This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS at Texas Stars (28-16-3-0) // Tue., Feb. 25 // 8 p.m. EST // H-E-B Center at Cedar Park
GRIFFINS at Texas Stars // Wed., Feb. 26 // 8 p.m. EST // H-E-B Center at Cedar Park  

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 7:45 p.m. EST on Tuesday, and at 8 p.m. EST on Wednesday

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey 

Season Series: 1-0-2-0 Overall, 1-0-1-0 Away. Fourth and fifth of eight meetings overall, third and fourth of four at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park

All-Time Series: 43-29-7-5 Overall, 20-17-5-1 Away

NHL Affiliation: Dallas Stars

Noteworthy: Two pivotal games for the Griffins to finish February, as Grand Rapids and Texas are both tied for second place in the Central Division. The Griffins have 59 points in 51 games, while the Stars have 59 points in just 47 games.   

GRIFFINS vs. Iowa Wild (17-30-3-1) // Sat., March 1 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 7 p.m.

Watch: WXSP-TV and AHLTV on FloHockey 

Season Series: 3-2-1-0 Overall, 1-1-1-0 Home. Seventh of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 53-26-6-3 Overall, 26-11-5-2 Home

NHL Affiliation: Minnesota Wild

Noteworthy: The Griffins will play Iowa for the fourth time in the last eight games. The Griffins have points in two of the last three meetings (1-1-1-0) and have a 3-2-1-0 mark against the Wild this season. 

No Need to Panic: After posting a four-game win streak (Jan. 18-29) and a six-game point streak (Jan. 15-29), the Griffins have struggled in the month of February, which has included a season-high five-game losing skid (Jan. 31-Feb. 12) and just two wins in nine games this month (2-6-1-0). However, the team now has points in three of its last five games (2-2-1-0) and are just two points out of first place in the division. The Griffins are tied for second place in the Central Division after being in first place or a tie for first from Nov. 8-Feb. 7. The Griffins have averaged 1.90 goals in their last 10 contests while allowing 3.70 tallies. Scoring at least three goals has been key for Grand Rapids, as it has a 22-1-0-1 mark (.938) when reaching at least three goals and a 5-18-4-0 (.259) record when it fails to do so. The defense, a usual strong spot for the Griffins, has allowed 3.89 goals per game in February but is still tied for seventh overall with 2.69 goals allowed per game this season. In addition to falling into a tie for second place in the division, Grand Rapids is now tied for sixth in the Western Conference and tied for 14th in the AHL with a 27-19-4-1 record and 59 points through 51 games. 

He’s Back!: After being sidelined for 28 consecutive games from Dec. 6-Feb. 15 due to rehabbing an upper-body injury, second-year pro Amadeus Lombardi returned to the ice last Wednesday against Lehigh Valley and collected an assist in the process. Last Sunday, he scored his first goal since returning and now has two points (1-1—2) in three games. At the time of his injury, Lombardi ranked third on the team in points (9-6—15) and first in goals (9) through 20 appearances. The 21-year-old also had four game-winners which ranked first on the team and tied for first in the AHL as of Dec. 6. Currently, Lombardi is tied for seventh on the roster with 17 points (10-7—17) and fifth in goals (10). As a rookie last season, Lombardi produced 26 points (5-21—26) in 70 outings during the regular season before adding one goal in eight playoff games. The Aurora, Ontario, native was selected with the 113th pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2022. 

Getting Settled In: Carter Mazur was sidelined for 35 straight contests from Oct. 19-Jan. 18 and now has five points (2-3—5) in his last five outings and eight points (3-5—8) in 13 games since returning from his upper-body injury. In total, Mazur has 10 points (4-6—10) in 16 appearances with the Griffins this season. Last campaign, Mazur ranked second on the team in points (17-30—37) as a rookie before tying for second on the roster in points (3-5—8) during the Calder Cup Playoffs. The 70th overall pick by Detroit in 2021 spent two seasons at the University of Denver prior to turning pro and won two NCHC titles (2022, 2023) and became a NCAA champion in 2022, showing a combined 75 points (36-39—75) in 81 career games. 

Out of the Ordinary: It has been an unusual stretch of games for the Griffins since Jan. 31, as they have two wins in their last 10 contests (2-7-1-0). The special teams have been unlucky, as they are 3-for-41 on the power play (7.3%) and 28-for-38 on the penalty kill (73.7%) this month. The power play did score two goals on Friday against Lehigh Valley after scoring just once on the man-advantage in the previous nine games. At the start of February, the power play was ranked 10th (now 27th), and the penalty kill sat in seventh place (now 16th). Grand Rapids has also allowed 35 goals in nine games this month (3.89 per game) after allowing 23 goals in 11 outings in January (2.09). One thing that has improved is the Griffins’ shot count. They have outshot their opponent in eight of the last 11 games with an average of 32.1 shots, which includes at least 40 shots in two of the last three games. At the start of the month, Grand Rapids was averaging just 26.1 shots per contest.   

Nate The Great: Nate Danielson, the ninth overall pick by Detroit in 2023, tied his season-high of a four-game point streak from Feb. 14-21 after being held scoreless in the previous eight games. He has had a promising rookie season with 26 points (6-20—26), 29 penalty minutes and a plus-one rating in 50 appearances. In addition to ranking fifth in points and second in assists on the team, Danielson is tied for 10th among AHL rookies in assists (20) and first in short-handed assists (3). Prior to turning pro, the 20-year-old spent four seasons in the WHL with Brandon (2020-24) and Portland (2023-24), producing a combined 217 points (83-134—217) in 199 career games.  

A Season to Remember: Dominik Shine has already set a career high with 36 points (11-25—36) in 48 games and is on pace to reach 52 (16-36—52) this season. On Feb. 14 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). Shine ranks first on the roster in points (11-25—36) and assists (25), fourth in goals (11), and third in power-play goals (4). Since returning from Detroit, the 31-year-old has four points (0-4—4) in eight contests. 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. 

A Few Loose Ends: Despite allowing 3.89 goals per game in the month of February, the Griffins’ defense has been a bright spot for the team this season. Grand Rapids is tied for seventh in the AHL with 2.69 goals allowed per contest and has averaged 2.90 goals against since the start of the calendar year. At the start of February, the Griffins ranked first in the AHL with 2.43 goals allowed per game. Sebastian Cossa has shown a 2.34 GAA and .914 save percentage through 29 games, and Jack Campbell has a 2.34 GAA and a .910 save percentage in eight appearances. Dating back to last season, Grand Rapids has allowed just 75 goals in its last 29 regular-season games at Van Andel Arena (2.59 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). 

Trouble at Home: The Griffins endured a season-high four-game losing skid at home from Jan. 31-Feb. 19, and have been outscored 24-10 in their last six home outings. Grand Rapids is 13-10-2-1 inside Van Andel Arena this year with a minus-one scoring margin (72-71). The four-game skid marked the first time the Griffins dropped four straight at home since they lost six in a row from Jan. 15-Feb. 4, 2022. It was also the first four-game drought at home under second-year head coach Dan Watson. 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. 

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 3-for-43 (7.0%) on the man-advantage in its last 11 games. However, the power play registered two goals last Friday against Lehigh Valley to break a 1-for-31 drought. The power play has quickly fallen into 27th place on the circuit at 16.3% (29-for-178) after being ranked 10th at the beginning of February (18.7%). If you break it down further, Grand Rapids’ home power play is 14-for-82 (17.1%, 21st) and its road power play is 15-for-96 (15.6%, T24th). The Griffins have given up six short-handed goals, which is tied for the 10th-most. The Griffins’ penalty kill has also struggled as of late, allowing a power-play goal in seven of the last 10 games (24-for-35 on PK, 68.6%) and in 13 of its last 19 games (51-for-68 on PK, 75.0%). 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 12th in the AHL. When scoring on the power play, the Griffins are 16-4-2-1 and 9-13-2-1 when they allow a power-play goal.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:
Shai Buium—Seventh among rookie defensemen in assists (17), 12th among rookie defensemen in points (17), tied for 12th among rookie defensemen in power-play assists (4)
Sebastian Cossa—Seventh in minutes played (1,716:07), tied for sixth in games played (29), seventh in GAA (2.34), tied for ninth in wins (15), tied for seventh in save percentage (.914)
Nate Danielson—Tied for 11th among rookies in assists (20), tied for first in short-handed assists (3), first among rookies in short-handed assists (3), tied for 12th 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) 
x Sheldon Dries—Tied for second in game-winners (6)
Austin Watson—First in major penalties (10), tied for ninth in penalty minutes (92), tied for eighth in short-handed goals (2) 

Milestones:
Last Saturday against Iowa, Austin Watson skated in his 800th pro game and Brogan Rafferty competed in his 300th pro game. 
Josiah Didier—One game from 500 as a pro
x Sheldon Dries—One assist from 100 in the AHL, two goals from 150 as a pro
Brogan Rafferty—Three games from 300 in the AHL
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)
Joe Snively—Two games from 300 as a pro
Antti Tuomisto—One assist from 50 as a pro 

Photo by Texas Stars