Homestand Starts Against Admirals, Moose and Stars

This Week’s Games
GRIFFINS vs. Milwaukee Admirals // Wed., Oct. 23 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 0-1-0-0 Home, 0-1-0-0 Overall. Second of 10 meetings overall, second of five at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 53-31-2-2-3 Home, 98-65-7-7-8 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators
Noteworthy: The Admirals spoiled Grand Rapids’ 24th consecutive home-opening sellout on Oct. 11 by handing the Griffins a 4-1 loss.

GRIFFINS vs. Manitoba Moose // Fri., Oct. 25 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: First of eight meetings overall, first of four at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 32-13-1-1-5 Home, 62-30-1-1-7 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Winnipeg Jets
Noteworthy: The Griffins have claimed 11 of the last 13 regular season meetings.

GRIFFINS vs. Texas Stars // Sat., Oct. 26 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WBFX 101.3 FM at 6:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 0-0-0-0 Home, 0-1-0-1 Overall. Third of eight meetings overall, first of four at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 16-6-0-3 Home, 30-16-2-4 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Dallas Stars
Noteworthy: The Stars took the first two meetings of the season last weekend in Texas, winning 4-3 in a shootout on Friday and 3-0 on Saturday.

Last Week’s Results
Fri., Oct. 18 GRIFFINS 3 at Texas Stars 4 SO 2-1-0-1 (5 pts., T3rd Central Division)
Sat., Oct. 19 GRIFFINS 0 at Texas Stars 3 2-2-0-1 (5 pts., 5th Central)

Status Update: The Grand Rapids Griffins picked up one point in last weekend’s two-game set at Texas and stand 2-2-0-1 to open the 2019-20 season. After opening the year with four of its first five games on the road, Grand Rapids returns to Van Andel Arena for a four-game homestand to conclude October.

Last Week’s Notes:
Friday at Texas – Grand Rapids lost in a shootout for the first time since Jan. 11, 2019 vs. Belleville…The Griffins hold a 108-113 all-time record in shootouts...Matt Puempel scored his first goal of the season while on the power play 11:37 into the first period as part of a two-point night...Rookie Jarid Lukosevicius notched his second goal in as many nights at 10:23 of the third period...Grand Rapids finished 2-for-7 on the man-advantage as Givani Smith added a power play tally at 5:08 of the third period…The Griffins have collected points in each of its first three road games to open a season for the 12th time in franchise history. Recap | Highlights

Saturday at Texas – Grand Rapids was held scoreless for the first time since the 2018-19 season finale at Milwaukee on April 13…The Griffins were shut out by Texas for the second time ever, with the first occurrence coming in the inaugural meeting on Oct. 15, 2009 at Texas…In his second pro start, goaltender Filip Larsson stopped 18-of-20 shots…Captain Matthew Ford skated in his 700th pro game. Recap | Highlights

Follow the Leaders:

Lighting It Up: The Griffins are second in the AHL in power play efficiency at 28.0% (7-for-25) and have scored in four of five games. The four-game power play streak to open the season was the team’s longest since a four-game run Jan. 17-27, 2018. Chris Terry (1-2—3), Michael Rasmussen (1-2—3), Joe Hicketts (0-3—3) and Evgeny Svechnikov (0-3—3) tie for the team lead in power play points.

Feeling at Home: As a four-game homestand is set to get underway, the Griffins are playing five contests at Van Andel Arena in the month of October for the second time in the last 10 seasons (2017-18).

Goalvani: After registering 13 points (6-7—13) in 64 games as a rookie last season, Givani Smith has already reached nearly a third of that production with four points (2-2—4) in four games. His three-game point streak from Oct. 5-18 tied with Chris Terry and Michael Rasmussen for this season’s longest on the team.

Back Up, Terr: The Griffins’ leading scorer a season ago with 61 points in 69 games, Chris Terry has picked up where he left off by recording a team-high six points (2-4—6) to begin the new year. Six points through the first five games is the most since Turner Elson posted seven points to open the 2017-18 campaign.

All That Ras: Second-year pro Michael Rasmussen is averaging just under a point per game in his Griffins career, showing seven (4-3—7) in eight. Appearing in three games with Grand Rapids last season while on a conditioning stint, he tallied two goals. The ninth overall selection in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft by Detroit, Rasmussen places second on the team with five points (2-3—5) this season.

Rookie, Rookie, Rookie, Rookie, Rockin’ Everywhere: Through five games this season, seven rookies have played for the Griffins – Ryan Kuffner, Filip Larsson, Gustav Lindstrom, Jarid Lukosevicius, Gregor MacLeod, Moritz Seider and Joe Veleno. Dressing seven rookies ties for the second most in the franchise’s last 12 seasons through five games, equaling the seven from last year’s club (Marcus Crawford, Trevor Hamilton, David Pope, Givani Smith, Mackenze Stewart, Trevor Yates, Filip Zadina) and the 2011-12 team (Louis-Marc Aubry, Mitch Callahan, Adam Estoclet, Landon Ferraro, Andrej Nestrasil, Gustav Nyquist, Trevor Parks) but trailing the eight from the 2016-17 squad (Mike Borkowski, Matt Caito, Kyle Criscuolo, Joe Hicketts, Dan Renouf, Dylan Sadowy, Evgeny Svechnikov, Dominic Turgeon).

First Things First: Grand Rapids’ roster currently features four recent Detroit first-round draft picks (Moritz Seider 2019, Filip Zadina 2018, Joe Veleno 2018, Michael Rasmussen 2017). Four of the Red Wings’ last six first rounders are on the west side of the state, with the exceptions being Dennis Cholowski (2016), who made Detroit’s roster following training camp, and Evgeny Svechnikov (2015), who was recalled today. From 2002-15, the Griffins had only seven Detroit first rounders total suit up for them: Jakub Kindl (2005-11; 14-15), Niklas Kronwall (2003-06), Dylan Larkin (2015 playoffs only), Anthony Mantha (2014-15), Tom McCollum (2009-15), Riley Sheahan (2011-14) and Brendan Smith (2010-13). The Griffins’ opening night lineup had five Detroit first rounders in it, far surpassing the previous record of two. The Griffins had never seen more than three Red Wings first rounders suit up for the club at any point in the same season until this year. Adding in Matt Puempel (24th overall by Ottawa in 2011) and Dylan McIlrath (10th overall by the New York Rangers in 2010), Grand Rapids’ roster boasts six former first-round draft selections.

Between the Pipes: Filip Larsson became the fifth Griffins rookie goalie in the team’s AHL era (since 2001-02) to pick up the win in his AHL debut after his 24-save performance on Oct. 12 at Rockford, joining Petr Mrazek (Nov. 3, 2012 at Texas), Tom McCollum (Oct. 3, 2009 at Peoria), Jimmy Howard (Oct. 28, 2005 vs. Iowa) and Simon Lajeunesse (Dec. 12, 2001 at Utah). Eight-year pro Calvin Pickard has points in two of his three starts to open the season.

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 967-658-27-58-113 (0.585) 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’ 307 regular season wins since the 2012-13 campaign tie for second with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton behind Toronto’s 323 and the Griffins’ 666 points in that span are third, trailing Toronto (699) and Providence (669)…Since the affiliation began in 2002-03, 89 Griffins have gone on to play for the Red Wings…In fact, 27 Griffins alumni wore the Winged Wheel during the 2018-19 season.

Milestones Within Reach:
Calvin Pickard – needs six wins to reach 100 in the AHL
Brian Lashoff – needs two points to reach 100 as a Griffin/in the AHL
Chris Terry – needs seven assists to reach 300 in the AHL
Matthew Ford – needs two goals to reach 200 in the AHL
Matt Puempel – needs one game played to reach 300 in the AHL

Milwaukee Notes: The Admirals spoiled Grand Rapids’ 24th consecutive home-opening sellout on Oct. 11 by handing the Griffins a 4-1 loss…Grand Rapids’ 98 regular season wins against Milwaukee are its most against any opponent…The Griffins and Admirals began their rivalry in 1996-97 in the International Hockey League and Milwaukee is Grand Rapids’ most frequent opponent as the two will meet for the 186th time in the regular season on Wednesday…As an Admiral, goaltender Troy Grosenick, a Wisconsin native, is 5-3-1 with a 1.79 GAA and a 0.948 save percentage in nine games against the Griffins…In his career, eight-year pro Calvin Pickard is 8-4-2 with a 2.44 GAA and a 0.915 save mark in 15 appearances against Milwaukee…Head coach Ben Simon skated in 18 games with the Admirals during the 2003-04 campaign and finished with four points (1-3—4)…Since 2013-14, the Griffins are 39-19-2-1 against the Admirals, including 20-9-1-1 at home and 19-10-1-0 away.

Manitoba Notes: The Moose are in their fifth season back in the AHL after taking a hiatus from 2011-15…Manitoba celebrates its 20th season in Winnipeg during the 2019-20 campaign…The Griffins have claimed 11 of the last 13 regular season meetings with a 39-22 scoring margin…Since Manitoba rejoined the AHL in 2015-16, Grand Rapids is 18-6 against the Moose and outscored them 78-50…On home ice in that span, the Griffins are 9-3 with a 43-31 scoring advantage…Grand Rapids finished 6-2 against the Moose in 2018-19 and Chris Terry was the series’ leading scorer with 10 points (6-4—10) in seven games…Dylan McIlrath was born in Winnipeg and Calvin Pickard lives there during the offseason.

Texas Notes: The Stars took the first two meetings of the season last weekend in Texas, winning 4-3 in a shootout on Friday and 3-0 on Saturday…Grand Rapids has won the last three matchups at Van Andel Arena and has points in five of the last six in West Michigan (4-1-0-1)…The Griffins have points in six of the last eight meetings overall (5-2-0-1)…Matt Puempel (1-1—2) and Joe Hicketts (0-2—2) lead the team in the season series.

Photo at top by Sam Iannamico/Griffins