Griffins Game #67 * Road Game #32 * AHL Game #1,028

Season Series: 0-1-1-0 Home Series: 0-1-1-0 Road Series: 0-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 32-32-4-2 All-Time Home Series: 19-15-2-1 All-Time Road Series: 13-17-2-1

Griffins at Marlies
Third of four meetings overall, first of two at Coca-Cola Coliseum…This will be the Griffins first trip to Toronto since April 2, 2016...The 2021-22 campaign is the first time since the 2015-16 season that Toronto and Grand Rapids played more than two games...The Griffins and Marlies had met for 11 consecutive seasons from 2005-16 before taking a three-year hiatus (2016-19)…Grand Rapids’ last win against the Marlies was back on Nov. 8, 2019...The Griffins are 1-6-1-0 against Toronto since the 2015-16 season and have been outscored 34-18...The Marlies are 16-13-2-1 at home this year and hold a 6-4-0-0 record in the past 10 games...Grand Rapids is 13-15-2-1 on the road this season and are 2-7-1-0 in its past 10 outings...Toronto ranks near the top of the AHL in power play percentage at 20% (T12th) while its penalty kill places 17th at 80.5%...Calvin Pickard appeared in 33 regular season games with the Marlies in 2017-18, posting a 21-9-2 record to go along with a 2.31 GAA, a 0.918 save percentage and one shutout. Pickard helped Toronto win the 2018 Calder Cup after playing in three postseason games and showing a 1-0-0 record, a 1.00 GAA and a 0.956 save mark…Ben Simon served as an assistant coach with the Marlies during the 2014-15 season (40-27-9-0 record).

Last Time Out
Victor Brattstrom stole the show on Wednesday at Van Andel Arena when he tallied 35 saves in a 2-1, 12-round shootout victory over the Cleveland Monsters. Grand Rapids improved to 5-0-1-0 this season against the Monsters. Josh Dickinson recorded the shootout-winner while Jonatan Berggren bagged the game-tying goal in the second period. Riley Barber extended his point streak to eight games (5-4—9) with an assist. This was the longest shootout since a team-record 14-round 3-2 win against Manitoba on March 15, 2006. Drew Worrad and Samuel Dove-McFalls each made their pro debuts.

Roster Shake Up
- April 4, 2022—F Kyle Criscuolo reassigned by Detroit
- April 5, 2022—F Samuel Dove-McFalls signed to an ATO; F Kyle Criscuolo recalled by Detroit
- April 7, 2022—F Kyle Criscuolo reassigned by Detroit
- April 8, 2022—F Taro Hirose reassigned by Detroit

Welcome to the Barber Shop
Riley Barber has been on a tear as of late, with points in eight straight games (5-4—9). Since being reassigned by Detroit on March 2, Barber has notched 17 points (7-10—17) in as many games, including four multi-point outings. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native ranks fourth on the roster with 36 points (15-21—36) in 40 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 72 games with the Griffins, the 28-year-old veteran has 70 points (35-35—70) and 42 penalty minutes.

This Date in Griffins History
2004: Jeff Nelson notches an assist in the Griffins’ 3-2 win over San Antonio, becoming the 70th player in AHL history to reach the 500-point plateau. Derek King also earns a helper, marking the 900th and final point of his 17-year pro career.

No Time to Waste
The Griffins currently sit in seventh place in the Central Division standings with a 28-30-6-2 (0.485) mark and only 10 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 Texas, who sits in the final playoff spot, is 24 points heading into the weekend. The Griffins have the sixth-toughest remaining schedule in the division with a remaining opponent win percentage of 0.580 while Texas has the toughest at 0.598. 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.

Shine Bright
Dominik Shine recorded a career-high seven-game point streak (7-3—10) from March 16-27 and has tallied eight goals in his last 10 outings. Before this run, the Detroit, native registered just one tally and four assists in his previous 28 games. Shine scored in four straight games from March 22-27, which was a new career-high goal streak. The 28-year-old has set career-best numbers in goals (14), assists (14), points (28), penalty minutes (121) and shots (103) this campaign with 10 games remaining.

Race to the Top
Jonatan Berggren has cracked the Griffins’ top-10 rookie single-season scoring list, as he currently places eighth with 46 points (16-30—46) in 60 games, which leads the team this season. Berggren has logged two points in three of his last eight games, with two goals and six helpers during the run. The Uppsala, Sweden, native is tied for seventh among rookies with his 46 points, while his 30 assists are tied for fifth. Berggren is tied for third among rookies with five game-winning goals. Berggren is on pace for 53 points, which would place fourth in Griffins’ rookie single-season scoring history.

Traffic Jam
The Griffins have won just one game in their last six contests away from West Michigan, having been outscored 27-15. However, Grand Rapids has secured three out of six points in its past three 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 13-15-2-1 this season away from West Michigan while they are 15-15-4-1 at home. Grand Rapids will play seven of its remaining 10 games on foreign ice.

Rarified Air
Brian Lashoff’s 570 games played for the Griffins ranks first among active AHL players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and tied for fourth in league history among one-team players. Of the players ahead of him on that list, the most recent – and, coincidentally, the record-holder – last played during the 1970-71 season (Bill Needham of the Cleveland Barons, 981 games played). Lashoff tied Paul Larivee (Providence Reds, 1952-62) for the No. 4 spot on April 6 against Cleveland and is now 38 games behind No. 3 Howie Yanosik (Hershey Bears, 1957-67). Lashoff is still 85 games away from breaking the Griffins’ all-time games played record, held by Travis Richards with 655 games (1995-2006).

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Jonatan Berggren—46 points (16-30—46) are tied for seventh among first-year players, 30 assists are tied for fifth among rookies, five game-winning goals are tied for third among rookies
Ryan Murphy—11 goals are tied for third among defensemen
Calvin Pickard—2.58 goals against average ranks 14th, 0.918 save percentage is tied for ninth, 21 wins are tied for fifth, 2534:30 minutes played places third
Dominik Shine—121 penalty minutes are tied for fifth

Milestones
Riley Barber appeared in his 350th game in the AHL on March 26 at Bakersfield. Other upcoming milestones include:
Victor Brattstrom—Two games from 150 as a pro
Kyle Criscuolo—One game from 300 in the AHL
Turner Elson—Two goals from 100 as a pro
Jon Martin—One game from 300 as a pro
Dan Renouf—One game from 200 as a Griffin
Tyler Spezia—Four goals from 50 as a pro, one game from 200 as a pro
Dennis Yan—One game from 200 in the AHL

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins