Griffins Game #53 * Road Game #26 * AHL Game #779

Season Series: 1-3-0-0 Home Series: 0-2-0-0 Road Series: 1-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 85-64-2-6-3 All-Time Home Series: 42-29-2-4-2 All-Time Road Series: 43-35-0-2-1

Griffins at Wolves
Fifth of eight meetings overall, third of four at Allstate Arena…In the last meeting on New Year’s Eve at Van Andel Arena, Oscar Dansk stopped all 20 shots in a 2-0 Wolves victory…Chicago has won seven of the last eight meetings, including three in a row…In the season series, Grand Rapids’ power play is 4-for-13 (30.8%) while the Wolves’ is 4-for-14 (28.6%)…Grand Rapids has faced Chicago 160 times in the regular season, the second-most of any Griffins opponent (Milwaukee, 192)…Evgeny Svechnikov (2-3—5 in 4 GP) leads Grand Rapids in the series…As part of his 11-year professional playing career, Ben Simon registered 87 points (37-50—87) in 196 games with the Wolves from 2001-03 and 2004-05 and was a part of Chicago’s first Calder Cup title in 2002.

Last Game (Friday): Monsters 2 at Griffins 4 - Recap
Turner Elson netted his second game-winning goal of the season with 1:23 remaining…Elson’s other game-winner came with 1:58 left in regulation on Dec. 28 at Milwaukee...Evgeny Svechnikov extended his career-high goal streak to four games and Taro Hirose has assists in seven consecutive...Jarid Lukosevicius lit the lamp for the first time since Nov. 22...Pat Nagle turned aside 19 shots and has won back-to-back starts...Grand Rapids has points in its last three games at Van Andel Arena (2-0-1-0) and in 10 of the last 11 (7-1-1-2)...This was the 100th all-time regular season meeting between the teams...Grand Rapids finished the season series 2-2...Grand Rapids had its three-game power play goal streak ended.

Status Update
The Griffins have accumulated points in 12 of their last 15 games (9-3-1-2) and are tied for third in the Central Division standings. Grand Rapids heads to Chicago tonight to face the Wolves, who are tied with the Griffins for third and have two games in hand. Tonight also begins a three-game tour through the Land of Lincoln as Grand Rapids visits Rockford on Tuesday and is back at Chicago for a matinee affair on Thursday.

Movin’ On Up
Over the last 15 games, during which the Griffins have risen from last place in the division into a tie for third, Grand Rapids is outscoring opponents 44-38 and outshooting them 507-438 (+69) while operating at 21.2% on the power play (14-for-66) and 84.1% on the penalty kill (37-for-44). Chris Terry (5-7—12), Taro Hirose (0-11—11) and Evgeny Svechnikov (6-3—9) are the leading scorers in the stretch. Pat Nagle (4-1, 1.81 GAA, 0.935%) and Calvin Pickard (5-2-1, 2.66 GA, 0.910%, 1 SO) have shared crease duties during the run.

Russian Influence
Evgeny Svechnikov is on a career-high four-game goal streak, banking five goals, including four on the power play, among seven points in that span. His four-game streak matches Eric Tangradi (Dec. 17-Jan. 5) as the longest by a Griffin this season and the last player with a five-game goal streak or longer was Matt Ford from Dec. 15-29, 2017 (five games). Svechnikov’s team-high seven points in five February games equals his outputs from December (2-2—4 in 11 GP) and January (1-2—3 in 10 GP) combined.

Tar-Oh!
Rookie Taro Hirose has collected 10 helpers during his seven-game assist streak, which is a team high this season. In fact, his assist streak is the longest since Filip Hronek’s eight-game run from Nov. 23-Dec, 7, 2018. Hirose’s 21 points (4-17—21) and 17 assists are both team highs since Dec. 3 – the date of his first assignment by Detroit to Grand Rapids.

Net Nagle
In his last six appearances dating to Jan. 17, Pat Nagle has accounted for a 4-1 record, a 1.81 GAA and a 0.935 save percentage. If he had enough minutes to qualify (about 240 shy), his 2.09 season GAA would place fourth in the league.

Time to Tango
Eric Tangradi lists eight goals among 10 points in 13 appearances this season. He ties for third on the team in power play goals (5), ties for sixth in goals overall and places fourth in points per game (0.77). A 2017 Calder Cup champion with Grand Rapids, Tangradi ranks among the club’s all-time leaders with 174 points (9th), 84 goals (5th) and 26 PPG (T2nd).

Back Up, Terr
2020 AHL All-Star Classic selection Chris Terry leads the team with 16 points (5-11—16) in 18 GP in the new year. Overall, he ties for sixth in the AHL in points (46) while pacing the Griffins in goals (18), assists (28), multi-point games (14) and power play goals (9).

February Finish
The Griffins have points in 21 of their last 26 games in the month of February (17-5-2-2, 0.731). That stretch includes points in 15 of 17 appearances at Van Andel Arena (12-2-2-1), including in seven straight (5-0-2-0), and in six of nine contests on foreign ice (5-3-0-1).

Give Me a Break
Since joining the AHL in the 2001-02 season, the Griffins post a 304-218-7-21-27 (0.575) combined record in games played after the all-star break. Grand Rapids has tallied a 0.500 mark or better in each of the last nine seasons after the hiatus, including going a combined 134-72-11-12 (0.635) since 2012-13 – the year its current postseason streak began. The Griffins are 3-2-1-0 after the break so far this season.

Rotating Roster
Five different goaltenders have logged minutes for Grand Rapids this season, the team’s most since five suited up during the 2014-15 campaign (Pat Nagle, Jonas Gustavsson, Petr Mrazek, Jared Coreau, Tom McCollum). Including those five goalies, the Griffins have used 38 players already this season. Here is how the current usage stacks up to the final player counts in recent seasons: 2018-19 – 41 players, 2017-18 – 32, 2016-17 – 39, 2015-16 – 37 and 2014-15 – 39. Since the AHL’s season began on Oct. 4, the Red Wings have recalled or assigned a player from or to Grand Rapids a total of 79 times.

Griffins in General
Grand Rapids is in the franchise’s 24th overall season of play, 19th as a member of the American Hockey League and 18th as the primary affiliate of the 11-time Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings…Grand Rapids is 988-678-27-61-116 (0.583) in the regular season since 1996-97 to go along with 17 playoff appearances, seven division titles and two Calder Cups (2017, 2013)…The Griffins have earned 40 or more wins and accumulated 90 or more points in six of the last seven seasons…Grand Rapids has qualified for the Calder Cup Playoffs in a franchise-record seven consecutive seasons and advanced to at least the second round on five occasions…The Griffins’ 8-5 season-opening win at Chicago on Oct. 5 marked the club’s 750th win in the AHL…Grand Rapids’ 328 regular season wins since the 2012-13 campaign are third, behind only Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s 329 and Toronto’s 342 while the Griffins’ 714 points in that span are fourth, trailing Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (715), Providence (720) and Toronto (742)…Since the affiliation began in 2002-03, 93 Griffins have gone on to play for the Red Wings.

This Date in Griffins History
1999: Robert Petrovicky signs with the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning after recording 58 points (26-32—58) in just 49 games with the Griffins.
2000: After signing with the Griffins one day earlier, player/assistant coach Kelly Miller plays his first minor league contest after 1,057 games in the NHL. His two assists combine with brother Kevin’s three points to lead a 4-3 comeback win at Milwaukee.
2002: After missing more than two months with a knee injury, All-Star Martin Prusek returns to back-stop the Griffins to a 2-0 win over Hamilton, marking just the second time they ever held an opponent scoreless in consecutive meetings. It also gives the Griffins consecutive home shutouts for just the third time in franchise 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. After scoring 5:53 into the first period, 2:17 into the second and 2:45 into the third to ignite the throng of 10,062 into an ovation lasting nearly five minutes, he caps off his four-point evening with a helper on Grand Rapids’ final goal during a 6-3 win over the Lake Erie Monsters.
2013: With injuries in Detroit or Grand Rapids robbing their lineup of 39 percent of its point production, 43 percent of its goals and 59 percent of its wins – including their top four scorers and their all-star goalie – the Griffins rally from a 3-2 deficit to take a 5-3 win over Lake Erie before a sellout crowd at Van Andel Arena.
2015: AHL leading scorer Teemu Pulkkinen notches a goal in the Griffins’ 5-1 win at Chicago, becoming the first player in franchise history to score 30 goals in back-to-back seasons, following his 31-goal campaign in 2013-14.
2019: Wade Megan notches Grand Rapids’ only hat trick of the season while former Griffin Jared Coreau does nearly all he can against the team he backstopped to the 2017 Calder Cup championship, finishing the night with 42 saves on 46 shots and keeping San Antonio’s deficit within a goal until the final five minutes when Grand Rapids pulls away for a 5-1 home win.

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins