a 23-1-0-1 mark (.940) 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 3.90 goals per game in February but is still eighth overall with 2.71 goals allowed per game this season. In addition to falling into second place in the division, Grand Rapids is now sixth in the Western Conference and tied for 13th in the AHL with a 28-19-4-1 record and 61 points through 52 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 four points (2-2—4) in four 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 ranks seventh on the roster with 19 points (11-8—19) and tied for fourth in goals (11). 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 three wins in their last 11 contests (3-7-1-0). The special teams have been unlucky, as they are 4-for-45 on the power play (8.9%) and 32-for-42 on the penalty kill (76.2%) 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 T26th), and the penalty kill sat in seventh place (now T14th). Grand Rapids has also allowed 39 goals in 10 games this month (3.90 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 12 games with an average of 31.2 shots, which includes at least 40 shots in two of the last four 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 27 points (7-20—27), 29 penalty minutes and a plus-one rating in 51 appearances. In addition to tying for fourth in points and tying for second in assists on the team, Danielson is tied for 11th 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 49 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), tied for 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 nine 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 3.90 goals per game in the month of February, the Griffins’ defense has been a bright spot for the team this season. Grand Rapids ranks eighth in the AHL with 2.71 goals allowed per contest and has averaged 2.95 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 2.40 GAA and .912 save percentage through 30 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 76 goals in their last 28 regular-season road games (2.71 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 4-for-48 (8.3%) on the man-advantage in its last 12 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 a tie for 26th place on the circuit at 16.4% (30-for-183) 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 16-for-101 (15.8%, 23rd). 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 11 games (28-for-39 on PK, 71.8%) and in 13 of its last 20 games (55-for-72 on PK, 76.4%). The penalty kill is tied for 14th at 82.7% 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 17-4-2-1 and 9-13-2-1 when they allow a power-play goal. 

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Shai Buium—Tied for fifth among rookie defensemen in assists (18), tied for 11th among rookie defensemen in points (18), tied for 10th among rookie defensemen in power-play assists (5)
Sebastian Cossa—Seventh in minutes played (1,776:07), tied for fifth in games played (30), 10th in GAA (2.40), tied for eighth in wins (16), tied for ninth in save percentage (.912)
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 eighth in penalty minutes (92), tied for eighth in short-handed goals (2) 

Milestones 
Last night, captain Josiah Didier skated in his 500th game as a professional and Antti Tuomisto collected his 50th pro assist. 
x Sheldon Dries—One assist from 100 in the AHL, two goals from 150 as a pro
Brogan Rafferty—Two 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—One game from 300 as a pro

Photo by Texas Stars