Down to the Wire

This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS at Iowa Wild // Tue., April 19 // 8 p.m. EDT // Wells Fargo Arena

Listen: 96.1 The Game at 7:35 p.m. EDT

Watch: AHLTV

Season Series: 5-2-0-0 Overall, 2-1-0-0 Away. Eighth of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at Wells Fargo Arena.

All-Time Series: 40-17-4-2 Overall, 20-10-1-0 Away

NHL Affiliation: Minnesota Wild

Noteworthy: Iowa (30-28-4-5, 0.515) currently ranks fifth in the Central-Division standings, the final playoff spot for the division. The Griffins (31-31-6-2, 0.500) are in seventh place with six games remaining.

GRIFFINS at Rockford IceHogs // Wed., April 20 // 8 p.m. EDT // BMO Harris Bank Center

Listen: 96.1 The Game at 7:35 p.m. EDT

Watch: WIFR 23.3 Circle TV (Rockford) / AHLTV

Season Series: 5-2-0-0 Overall, 2-1-0-0 Away. Eighth of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at BMO Harris Bank Center.

All-Time Series: 57-38-9-11 Overall, 21-26-4-6 Away

NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks

Noteworthy: Dating back to the final meeting of the 2019-20 season, Grand Rapids now has points in 13 of the last 16 games (10-3-2-1) against Rockford with a plus-18 scoring margin (53-35).

GRIFFINS vs. Chicago Wolves // Fri., April 22 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
GRIFFINS at Chicago Wolves // Sun., April 24 // 4 p.m. EDT // Allstate Arena

Listen: 96.1 The Game at 6:35 p.m. on Friday and 3:35 p.m. EDT on Sunday

Watch: WXSP-TV / AHLTV on Friday and My50 Chicago / AHLTV on Sunday

Season Series: 1-7-1-0 Overall, 0-4-1-0 Home, 1-3-0-0 Away. Tenth and 11th of 12 meetings overall, sixth of six at Van Andel Arena, fifth of six at Allstate Arena.

All-Time Series: 91-78-2-7-3 Overall, 44-36-2-5-2 Home, 47-42-0-2-1 Away

NHL Affiliation: Carolina Hurricanes

Noteworthy: With a 2-1 overtime victory at Chicago on March 13, the Griffins halted their nine-game winless streak against the Wolves (0-8-1-0) that dated back to the 2020-21 season. Chicago’s nine-game win streak was the longest by either team in this rivalry that began in 1996.

Last Week’s Results
Wed., April 13 // GRIFFINS 4 vs. Cleveland 2 // 30-31-6-2 (68 pts., 0.493, 7th Central Division)
Fri., April 15 // GRIFFINS 3 vs. Iowa 1 // 31-31-6-2 (70 pts., 0.500, T6th Central Division)

Last Week’s Notes
Wednesday vs. Cleveland (4-2 W) - An offensive-powered three-goal second period lifted the Griffins past the Cleveland Monsters 4-2 at Van Andel Arena. The Griffins have now tallied points in all seven outings this season against the Monsters (6-0-1-0). Riley Barber tallied an assist, which extended his point streak to a career-high 11 games (9-5—14). Jonatan Berggren tallied his 17^th goal of the campaign along with an assist, which pushed his point streak to four games (2-5—7). Taro Hirose joined Berggren with two points (1-1—2). The Griffins ended the home portion of the season series against the Monsters with a 3-0-1-0 ledger. Recap | Highlights

Friday vs. Iowa (3-1 W) - Victor Brattstrom’s 30-save outing propelled the Griffins past the Iowa Wild 3-1 on Friday in front of a sold-out crowd at Van Andel Arena. The Griffins now hold a 5-2-0-0 record in the season series against the Wild with one meeting left. Riley Barber pushed his career-high point streak to 12 games (9-6—15) with an assist and is now tied for the fourth-longest point streak in Griffins history. Turner Elson recorded his 22^nd helper of the season, a new career best. Jonatan Berggren tallied two points (1-1—2), placing him fourth on the franchise’s all-time scoring rookie list and second in game-winning goals among rookies in the AHL this season with seven. Jon Martin appeared in his 300th pro game and Berggren pushed his point streak to five games (3-6—9). This was the second sellout of the season with a crowd of 10,834. Recap | Highlights

Down to the Wire: The Griffins currently sit in seventh place in the Central Division standings with a 31-31-6-2 (0.500) mark and only six games remaining. The top five teams from the division will qualify for the Calder Cup Playoffs, with the top three receiving a first-round bye. The Griffins’ magic number over Iowa, which sits in the final playoff spot, is 14 points. The Griffins have the toughest remaining schedule in the division with a remaining opponent win percentage of 0.618, while Iowa has the easiest remaining schedule at 0.524. Grand Rapids has appeared in the last seven Calder Cup Playoffs, dating back to the 2012-13 season when it lifted the cup for the first time.

Welcome to the Barber Shop: Riley Barber has been on a tear as of late, with points in a career-high 12 straight games (9-6—15), including his third-ever hat trick on April 9 at Toronto. There have been only three longer point streaks in franchise history (Jiri Hudler 14; Derek King 17; Donald MacLean 19). Since being reassigned by Detroit on March 2, Barber has notched 23 points (11-12—23) in 21 games, including five multi-point outings. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native is tied for third on the roster with 42 points (19-23—42) in 44 games. Last season, Barber paced the Griffins with 34 points (20-14—34) in 32 contests and finished second in the league with 20 goals. Through 76 games with the Griffins, the 28-year-old veteran has 76 points (39-37—76) and 46 penalty minutes.

Race to the Top: Jonatan Berggren on April 9 became just the sixth rookie in Griffins history to record 50 points, as he places fourth on the Griffins’ rookie single-season scoring list with 54 points (18-36—54) in 64 games. Berggren has logged two or more points in six of his last 12 games, with four goals and 12 helpers during the run. The Uppsala, Sweden, native paces the Griffins and ranks fifth among rookies with his 54 points, while his 36 assists rank fourth. Berggren is second among rookies with seven game-winning goals. Berggren is on pace for 59 points, which would tie Teemu Pulkkinen (2013-14) for the Griffins’ rookie single-season scoring title. His 36 assists are also tied for the most by a rookie in a Griffins uniform.

Stalled Engine: The Griffins have struggled out of the gate recently, allowing the first goal in 10 straight contests. Grand Rapids has five wins in those 10 games, showing a 5-4-1-0 mark. During this run, Grand Rapids has not won a first period and has been outscored 13-4. However, in the past nine second periods the Griffins have a plus-five scoring margin (14-9). Narrowing it down even more, Grand Rapids has been outscored 9-3 in the last four first frames while it has outscored its opponents 8-1 in the past four second periods. When scoring first, the Griffins are 19-8-2-1 (0.683) this season while they are 12-23-4-1 (0.363) when conceding the opening goal.

The Roaring 20s: Turner Elson reached the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career on April 9. The ninth-year pro has had a career-high season on the offensive end, with a career-best 20 goals, 22 assists and 42 points so far. The alternate captain has turned it on as of late with 15 points (7-8—15) in his last 20 games. In comparison, Elson had just eight points (3-5—8) in the 20 contests before this run. Elson is tied for third on the roster with his 42 points (20-22—42).

Traffic Jam: The Griffins have won two games in their last eight contests away from West Michigan, having been outscored 36-23. However, Grand Rapids has secured five out of 10 points in its past five outings away from home. Grand Rapids went on a season-high five-game road trip from March 19-27 and finished with a 1-3-1-0 mark. The Griffins are 14-16-2-1 this season away from West Michigan while they are 17-15-4-1 at home. Grand Rapids will play five of its remaining six games on foreign ice.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:
Jonatan Berggren—54 points (17-35—52) rank fifth among first-year players, 36 assists rank fourth among rookies, seven game-winning goals are second among rookies
Jared McIsaac—24 points are tied for seventh among rookie defensemen, 19 assists are tied for sixth among rookie defensemen
Ryan Murphy—11 goals are tied for fourth among defensemen
Calvin Pickard—2.58 goals against average ranks 14th, 0.918 save percentage places 10th, 21 wins are tied for sixth, 2534:30 minutes played places fourth
Dominik Shine—127 penalty minutes are tied for fourth

Milestones:
Jon Martin skated in his 300th pro game on April 15 against Iowa. Victor Brattstrom and Jan Drozg each made their 150th appearance as a pro on April 10 at Toronto. Other upcoming milestones include:
Riley Barber—Two assists from 150 in the AHL and as a pro
Kyle Criscuolo—Four points from 100 as a Griffin
Jan Drozg—One game from 100 in the AHL, three goals from 50 as a pro
Turner Elson—One goal from 100 as a pro
Taro Hirose—Four assists from 100 as a pro
Ryan Murphy—Three assists from 200 as a pro, two points from 250 as a pro
Chase Pearson—Two games from 150 as a pro, four games from 150 in the AHL
Ben Simon—One win from 200 as a pro head coach

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins