This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS (34-26-4-2) at Cleveland Monsters (33-22-5-6) // Wed., April 9 // 7 p.m. // Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 6:45 p.m.

Watch: NHL Network and AHLTV on FloHockey 

Season Series: 5-1-0-1 Overall, 2-1-0-0 Away. Eighth of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse

All-Time Series: 78-40-9-14 Overall, 33-22-5-10 Away

NHL Affiliation: Columbus Blue Jackets

Noteworthy: The Griffins are on a six-game point streak (5-0-0-1) against the Monsters with a plus-12 scoring margin (25-13). Grand Rapids and Cleveland have not met since Jan. 18, when the Griffins won 4-2 at Van Andel Arena.    

GRIFFINS vs. Texas Stars (40-24-3-0) // Fri., April 11 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
GRIFFINS vs. Texas Stars // Sat., April 12 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: 96.1 The Game at 6:45 p.m. on Friday and WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 7 p.m. on Saturday

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey on Friday and WXSP-TV and AHLTV on FloHockey on Saturday

Season Series: 2-2-2-0 Overall, 0-1-1-0 Home. Seventh and eighth of eight meetings overall, third and fourth of four at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 44-31-7-5 Overall, 23-13-2-4 Home

NHL Affiliation: Dallas Stars

Noteworthy: Entering the week, the Griffins are tied for third in the Central Division and the Stars are tied for first. With six games remaining, Grand Rapids and Texas could meet in the division semifinals if both teams end up in the second and third positions, receiving first-round byes.               

Goals, Goals, Goals: The Griffins scored 18 goals in three games last week, which was highlighted by an eight-goal performance last Friday followed by seven goals last Saturday. In the previous three games before this outburst, Grand Rapids had scored just two totals goals (0.67 goals per game). In comparison, Grand Rapids scored 21 times in 10 games in March. The eight goals last Friday were the most since the team defeated Chicago 8-7 in overtime on Dec. 22, 2022. The only other time the Griffins scored at least seven goals in back-to-back games was Dec. 26-27, 1996 (7-0 W vs. DET, 8-3 W at FTW). The 15 goals last weekend were the most in a two-game span since the team bagged 16 goals from Jan. 19-23, 2013 (11-6 W at RFD, 5-4 SOW vs. OKC). Also, the 18 goals in three games last week were the most since 21 goals from Jan. 17-23, 2013 (5-3 W at CHA, 11-6 W at RFD, 5-4 SOW vs. OKC). The Griffins have gone on cold stretches where they struggle to score more than two goals a game, none more prevalent than being shut out in a franchise-record three consecutive contests from Jan. 31-Feb. 7. Grand Rapids has scored one goal or been shut out in 17 games this season (25.8% of its games). Scoring at least three goals has been key for Grand Rapids, as it has a 28-3-0-1 mark (.891) when reaching at least three goals and a 6-23-4-1 (.250) record when it fails to do so.

Playoff Picture: The Griffins have clinched their spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs. With six games remaining, Grand Rapids is currently in a tie with Chicago for the final first-round bye position in the Central Division with a game in hand. Five teams make the playoffs, with the top three receiving a first-round bye into the Central Division Semifinals.

Welcome Back: After missing the previous eight and four Griffins games, respectively, while on recall to Detroit, forwards Dominik Shine and Austin Watson returned to Grand Rapids’ lineup last weekend in a tie for second on the team in scoring. They paid immediate dividends, with Shine (2-3—5) and Watson (3-2—5) both showing five points in the two games. Watson extended his point streak to a career-high seven games (7-4—11 from March 5-April 5) and his goal streak to a career-best six games (7-3—10 from March 8-April 5), the latter marking the longest for a Griffin since Teemu Pulkkinen’s eight-game run from Dec. 19-Jan. 7, 2014 that tied Donald MacLean’s franchise record. Grand Rapids’ record without Shine this season is 4-7-0-0 and 1-5-2-0 without Watson. Shine has logged his first nine NHL games with the Red Wings this season, recording one assist and 15 penalty minutes, while Watson shows two goals and 17 PIM in eight appearances with the parent club. Watson was recalled by the Red Wings on Tuesday.

The Lombardi Trophy: Second-year pro Amadeus Lombardi has recorded three straight multi-point games for the first time in his career, securing seven points (5-2—7) in three outings last week. He scored at least one goal in each game, totaling five on just seven shots, and also has six goals in the last five games (6-2—8). He enjoyed a career-high four-game assist streak from March 8-15 (0-5—5) and now has points in eight of the last 10 outings (6-7—13). Lombardi was sidelined for 28 games due to rehabbing an upper-body injury from Dec. 6-Feb. 15. Since his return, the Aurora, Ontario, native has 19 points (9-10—19) in 18 outings, which includes two career-best four-game point streaks. Through 38 appearances, Lombardi has a career-high 34 points (18-16—34) after showing 26 points (5-21—26) in 70 games as a rookie last season. Despite his limited games, Lombardi still ranks among the team leaders in points (6th), assists (7th) and goals (4th). The 21-year-old was selected 113th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

Damn Daniel, Back At It Again: Rookie Nate Danielson registered three points in both games last weekend against the Rockford IceHogs (2-4—6). This marked the second and third times this season that the 20-year-old has produced three points in a game (0-3—3 on Dec. 28 at CLE). Last Friday versus Rockford, Danielson bagged his first two-goal game as a pro. He has totaled eight multi-point outings this season, including three assists on April 5 at Rockford and Dec. 28 at Cleveland. The ninth overall pick by Detroit in 2023 has 38 points (11-27—38), 33 penalty minutes and a plus-five rating in his rookie campaign. He ranks among the team leaders in points (4th), assists (2nd), and goals (6th). Danielson also places among the AHL rookie leaders in assists (8th), points (14th), and short-handed assists (4, 1st). 

Not Your Average Joe: Joe Snively registered five assists in two games last weekend and tied his single-game career-high three helpers on April 4 against Rockford. The five assists in two games marked a career high for most assists in a two-game span for Snively and the five points also tied his career-best two games (three previous times. MR: Oct. 28-29, 2023: 2-3—5). Snively has 44 points (20-24—44), 24 penalty minutes and a minus-five rating in 66 games with the Griffins. He has already notched a career-high 20 goals, beating his previous best of 15 in 2021-22 with Hershey. The 29-year-old ranks among the team leaders in points (1st), assists (T3rd), and goals (2nd). Throughout 286 AHL regular-season contests, Snively has 216 points (78-138—216) and a plus-52 rating, adding 33 points (6-27—33) in 43 playoff outings. Snively is in search of his third straight Calder Cup, which would put him in rare company, as only 11 players in league history have won three consecutive cups in the AHL and no one has reached this feat since the 1978 season.

Timmy G: Veteran Tim Gettinger is on a season-high three-game point streak (2-1—3) and scored in consecutive games for the second time this season from April 2-4. Prior to this point streak, the 26-year-old had not scored a goal since Jan. 23 and had just one point (0-1—1) in 24 games from Jan. 25-March 26. Gettinger has 13 points (6-7—13) and 17 penalty minutes in 48 games with the Griffins this season, having missed the first 17 contests due to rehabbing a lower-body injury. Throughout 340 AHL appearances, Gettinger has 171 points (80-91—171) and 163 penalty minutes. 

Power Surge: The Griffins exploded for a season-high three power-play goals on March 15 at Rockford and are now 7-for-22 (31.8%) on the man-advantage in their last eight games, which includes a 3-for-7 mark (42.9%) this past weekend. The power play has also scored in eight of the last 16 games (11-for-53, 20.8%) and is 13-for-65 in its last 18 outings (20.0%). The power play has climbed into 24th place on the circuit at 17.3% (40-for-231) after being ranked 10th at the beginning of February (18.7%). If you break it down further, Grand Rapids’ home power play is 19-for-107 (17.8%, 19th) and its road power play is 21-for-124 (16.9%, 22nd). The Griffins have given up 10 short-handed goals, which is tied for the sixth most. The Griffins’ penalty kill has gone 34-for-42 (81.0%) in its last 16 games and 14-for-18 (77.8%) in the last eight contests. The team has allowed a power-play goal in 15 of the previous 26 games (58-for-77 on PK, 75.3%) and in 21 of its last 35 outings (85-for-110 on PK, 77.3%). The Griffins have the fewest penalty minutes in the AHL this season at 663, 34 minutes less than Coachella Valley (697). The penalty kill is tied for 17th at 82.0% after starting the month of February in seventh place at 85.1%. The Griffins are 21-6-2-2 when scoring on the power play and 14-16-2-1 when they allow a power-play goal. 

Home Improvement: The Griffins enjoyed a five-game point streak at home (3-0-1-1) from Feb. 21-March 14 but have since dropped four of the past five home outings with a minus-four scoring margin (17-13). Grand Rapids is 16-14-2-2 inside Van Andel Arena this year with a minus-four scoring margin (95-91). Last season, the team finished with a 23-7-4-2 mark at home with a plus-31 scoring margin (111-80), which included a franchise-record 19-game home point streak (14-0-3-2) from Jan. 13-April 5. The Griffins will play their final two regular-season home games against the Texas Stars, who are tied for first place in the Central Division.

Winning Skills: The Griffins are 7-2 during shootouts this season, as the seven wins are tied for the league lead with Ontario (7-1). The last time Grand Rapids won at least seven games in the skills competition was back in 2006-07 (8-5), and it has not had a winning season in a shootout since 2018-19 (6-4). The Griffins are 125-129 all time during the shootout. Cross Hanas (2-for-2), Ondrej Becher (1-for-2) and Nate Danielson (3-for-6) lead the way for Grand Rapids. In net, Sebastian Cossa is 17-for-22 (77.3%) this season and 31-for-40 (77.5%) all time as a Griffin in the shootout, which ranks fifth in franchise history. 

Batten Down the Hatches: The Griffins’ defense has allowed 3.67 goals per game in its last six games, which includes 4.00 goals per game in its last two outings. Grand Rapids allowed 2.90 goals per game in the month of March and have now allowed 3.09 goals since the start of the calendar year. The Griffins have dropped to 10th in the AHL with 2.83 goals allowed after starting February ranked first with 2.43 goals allowed. Sebastian Cossa has shown a 2.44 GAA and .911 save percentage through 37 games, and Jack Campbell has a 3.18 GAA and an .879 save percentage in 12 appearances.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:
Shai Buium—Tied for seventh among rookie defensemen in assists (22), 12th among rookie defensemen in points (24), tied for sixth among rookie defensemen in power-play goals (2), tied for sixth among rookie defensemen in power-play assists (8), tied for 11th among rookie defensemen in shots (77)
Sebastian Cossa—13th in minutes played (2,187:58), tied for 12th in games played (37), 12th in GAA (2.44), tied for ninth in wins (20), tied for 13th in save percentage (.911)
Nate Danielson—Eighth among rookies in assists (27), tied for 14th among rookies in points (38), second in short-handed assists (4), first among rookies in short-handed assists (4)
Josiah Didier—Tied for seventh in short-handed assists (2), tied for third among defensemen in short-handed assists (2)
Alex Doucet—Tied for third among rookies in short-handed goals (2) 
Sheldon Dries—Tied for 10th in game-winners (6)
Dominik Shine—Tied for seventh in short-handed assists (2)
Austin Watson—Tied for first in major penalties (10), tied for seventh in short-handed goals (3)

Milestones:
Jack Campbell secured a victory in his 450th pro game on April 5 at Rockford. 
Brogan Rafferty—Two points from 50 as a Griffin
Dominik Shine—One goal from moving into a tie for seventh place on the franchise’s all-time goals scored list (Landon Ferraro & Kip Miller 75), one assist from moving into a tie for 10th on the franchise’s all-time assist list (Cory Emmerton 107)

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins