Griffins Game #51 * Road Game #25 * AHL Game #752

Season Series: 1-1-0-0 Home Series: 0-1-0-0 Road Series: 1-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 53-30-5-10 All-Time Home Series: 30-16-1-2 All-Time Road Series: 23-14-4-8

Griffins at Monsters
Third of four meetings overall, second of two at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse…In a rivalry that dates to the 2007-08 season, Friday’s rematch at Van Andel Arena will be the 100th all-time regular season meeting between the teams…In the last matchup on Nov. 12 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Joe Veleno netted his first game-winning goal with 42 seconds remaining in regulation after Cleveland tied the contest 20 seconds prior…The Griffins are on an eight-game point streak at Cleveland (5-0-1-2) and last suffered a regulation defeat on Feb. 28, 2017 (1-4)…Grand Rapids has points in 12 of the last 15 meetings overall (9-3-1-2)…At Van Andel Arena, the Griffins have points in nine of the last 13 (8-4-0-1)…Head coach Ben Simon is a native of Shaker Heights, a Cleveland suburb…Captain Matthew Ford spent most of his first three pro seasons (2008-11) with the Monsters, totaling 69 points (39-30—69) in 126 appearances...Monsters first-year head coach Mike Eaves was Ford’s college coach at Wisconsin and they won the 2006 NCAA Championship together…Calvin Pickard began his pro career with the Monsters, appearing in 142 games from 2011-15 and posting a 60-54-21 record to go along with a 2.63 GAA, a 0.913 save percentage and 10 shutouts…Pickard is the Monsters’ all-time leader in goalie wins.

Last Game (Sunday): Stars 1 at Griffins 5 - Recap
Evgeny Svechnikov (1-2—3), Chris Terry (1-1—2), Michael Rasmussen (1-1—2) and Matt Puempel (1-1—2) all recorded multi-point games...Pat Nagle saved a season-high 34 shots...Grand Rapids scored the game’s final five goals and matched its largest margin of victory this season (Jan. 11 vs. Manitoba)...The Griffins have points in eight of the last nine matchups vs. Texas at Van Andel Arena (6-1-1-1), including in each of the last six.

Status Update
The Griffins have points in three straight games (2-0-1-0) and in 11 of their last 13 (8-2-1-2). Beginning the new year in a tie for last place in the Central Division, Grand Rapids has catapulted itself into a tie for third, which is its highest division standing since a 4-3 home win against San Antonio on Nov. 20 also left them tied for third. The Griffins begin a home-and-home set against the Monsters tonight on the shores of Lake Erie before Cleveland repays the trip on Valentine’s Day. Grand Rapids has won two of its last three road outings, with both victories coming against league-leading Milwaukee.

Movin’ On Up
Over the last 13 games, during which the Griffins have risen from last place in the division into a tie for third, Grand Rapids is outscoring opponents 38-30 and outshooting them 435-383 (+52) while operating at 21.8% on the power play (12-for-55) and 81.6% on the penalty kill (31-for-38). Chris Terry (5-6—11), Taro Hirose (0-9—9) and Michael Rasmussen (3-5—8) are the leading scorers in the stretch. Calvin Pickard (5-1-1, 1.99 GA, 0.931%, 1 SO) and Pat Nagle (3-1, 1.98 GAA, 0.933%) have shared crease duties during the run and post near identical numbers.

Russian Influence
Evgeny Svechnikov has banked three power play goals among five points in the last two outings for his first back-to-back multi-point games of the season. In fact, five points is the most productive two-game stretch of the third-year pro’s career.

Picks and Pucks
Calvin Pickard has points in six of his last seven starts (5-1-1), posting a 1.99 GAA, a 0.931 save percentage (189 of 203) and one shutout in that stretch. Since Jan. 8, Pickard’s 1.99 GAA is fourth in the league among netminders with 420 or more minutes.

Net Nagle
Pat Nagle has won four of his last six starts, showing a 2.00 GAA and stopping 157 of 169 shots in that stretch (0.929). His 2.19 season GAA ranks fourth among AHL netminders with more than 630 minutes.

Time to Tango
Eric Tangradi lists seven goals among nine points in 11 games this season. He ties for fourth on the team in power play goals (4), ties for seventh in goals overall and places fourth in points per game (0.82). A 2017 Calder Cup champion with Grand Rapids, Tangradi ranks among the club’s all-time leaders with 173 points (9th), 83 goals (5th) and 25 PPG (T3rd).

Back Up, Terr
2020 AHL All-Star Classic selection Chris Terry leads the team with 15 points (5-10—15) in 16 GP in the new year. Overall, he ties for sixth in the AHL in points (45) while pacing the Griffins in goals (18), assists (27), multi-point games (14) and power play goals (9).

February Finish
The Griffins have points in 20 of their last 24 games in the month of February (16-4-2-2, 0.750). That stretch includes points in 14 of 16 appearances at Van Andel Arena (11-2-2-1), including in six straight (4-0-2-0), and in six of eight contests on foreign ice (5-2-0-1).

Terrific Turg
One of only two Griffins (Turner Elson) to play in every game this season, Dominic Turgeon ranks third on the team in goals (10) while tying for fifth in points (20). He has already matched his scoring output from last season when he suited up 72 times.

Give Me a Break
Since joining the AHL in the 2001-02 season, the Griffins post a 303-217-7-21-27 (0.575) combined record in games played after the all-star break. Grand Rapids has tallied a 0.500 mark or better in each of the last nine seasons after the hiatus, including going a combined 133-71-11-12 (0.637) since 2012-13 – the year its current postseason streak began. The Griffins are 2-1-1-0 after the break so far this season.

Rotating Roster
Five different goaltenders have logged minutes for Grand Rapids this season, the team’s most since five suited up during the 2014-15 campaign (Pat Nagle, Jonas Gustavsson, Petr Mrazek, Jared Coreau, Tom McCollum). Including those five goalies, the Griffins have used 38 players already this season. Here is how the current usage stacks up to the final player counts in recent seasons: 2018-19 – 41 players, 2017-18 – 32, 2016-17 – 39, 2015-16 – 37 and 2014-15 – 39. Since the AHL’s season began on Oct. 4, the Red Wings have recalled or assigned a player from or to Grand Rapids a total of 77 times.

Griffins in General
Grand Rapids is in the franchise’s 24th overall season of play, 19th as a member of the American Hockey League and 18th as the primary affiliate of the 11-time Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings…Grand Rapids is 987-677-27-61-116 (0.583) in the regular season since 1996-97 to go along with 17 playoff appearances, seven division titles and two Calder Cups (2017, 2013)…The Griffins have earned 40 or more wins and accumulated 90 or more points in six of the last seven seasons…Grand Rapids has qualified for the Calder Cup Playoffs in a franchise-record seven consecutive seasons and advanced to at least the second round on five occasions…The Griffins’ 8-5 season-opening win at Chicago on Oct. 5 marked the club’s 750th win in the AHL…Grand Rapids’ 327 regular season wins since the 2012-13 campaign are third, behind only Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s 328 and Toronto’s 341 while the Griffins’ 712 points in that span are fourth, trailing Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (713), Providence (718) and Toronto (740)…Since the affiliation began in 2002-03, 93 Griffins have gone on to play for the Red Wings.

This Date in Griffins History
2000: Karel Rachunek ties a franchise mark with four assists in a 6-3 rout of defending IHL champion Houston.
2001: Mathieu Chouinard extends his record by winning his ninth straight decision at Van Andel Arena, a 5-2 win over Houston that marks GR’s 12th win in its last 13 home games.
2005: Greg Ireland makes his debut as the Griffins’ head coach in a 5-2 loss to Utah. Joey MacDonald plays his 103rd career game for Grand Rapids, tying Marc Lamothe’s franchise record for goaltenders.
2006: Thanks to a 4-2 victory over Peoria, the Griffins improve to 37-12-1-3 – marking the best 53-game record in franchise history – and tie team records with 13 wins in their last 15 games and 19 wins in their last 23 contests.

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins