Griffins Game #49 * Home Game #24 * AHL Game #759

Season Series: 2-0-0-0 Home Series: 0-0-0-0 Road Series: 2-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 10-5-1-0 All-Time Home Series: 4-2-1-0 All-Time Road Series: 6-3-0-0

Phantoms at Griffins
Third of four meetings overall, first of two at Van Andel Arena…Tonight’s game will mark the first-ever meeting at home against a team from Lehigh Valley. The Griffins last played the Phantoms during the 2008-09 season when they competed in Philadelphia...Grand Rapids claimed both meeting in Lehigh Valley this season with a plus-four scoring margin (9-5)...The Phantoms are 5-5-0-0 in their last 10 games and are 11-10-3-0 on the road this season...The Griffins are 4-6-0-0 in their last 10 games and have won just one of their last seven games...Grand Rapids is 12-9-1-1 at home this season and is on an active season-high three-game losing skid inside Van Andel Arena...Lehigh Valley ranks 17th with a power-play rate of 18.1%, while the Griffins place 26th at 16.4%...On the penalty kill, the Phantoms are tied for 22nd at 80.6% and Grand Rapids ranks 16th at 82.3%...Lehigh Valley is tied for 21st with 2.94 goals per game and tied for 24th with 3.22 goals allowed per contest...The Phantoms place 17th with 28.9 shots per game and 11th with 28.3 shots allowed...Garrett Wilson ranks fifth in the AHL with 100 penalty minutes in 43 games and Hunter McDonald ranks fifth among rookies with 73 penalty minutes in 48 outings...Alexis Gendron is tied for fifth among first-year players with 15 goals in 42 contests.  

Last Time Out
Despite snapping their five-game losing streak on Friday, the Griffins failed to complete the weekend sweep of the Iowa Wild on Saturday, as they fell 3-2 at Wells Fargo Arena. Carter Mazur secured both tallies for Grand Rapids while earning his 50th professional point. Mazur has scored four goals in 13 games this season. Brogan Rafferty skated in his 100th outing as a Griffin and goaltender Ville Husso took the net for Grand Rapids, saving 34 shots. The Griffins finished the contest 0-for-4 on the power play and 5-for-6 on the penalty kill. 

This Date in Griffins History
2018: Jared Coreau is named AHL Player of the Week after leading the Griffins to consecutive road shutouts of Western Conference-leading Manitoba, stopping all 66 shots he faced.

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, the team’s first five-game losing streak in regulation since Jan. 26-Feb. 4, 2022. Grand Rapids has now dropped six of its last seven games from Jan. 31-Feb. 15. The Griffins are now in third place in the Central Division after being in first place or a tie for first from Nov. 8-Feb. 7. The Griffins were shut out in a franchise-record three straight games from Jan. 31-Feb. 7 and have averaged 1.43 goals in their last seven contests while allowing 3.57 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 5-17-3-0 (.260) record when it fails to do so. The defense, a usual strong spot for the Griffins, has allowed 3.83 goals per game in February but still ranks second overall with 2.60 goals allowed per game this season. In addition to falling to third place in the division, Grand Rapids dropped to seventh in the Western Conference and 15th in the AHL with a 26-18-3-1 record and 56 points through 48 games. 

Out of the Ordinary 
It has been an unusual stretch of games for the Griffins since Jan. 31, as they have just one win in their last seven contests. The special teams have gone on vacation, as they are 1-for-28 on the power play (3.6%) and 19-for-27 on the penalty kill (70.4%) this month. At the start of February, the power play was ranked 10th (now 26th) and the penalty kill sat in seventh place (now 16th). Grand Rapids has also allowed 23 goals in six games this month (3.83 per game) after allowing just as many goals in 11 outings in January (2.09). One thing that has improved is the Griffins’ shot count. They have outshot their opponent in five of the last seven games with an average of 30.6 shots. At the start of the month, Grand Rapids was averaging just 26.1 shots per contest.   

Career Year
Dominik Shine has already set a career high with 35 points (11-24—35) in 45 games and is on pace to reach 54 (17-37—54) this season. Last Friday 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). The 31-year-old also has 16 points (5-11—16) in his last 20 contests. Shine ranks first on the roster in points (11-24—35) and assists (24), fourth in goals (11), and third in power-play goals (4). 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. 

Young Guns
Despite the rough stretch, Detroit Red Wings prospects Nate Danielson, Carter Mazur and William Wallinder all collected points in both games last weekend. Danielson, who snapped an eight-game scoring drought last Friday, and Wallinder both have assists in back-to-back outings. Mazur, who was sidelined for 35 straight games from Oct. 19-Jan. 18, registered his first two-goal game of the season last Saturday and has three points (2-1—3) in his last two contests. Danielson was selected ninth overall by Detroit in 2023, Mazur picked 70th in 2021, and Wallinder 32nd in 2020. 

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 35 (11-24—35), while Joe Snively (18-14—32) ranks second, Austin Watson (12-17—29) third, and Sheldon Dries rounds out the top four with 26 points (18-8—26). The four players are also the only ones to score at least 10 goals this season for Grand Rapids. Dries (1-1—2) and Shine (1-1—2) both have two points in their last two games (1-1—2), and Snively has three points in his last two (2-1—3). Combined, the players have 2,004 pro games under their belt with 933 points (446-487—933). 

Lock it Down 
Despite allowing 3.83 goals per game in the month of February, the Griffins’ defense has been a bright spot for the team this season. Grand Rapids ranks second in the AHL with 2.60 goals allowed per contest and has averaged 2.71 goals against since the start of the calendar year. 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 2.60 GAA and a .914 save percentage in 12 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 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 1-for-30 on the man-advantage in its last eight games. The power play has quickly fell into 26th place on the circuit at 16.4% (27-for-165) 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-96 (15.6%, 23rd). The Griffins have given up six short-handed goals, which is tied for the ninth-most. The Griffins’ penalty kill has also struggled as of late, allowing a power-play goal in five of the last six games (15-for-24 on PK, 62.5%) and in 11 of its last 16 games (42-for-57 on PK, 73.7%). Grand Rapids has also surrendered a power-play goal in 18 of its last 28 outings (78-for-100 on PK, 78.0%). 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 10th in the AHL. When scoring on the power play, the Griffins are 15-4-2-1 and 8-13-1-1 when they allow a power-play goal. 

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Shai Buium—Tied for ninth among rookie defensemen in assists (15), Tied for 12th among rookie defensemen in points (15), tied for 12th among rookie defensemen in power-play assists (4)
Sebastian Cossa—Ninth in minutes played (1,596:44), tied for ninth in games played (27), fifth in GAA (2.25), tied for eighth in wins (15), sixth in save percentage (.917)
Nate Danielson—Tied for eighth among rookies in assists (20), 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 eighth in short-handed goals (2), tied for first among rookies in short-handed goals (2) 
Sheldon Dries—Tied for second in game-winners (6)
Austin Watson—First in major penalties (10), 11th in penalty minutes (84), tied for eighth in short-handed goals (2)

Milestones
Last Saturday at Iowa, Brogan Rafferty competed in his 100th game as a Griffin and Carter Mazur recorded his 50th point as a pro. 
Josiah Didier—Three games from 500 as a pro
Sheldon Dries—One assist from 100 in the AHL, three goals from 150 as a pro
Brogan Rafferty—Three games from 300 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 
Austin Watson—Three games from 800 as a pro 

Photo by Lehigh Valley Phantoms