Griffins Game #47 * Road Game #24 * AHL Game #722

Season Series: 2-1-0-0 Home Series: 1-1-0-0 Road Series: 1-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 52-25-5-3 All-Time Home Series: 26-11-4-2 All-Time Road Series: 26-14-1-1

Griffins at Wild
Fourth of eight meetings overall, second of four at Wells Fargo Arena...The Griffins have won nine of the past 11 meetings against Iowa with a plus-14 scoring margin...Every meeting this season has finished with a 5-2 scoreline...The Griffins are 19-11-2-1 (.621) overall since the 2020-21 season against the Wild and have a plus-one scoring margin (103-102)...Grand Rapids is 9-6-0-1 (.594) on the road against Iowa since the 2020-21 season with a minus-two scoring margin (54-52)...The Griffins have points in seven of the last 10 meetings at Iowa (6-3-0-1)...The Wild are 8-13-0-1 at home this season, while Grand Rapids is 13-8-2-0 on the road...Iowa has lost four of its last five games with a minus-13 scoring margin and the Griffins are on a season-high five-game losing skid with a minus-15 scoring margin…The Wild’s power play is the worst on the circuit at 14.3% and their penalty kill also ranks last in the AHL at 70.2%...Iowa places 27th with 2.76 goals per game and 31st with 3.71 goals allowed per contest…The Wild produce the fifth-most shots per game at 31.3 and allow 29.7 shots, which ranks 20th...Former Griffins head coach Ben Simon (2018-23) is an assistant coach for the Wild...Iowa’s Liam Ohgren ranks second on the team and tied for 11th among rookies with 12 goals. 

Last Time Out
Playing host to the Springfield Thunderbirds for just the second time in franchise history, the Griffins fell 4-1, extending their losing streak to five on Wednesday at Van Andel Arena. The five-game skid in regulation marked the Griffins’ first since Jan. 26-Feb. 4, 2022. Gabriel Seger scored the lone tally for the Griffins, his second goal in the past two games. The goal snapped 137:33 minutes of shutout hockey at home for Grand Rapids, dating back to Austin Watson’s empty netter against Rockford on Jan. 29. Hunter Johannes earned an assist alongside Antti Tuomisto, his third in the past two outings (0-3—3). Goaltender Jack Campbell manned the net for the Griffins, saving 20 shots. Throughout its five-game losing streak, Grand Rapids has averaged just 0.80 goals per game. 

This Date in Griffins History
2003: With the second of his three assists on the night, Travis Richards becomes just the second Griffin to reach the 200-point mark in a 5-2 home triumph against Cincinnati.

Highs and Lows
After posting a four-game win streak (Jan. 18-29) and a six-game point streak (Jan. 15-29), the Griffins are now on a season-high five-game losing streak from Jan. 31-Feb. 12 with a minus-15 scoring margin (19-4). This marks the team’s first five-game losing streak in regulation since Jan. 26-Feb. 4, 2022 and the first three-game losing streak in regulation at home since Nov. 26-Dec. 3, 2022. Grand Rapids has now dropped to third place in the Central Division, as it had been in first or in a tie for first place from Nov. 8-Feb. 7. During this five-game stretch, the Griffins were shut out in a franchise-record three straight games and have averaged just 0.80 goals per contest while allowing 3.80 tallies. Scoring at least three goals has been key for Grand Rapids, as it has a 20-1-0-1 mark (.932) when reaching at least three goals and a 5-16-3-0 (.271) record when it fails to do so. The defense has been solid once again, allowing just 2.67 goals per game since the start of January and placing third overall with 2.59 goals allowed per game this season. In addition to falling to third place in the division, Grand Rapids moved to seventh in the Western Conference and 15th in the AHL with a 25-17-3-1 record and 54 points through 46 games.  

Career Year 
Through 43 games this season, Dominik Shine has already tied his career high of 33 points and is on pace to reach 53 (18-35—53) this season. The veteran is also one assist from tying his career high of 23 (2023-24) and six goals from tying his career best of 17 (2021-22). He has already notched career-high totals in power-play goals (4), game-winners (3), and multi-point outings (8). On Jan. 18, Shine moved into a tie for 10th place on the team’s all time goals scored list with his 72nd tally as a Griffin. The 31-year-old also has 14 points (5-9—14) in his last 18 contests. Shine ranks first on the roster in points (11-22—33) and assists (22), fourth in goals (11), and third in power-play goals (4). The Detroit native has spent his entire career within the Red Wings organization since 2016-17 and has accumulated 171 points (72-99—171) and 515 penalty minutes in 465 appearances with the Griffins. In the Griffins’ all-time rankings, Shine places third in games played, sixth in penalty minutes, tied for 10th in goals scored (72), tied for 10th in overtime goals (2), and tied for first in unassisted goals (10). 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. 

Goose Egg
The Griffins made franchise history in the wrong way, as they were shut out in three straight games for the first-ever time from Jan. 31-Feb. 7, being outscored 11-0. From Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 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 team returned from the all-star break and was shut out again for the third straight game, as Milwaukee’s Matthew Murray collected 35 saves. The 6-0 defeat on Jan. 31 against Colorado was just the third time in franchise history that Grand Rapids allowed a hat trick and was shut out in the same game. Gabriel Seger’s first-period tally at Milwaukee last Saturday halted 189:20 minutes played without a goal for Grand Rapids and Seger’s first-period goal on Wednesday against Springfield stopped 137:33 minutes without a goal at home. The Griffins have averaged just 0.80 goals per game in their last five outings. 

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 paces the team in points with 33 (11-22—33), while Austin Watson (12-17—29) is tied with Joe Snively (16-13—29) for second, and Sheldon Dries rounds out the top four with 24 points (17-7—24). The four players are also the only ones to score at least 10 goals this season for Grand Rapids. Combined, the players have 1,996 pro games under their belt with 926 points (443-483—926). 

Come Out Firing
When the Griffins start hot, things usually turn out pretty well for the team, as they have a 15-2-2-1 record when scoring the game’s first goal compared to a 9-15-1-0 mark when they allow the first tally. They also have yet to suffer a regulation loss when leading after the second period (14-0-2-0) and just one regulation loss when leading after the first period (9-1-2-1). Grand Rapids is 3-10-1-0 when trailing after the opening frame, and 4-12-0-0 when it trails after the second period. 

Lock it Down 
The Griffins have allowed 2.67 goals per game since the start of January and rank third overall with 2.59 goals allowed per game this season. Sebastian Cossa has shown a 2.23 GAA and .918 save percentage through 26 games, Jack Campbell has a 2.34 GAA and a .910 save percentage in eight appearances, and Ville Husso possesses a 2.55 GAA and a .913 save percentage in 11 contests. Dating back to last season, Grand Rapids has allowed just 63 goals in its last 26 regular-season games at Van Andel Arena (2.42 GA per game). Also dating back to last season, the Griffins have allowed 66 goals in their last 25 regular-season road games (2.64 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 has failed to score on the power play in its last six outings (0-for-18). The power play has quickly fallen into a tie for 25th place on the circuit at 17.0% (26-for-153) after being ranked 10th at the beginning of February (18.7%). If you break it down further, Grand Rapids’ home power play is 12-for-69 (17.4%, T18th) and its road power play is 14-for-84 (16.7%, 21st). 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 three of the last four games (7-for-14 on PK, 50.0%) and in nine of its last 14 games (34-for-47 on PK, 72.3%). Grand Rapids has also surrendered a power-play goal in 16 of its last 26 outings (69-for-90 on PK, 76.7%). However, the penalty-kill unit remains in the top half of the league, as it ranks 14th at 82.6%. At the start of the month, the Griffins had the seventh-best penalty kill at 85.1%. Grand Rapids has 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 7-12-1-1 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 14-9-3 mark with a 2.23 GAA and a .918 save percentage in 26 games. Cossa ranks among the AHL leaders in minutes played (1,532:57, 10th), games played (26, T9th), GAA (T4th), wins (T8th), and save percentage (7th). 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 eight games with Grand Rapids, Campbell is 2-4-1 with a 2.34 GAA and a .910 save percentage. In the AHL since 2011-12, Campbell has shown a 119-86-27 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 7-3-0 mark with two shutouts in 11 games with the Griffins this year to go along with a 2.55 GAA and a .913 save percentage. Throughout his 12-game career with Grand Rapids since 2023-24, Husso has an 8-3-0 ledger with three shutouts, a 2.31 GAA and a .920 save percentage. 

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Shai Buium—Tied for seventh among rookie defensemen in assists (15), Tied for 12th among rookie defensemen in points (15), tied for 12th among rookie defensemen in plus-minus rating (+6), tied for 12th among rookie defensemen in power-play assists (4)
Sebastian Cossa—10th in minutes played (1,532:57), tied for ninth in games played (26), tied for fourth in GAA (2.23), tied for eighth in wins (14), seventh in save percentage (.918)
Nate Danielson—Tied for 11th among rookies in assists (18), tied for first in short-handed assists (3), first among rookies in short-handed assists (3), tied for 11th 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 fourth in game-winners (5)
Austin Watson—First in major penalties (9), tied for seventh in short-handed goals (2) 

Milestones
Last Saturday at Milwaukee, Dominik Shine collected his 100th assist as a pro and tied his career high of 33 points in a season. 
Alex Doucet—One game from 100 as a pro
Sheldon Dries—Two assists from 100 in the AHL, four goals from 150 as a pro
Brogan Rafferty—One game from 100 as a Griffin
Carter Mazur—Two points from 50 as a pro
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), one assist from 100 as a Griffin
Antti Tuomisto—Two assists from 50 as a pro 

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins