Griffins Game #48 * Road Game #25 * AHL Game #737

Season Series: 3-1-0-0 Home Series: 1-1-0-0 Road Series: 2-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 53-25-5-3 All-Time Home Series: 26-11-4-2 All-Time Road Series: 27-14-1-1

Griffins at Wild
Fifth of eight meetings overall, third of four at Wells Fargo Arena...The Griffins have won 10 of the past 12 meetings against Iowa with a plus-15 scoring margin...The Griffins are 20-11-2-1 (.632) overall since the 2020-21 season against the Wild and have a plus-two scoring margin (107-105)...Grand Rapids is 10-6-0-1 (.618) on the road against Iowa since the 2020-21 season with a minus-one scoring margin (57-56)...The Griffins have points in eight of the last 11 meetings at Iowa (7-3-0-1)...The Wild are 8-13-1-1 at home this season, while Grand Rapids is 14-8-2-0 on the road...Iowa has lost five of its last six games with a minus-14 scoring margin and the Griffins have won just one of their past six games with a minus-14 scoring margin…The Wild’s power play is tied for the worst on the circuit at 14.5% and their penalty kill also ranks last in the AHL at 71.1%...Iowa places 28th with 2.76 goals per game and 31st with 3.72 goals allowed per contest…The Wild produce the fifth-most shots per game at 31.3 and allow 29.8 shots, which ranks 20th...Former Griffins head coach Ben Simon (2018-23) is an assistant coach for the Wild.

Last Time Out
An overtime-winner from Sheldon Dries and a three-point outing by Joe Snively (2-1—3) led the Griffins past the Iowa Wild 4-3 on Friday at Wells Fargo Arena. The win snapped the Griffins’ season-high five-game losing streak. Snively’s three-point campaign marked his third this season, as he tied Dries’ team-high 18 goals. Dominik Shine earned his 100th assist as a Griffin and broke his single-season record of 33 total points. Hunter Johannes scored his first AHL goal, securing his second point in the last two games (1-1—2) while Alex Doucet skated in his 100th professional contest. Goaltender Sebastian Cossa returned to the crease, saving 26 shots in the win. Cossa improved to 15-9-3 on the campaign, alongside a 2.25 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage. 

This Date in Griffins History
2008: Darren McCarty provides fans with one of the most memorable nights in Griffins history during his home debut by scoring a hat trick and earning the first four-point night of his 16-year career in Grand Rapids’ 6-3 win over the Lake Erie Monsters. 

Highs and Lows
After posting a four-game win streak (Jan. 18-29) and a six-game point streak (Jan. 15-29), the Griffins endured a season-high five-game losing skid from Jan. 31-Feb. 12, snapping the streak last night at Iowa. This marked the team’s first five-game losing streak in regulation since Jan. 26-Feb. 4, 2022. Grand Rapids has now dropped to third place in the Central Division, as it had been in first place or in a tie for first from Nov. 8-Feb. 7. During the last six outings, the Griffins were shut out in a franchise-record three straight games and have averaged 1.33 goals per contest while allowing 3.67 tallies. Scoring at least three goals has been key for Grand Rapids, as it has a 21-1-0-1 mark (.935) 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 2.69 goals per game since the start of January and placing third overall with 2.60 goals allowed per game this season. In addition to falling to third place in the division, Grand Rapids moved into a tie for sixth in the Western Conference and tied for 12th in the AHL with a 26-17-3-1 record and 56 points through 47 games.  

Career Year 
Through 44 games this season, Dominik Shine has already set a new career high with 34 points and is on pace to reach 53 (17-36—53) this season. The veteran has also tied his career best of 23 assists and is 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 15 points (5-10—15) in his last 19 contests. Shine ranks first on the roster in points (11-23—34) and assists (23), 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 172 points (72-100—172) and 515 penalty minutes in 466 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 1.33 goals per game in their last six 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 34 (11-23—34), while Joe Snively (18-14—32) ranks second, Austin Watson (12-17—29) third, and Sheldon Dries rounds out the top four with 25 points (18-7—25). The four players are also the only ones to score at least 10 goals this season for Grand Rapids. Combined, the players have 2,000 pro games under their belt with 931 points (446-485—931). 

Come Out Firing
When the Griffins start hot, things usually turn out pretty well for the team, as they have a 16-2-2-1 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 4-10-1-0 when trailing after the opening frame, and 5-12-0-0 when it trails after the second period. 

Lock it Down 
The Griffins have allowed 2.69 goals per game since the start of January and rank third overall with 2.60 goals allowed per game this season. Sebastian Cossa has shown a 2.25 GAA and .917 save percentage through 27 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 69 goals in their last 26 regular-season road games (2.65 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 before collecting its first man-advantage goal in 24 tries last night at Iowa. The power play has quickly fallen into 26th place on the circuit at 16.8% (27-for-161) 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 15-for-92 (16.3%, 22nd). The Griffins have given up six short-handed goals, which is tied for the eighth-most. The Griffins’ penalty kill has struggled as of late, allowing a power-play goal in four of the last five games (10-for-18 on PK, 55.6%) and in 10 of its last 15 games (37-for-51 on PK, 72.5%). Grand Rapids has also surrendered a power-play goal in 17 of its last 27 outings (73-for-94 on PK, 77.7%). However, the penalty-kill unit remains in the top half of the league, as it ranks 14th at 82.4%. 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 15-4-2-1 and 8-12-1-1 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 15-9-3 mark with a 2.25 GAA and a .917 save percentage in 27 games. Cossa ranks among the AHL leaders in minutes played (1,596:44, 6th), games played (27, T6th), GAA (T4th), wins (8th), and save percentage (T6th). 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—Sixth in minutes played (1,596:44), tied for sixth in games played (27), tied for fourth in GAA (2.25), eighth in wins (15), tied for sixth in save percentage (.917)
Nate Danielson—Tied for 10th among rookies in assists (19), 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 first in game-winners (6)
Austin Watson—First in major penalties (10), 10th in penalty minutes (84), tied for seventh in short-handed goals (2) 

Milestones
Last night at Iowa, Dominik Shine collected his 100th assist as a Griffin, which also tied his career high of 23 in a season, and Alex Doucet competed in his 100th pro game. 
Sheldon Dries—Two assists from 100 in the AHL, three goals from 150 as a pro
Brogan Rafferty—One game from 100 as a Griffin
Carter Mazur—One point 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)
Antti Tuomisto—Two assists from 50 as a pro 

Photo by Iowa Wild