Griffins Game #23 * Home Game #11 * AHL Game #351

Season Series: 0-2-0-0 Home Series: 0-0-0-0 Road Series: 0-2-0-0
All-Time Series: 39-27-4-5 All-Time Home Series: 20-11-1-4 All-Time Road Series: 19-16-3-1

Stars at Griffins
Third of eight meetings overall, first of four at Van Andel Arena...Since the 2019-20 season, the Griffins are 9-12-2-2 (.440) against Texas with a minus-16 scoring margin (88-72)...Also since 2019-20, Grand Rapids is 4-5-1-1 (.455) against the Stars at Van Andel Arena and has been outscored 37-34...Through 21 games, Texas ranks first in the AHL with an average of 4.24 goals scored, while conceding an average of 3.29 goals (T21st in AHL)...Texas is 7-2-1-0 in its last 10 games and is 8-3-0-0 on the road this season...The Stars are on a two-game win streak...The Griffins are 4-5-1-0 in their last 10 and are 6-3-1-0 at home, including wins in four of their last five home games...The Stars’ penalty kill unit is tied for 24th on the circuit at 78.5%, while their power play places second at 24.1%...Joel L’Esperance competed with the Texas Stars from 2017-22 and totaled 136 points (80-56—136) in 183 games...Texas’ Logan Stankoven (14-15—29, 2nd) and Mavrik Bourque (8-24—32, 1st) are the top two scorers in the AHL. Bourque also paces the league in assists, while Stankoven leads the circuit in goals.

Last Time Out
The Griffins finished their four-game Canadian road trip with a 3-1 loss to the Toronto Marlies at the Coca-Cola Coliseum on Sunday. The Griffins also finished their first three-in-three of the season. Joel L’Esperance scored the lone Griffins goal in the defeat, which is his third goal of the four-game trip up north. Both Trenton Bliss and Alex Doucet made their season debuts for Grand Rapids, with Doucet's being his first game in the AHL.

Roster Shakeup
- Dec. 1—F Jonatan Berggren reassigned by Detroit; D Antti Tuomisto reassigned to Toledo (ECHL) from Grand Rapids by Detroit
- Dec. 10—F Alex Doucet and D Antti Tuomisto reassigned to Grand Rapids from Toledo (ECHL) by Detroit; F Trenton Bliss recalled by Grand Rapids
- Dec. 11—F Zach Aston-Reese, F Jonatan Berggren and F Austin Czarnik recalled by Detroit

This Date in Griffins History
2015: Xavier Ouellet’s goal with 2:27 remaining in overtime completes a comeback from a three-goal deficit and gives the Griffins a 4-3 win at Iowa, as Grand Rapids ties a franchise record with its 11th consecutive victory.

Home Sweet Home
The Griffins concluded their five-game road trip on Sunday with a 1-3-1-0 mark, which included three games in three days. Now, Grand Rapids returns home for a pair of contests against the Texas Stars. The Griffins have fared well at home, showing a 6-3-1-0 record with a plus-eight scoring margin compared to a 2-8-1-1 road ledger and a minus-19 margin. The Griffins have won four of their last five home games, dating back to Nov. 15. However, Grand Rapids will play just three out of its next nine games inside Van Andel Arena. Despite struggling to string together wins, the Griffins are just three points out of third place in the Central Division standings.

Simon Says
Defenseman Simon Edvinsson has 12 points (3-9—12) in his last 11 games and enjoyed a seven-game point streak (3-7—10) from Nov. 18-Dec. 8, which is tied for the longest run by a Griffin this season. Edvinsson exploded for his first two-goal game in North America on Dec. 1 against the Milwaukee Admirals and logged two assists in consecutive games from Nov. 18-24. The 6-foot-6 defensive prospect ranks second on the team with 16 points (6-10—16) in 21 games. Edvinsson is also tied for ninth among AHL defensemen with 16 points and places fourth among blueliners with six goals. The Onsala, Sweden, native, who was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, saw action in nine NHL games with the Red Wings last season and scored two goals.

Great Tidings of Joel
After being held without a goal for the first 11 games of the season, Joel L’Esperance has started to find a rhythm offensively, scoring six goals in his last nine outings. L’Esperance broke his drought with two goals against Manitoba on Nov. 24 and now has scored three goals in his last four contests from Dec. 5-10, which included goals in consecutive games from Dec. 5-8. The Brighton, Michigan, native has scored at least 24 goals in each full AHL season since 2018-19, including 25 tallies last season for the Griffins.

Under Three is Key
Unsurprisingly, the Griffins have done well in games where they have scored four or more goals, going 6-1-1-0 (.813). Although, when scoring three goals or less the team is just 2-10-1-1 (.214). Grand Rapids has scored four or more goals in six of its last 10 outings. On the flip side, Grand Rapids is just 1-10-2-1 (.179) when allowing at least three goals, compared to a 7-1-0-0 mark (.875) when allowing two goals or less. In their last 10 appearances, the Griffins have allowed three or more goals seven times.

Uncharted Territory
Defensemen Josiah Didier and Albert Johansson have produced uncharacteristic offense as of late, as they have combined for eight points (1-7—8) in the last six games for the Griffins. Johansson, a former 2019 second-round draft pick by the Red Wings, has five points (1-4—5) in his last six outings, which included two points on Dec. 1 against Milwaukee (0-2—2) and on Dec. 5 at Toronto (1-1—2). In the AHL, Johansson has averaged just .32 points per game through 69 appearances. Didier logged three assists in a two-game span from Dec. 8-9, which tripled his scoring output in the previous 16 games this season. Throughout 396 career AHL contests, the 30-year-old has averaged just .18 points per game.

Power Surge
Grand Rapids’ power play has been a bright spot for the team thus far, as it ranks 14^th in the AHL with a conversion rate of 19.5%. On the road, the Griffins are tied for 14^th at 20.5% compared to 18.4% at home (12^th). Grand Rapids is 2-for-7 on the man-advantage in its last two games and has scored at least one power-play goal in five out of the previous six contests (6-for-26, 23.1%). Taro Hirose leads the team with three power-play goals and six power-play assists. Simon Edvinsson is tied for second among AHL defensemen with two power-play goals.

Add Him to the List
On Monday with the Red Wings, Zach Aston-Reese became the 204^th Griffins alum to play in the NHL, logging 6:21 of ice time in a 6-3 defeat at the Dallas Stars. The 29-year-old has competed in 308 NHL games across seven seasons and totaled 80 points (42-38—80) and a plus-33 rating. In 2022-23, Aston-Reese appeared in a career-high 77 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and accumulated 14 points (10-4—14) and 25 penalty minutes. Aston-Reese has seven points (4-3—7) in 20 games with the Griffins this season, making his Grand Rapids debut on Oct. 13 against the Colorado Eagles.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Simon Edvinsson—16 points are tied for ninth among defensemen, six goals rank fourth among defensemen, two power-play goals are tied for second among defensemen
Carter Mazur—24 penalty minutes rank ninth among rookies

Milestones
On Sunday, Wyatt Newpower skated in his 150^th pro game. Last Saturday, netminder Michael Hutchinson recorded his 200th win as a pro in a 4-3 overtime victory over Belleville.
Austin Czarnik—Two goals from 100 in the AHL
Taro Hirose—Two points from tying Mitch Callahan for seventh on the team’s all-time point list
Joel L’Esperance—One point from 200 as a pro
Nolan Stevens—Three goals from 50 as a pro

Photo by Texas Stars