The Milwaukee Admirals were eliminated from playoff contention on Tuesday night. So what’s left to play for? For starters, why not get some revenge against the team that swept the Admirals out of last season’s playoffs and prevented them from getting into this season’s playoffs?

~I Play For Keeps~

The Toronto Marlies enter tonight’s game with a record of 37-27-9-0 (83 points). Their mission is simple. Win tonight and they punch their playoff ticket to lockout the Eastern Conference.

First things first, because I have to point a finger at something I find incredible this late in the season, the Marlies have not lost in the shootout this season. There are only two other teams in the entire league that can say the same: Syracuse Crunch and Hamilton Bulldogs. The Marlies won their only shootout of the season while the Chicago Wolves lost their one and only shootout this season and the Bulldogs -still- have yet to play in a shootout. The Admirals… *sad violin* have played in eight shootouts this season and lost six times.

In the Marlies last ten games they have gone 7-3-0-0 including wins in their last four straight games. During the four game win streak they have outscored teams 20-8 with a power-play that has gone 6/16. The game they played on Tuesday night in Iowa was the first first penalty-free game in the AHL in more than three years. You’d have to go back to the 2011-12 season when a team named the Peoria Rivermen played the Grand Rapids Griffins.

~Him Again~

Brendan Leipsic will play against his former-teammates tonight for the first time since he was traded by the Nashville Predators back in mid-February. I had made mention of it. The date in which he was traded, paired with the season ending injury to Miikka Salomäki, really signaled the beginning of the end to the Admirals 2014-15 season. Ever since those two left the fold the Admirals have gone 4-14-4-2.

How has Leipsic done since the trade to Toronto? It seems to be a tale of three different parts. At first, Leipsic hit the ground running. He scored points in five of his first six games as a member of the Marlies, 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists), but then went on a cold spell. Leipsic went the next thirteen games with only an assist to his name. It’s the current form that he is on that made him this week’s CCM/AHL Player of the Week. In his last five games he has 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists) – including a hat trick performance against the Adirondack Flames.

~Him Again, Too!~

T.J. Brennan was part of a trade that took him from the Rockford IceHogs and brought him back to the Marlies – with whom he won the Eddie Shore Award with last season as the AHL’s top defenseman. The man he was traded for was Spencer Abbott who has since exploded for 21 points (12 goals, 9 assists) in 17 games. It wasn’t a bad deal, mind you. Brennan’s points per game with Toronto (0.67) is better than it was in Rockford (0.75).

In my time following Brennan in the AHL he is nearly more of a forward than a defenseman. He actively steps up from the point and gets involved on the offense and, in his time with the IceHogs, was punishing the Admirals by doing just that: 6 points (4 goals, 2 assists) in 11 games. I would expect more of the same from him up and down the left side of the ice.

With the playoff pressure off now, how do you expect the Admirals to play tonight against the Marlies? To you, what are the Admirals playing for in these last two games of the season?

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So, where do we begin? The Milwaukee Admirals remain the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Depending on how things play out this weekend that may no longer be the case. The Admirals play host to the Amtrak Rivals tonight. Meanwhile, the ninth seeded Toronto Marlies play a road-home set tonight and tomorrow with the Rochester Americans. To put it bluntly, there is the potential that the Admirals will not be the eighth seed as early as dinner time Saturday night.

That of course comes with a grain of salt. It shouldn’t be all doom and gloom. The Admirals still have three games on the schedule and can claim wins. Plus, the Americans beat up the Lake Erie Monsters 5-1 on the road last night. There’s reason to believe they can play stride for stride and take points from the Marlies.

Most important thing though. The Admirals need to win, period/exclamation point/CAPS LOCK. They have only two wins from their last sixteen games and only one win in regulation from their last seventeen games. That absolutely needs to change. If things continue as they have it will mean the Admirals streak of making the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs stops at twelve. The only time in the team’s AHL history that they missed out on the playoffs was their debut season to the league in 2001-02. The team’s winning percentage that season was 0.001 better than the Admirals current winning percentage today.

~Short & Sweet~

It hasn’t been that long since we’ve played the Chicago Wolves. The two met two weeks ago and the Admirals lost at home 8-4 and the next day in Rosemont fell 3-2 in overtime.

The Wolves current record is 37-26-6-1 (81 points). They have played three less games than the Admirals and sit 2 points ahead as the seventh spot of the Western Conference standings.

Since the Admirals saw the Wolves they have won four of their last five games. The lone loss they suffered was a 6-2 loss to the Texas Stars. The Wolves instantly bounced back by beating Lake Erie 7-3.

~Dissection~

We’ve seen these Wolves recently, so there isn’t too huge of a need to re-hash the who factor of this team. Instead, I’d like to poke at the how factor. How did the Admirals lose the last time the Wolves played in Milwaukee two weeks ago? And what are the steps needed to be taken to avoid such a result tonight.

3/27/15

The 8-4 loss was one of the most punishing games to sit back and watch from the Admirals the entire season. Yes, the Admirals were shorthanded on the night. Both Viktor Arvidsson and Kevin Fiala were with the Nashville Predators at that time.  But the things that took place in that game were pretty much all avoidable.

That contest opened with yet another shorthanded goal allowed by the Admirals. While I understand the team is unwilling to change the structure of their power-play (one at the point, two on the half walls on opposite wings, two near and around the net) the lack of bodies back in defense and, just as importantly, understanding the defensive coverage required as they skate back has been abysmal this season.

The shorthanded goal by Jeremy Welsh? He was all alone because three Admirals decided they were going to hound Nathan Longpre. While that in itself isn’t so bad it is the inability to pounce on the puck carrier, force the puck off, use those numbers to force back on offense, or take a peak back and look for a secondary defensive assignment. No one did that. No one. Wolves defenseman Petteri Lindbohm was the only man trailing Welsh. It was a defensive lapse that was completely avoidable.

Small note on that shorthander: Marek Mazanec, stick side. It was a breakaway goal, yes, but that’s becoming a running theme that is worth mentioning. In his last four games 6/11 goals that he has allowed have come on the stick side including 3/4 in the shootout.

Now some of the good news. Joe Pendenza, Austin Watson, and Pontus Åberg put in a grinding shift and produced a goal off of second and third chance opportunities. The Admirals have been aiming so much over the last month to generate pucks to the net and create scoring chances from there. Pendenza flipped a puck at Jordan Binnington, it was fumbled loose, and Åberg capitalized. That was a perfect example of what the Admirals want to do.

The Admirals would give up a power-play goal later in the first period, which was tough, but -hey- special teams. The goal scored twenty-seven seconds into the second period? That was another defensive lapse. Adam Cracknell was left all alone in front of Mazanec for a shot and the follow up rebound swats that he needed to score. Scott Ford was up ice. And Gary Steffes was last man to react to Cracknell’s movement.

Here is when things get irritating. Eric Robinson scores his first pro goal. Steffes notches a power-play goal that snapped an 0/39 drought on the power-play for the Admirals. It was a 3-3 game. What happened? A long range redirect goal puts the Wolves back out in front 2:31 after the Steffes power-play goal. Rough, but the Admirals just came back from 3-1 down to tie things up and it is only the second period right? Go get the next one. 1:27 later, Cracknell squeezes a puck through Mazanec from the left wing on a one-timer.

The Admirals closed the gap to a one-goal game again after Mike Liambas scored from another net front garbage-style goal to make it 5-4. What came next is simply the way the puck has been bouncing against the Admirals. A puck flew up into he air, hung for a few seconds, and Magnus Pääjärvi hammered it off the first bounce off the ice into the top shelf for a goal. The game was pushed back to a two-goal lead for the Wolves and took the final amount of air out of the Admirals sails that night. Sure, there were two more empty-netters scored -one of which was recorded as a shorthanded marker for that man Welsh again- but Pääjärvi’s miracle bomb was the KO punch.

How did the Admirals rebound? They played a much tighter game that allowed them to earn a point the very next night against the Wolves and started to turn the tide a bit. Then the Rockford IceHogs and Grand Rapids Griffins happened.

What is the key to the Admirals final three games of the regular season? Simplicity. The Admirals need to play a simple game which can allow for tight and intelligent defense to get pucks up and out of their zone quick and let the forwards handle the offensive load. Don’t go for the home run stretch pass. Don’t get flustered when either the Wolves or Marlies attempt to clog up the neutral zone to eliminate speed. Create speed by getting pucks deep and winning those foot races to the puck down low, battle free, and let the offense set up.

All that should be required for the Admirals approach is to play simple and play smart hockey. When they’ve achieved that this season it is them at their maximum effectiveness. Remember that phrase, “play the right way,” that head coach Dean Evason preached throughout January? That’s what that was. And it is something that hasn’t been accomplished for a full sixty minutes probably since then.

Three games. Six points. The Admirals need to bag a win tonight to alleviate the pressure they are putting on themselves. I wouldn’t count on the teams behind the Admirals in the Western Conference standings to lose out. As such, the Admirals can’t afford to do so either.

What are you expecting from the Milwaukee Admirals tonight? Can the Admirals rebound or are these final three games going to continue as the recently scheduled programming has provided? What is needed for the Admirals to produce a win tonight to get the ball rolling?

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The Admirals 5-3 regulation loss last night to the Rockford IceHogs drops their record to 33-26-7-6 (79 points). There are only four games remaining in the 2014-15 season for the Admirals and the battle for the final playoff position is tight.

The Toronto Marlies are perhaps the biggest threat to the Admirals at the moment. They sit in ninth place right behind the Ads and trail by 2 points with a pair of games in-hand. It’s setting the stage for the penultimate game of the season when the Admirals play host to the Marlies.

There are 8 possible points available to the Admirals for the rest of this season. Tonight the Admirals are playing on the road against the Midwest Division leading Grand Rapids Griffins. Then there is a home-road set with the Chicago Wolves with the Marlies game sandwiched between them. Success is possible in all of those games. The way that the Admirals and the competition have been playing lately paints an ugly picture moving forward. Perhaps that could all change with a thumping result tonight.

~Short & Sweet~

The Griffins enter tonight’s game with a record of 42-20-6-2 (92 points).  Same as the IceHogs last night, the Griffins have already clinched a playoff spot but they still have something big to play for with both teams battling for the Midwest Division crown. The Griffins and IceHogs have played the same amount of games and the Griffins only lead by a single point. To boot, there is a chance to leap the San Antonio Rampage for the second seed in the Western Conference.

In the Griffins last ten games they have gone 6-3-0-1 (13 points). Wait. The Griffins losing in regulation? That’s nice to see, right? They’re human after all. Their wild point streak of nineteen games finally came to an end with a 4-3 loss on the road to the Lake Erie Monsters. With that being said, they’re not entirely slowing down any. In those last ten games the Griffins have been outscoring teams 32-23 from open play. That includes beating up the Marlies 7-2 in their last game.

~The Road So Far~

The Griffins lead the season series against the Admirals with a 6-2-1-0 record. With a win tonight the Griffins will one-up their head-to-head with the Admirals from last season when they had a 7-3-0-0 record.

When looking at the three times the Admirals have bested the Griffins you will find a pair of shutouts and an overtime thrill ride: Magnus Hellberg pitched a 22-save shutout in a 4-0 win in the first meeting of the season. In late-January Hellberg posted a 26-save shutout in Grand Rapids in another 4-0 win. Then came the Viktor Stålberg score at 0.4 seconds and overtime winner for the hat trick in a 3-2 game. In fact, that last game was documented by the Griffins on the road for their series Between the Benches:

The Griffins power-play against the Admirals this season is 3/36 (8.3%) and their penalty kill is 31/32 (96.9%). That penalty kill has also scored a shorthanded goal against the Admirals this season.

~Offensively Offensive~

The Griffins will be without top notch scorers Teemu Pulkkinen and Landon Ferraro tonight. They’re both up with the Detroit Red Wings. Those two were the Griffins leading scorers in the head-to-head match up against the Admirals: Ferraro, 5 points (4 goals, 1 assist)… Pulkkinen, 4 points (3 goals, 1 assist).

Why doesn’t that matter? There are still three other Griffins who have scored 4 points against the Admirals this season: Andy Miele, 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists)… Mark Zengerle, 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists)… Nathan Paetsch, 4 points (0 goals, 4 assists).

Miele leads the Griffins in scoring this season with 65 points (23 goals, 42 assists). There are still plenty of other players contributing. Probably the reason why the Griffins have been so lethal this season as there isn’t any one key cog on the team: Kevin Porter, 35 points (13 goals, 22 assists)… Anthony Mantha, 31 points (14 goals, 17 assists)… Andreas Athanasiou, 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists).

The Griffins have nine players with 30 points or more and have ten players with double-digit goals on the season. The Admirals by comparison have six players with 30 points or more and have eight players with double-digit goals.

~Netminding~

Petr Mrázek is still with the Red Wings, where he belongs (huzzah), which means goaltending duties have gone to the likes of Tom McCollum and Jared Coreau.

Both Griffins goaltenders have played the Admirals three times this season: Coreau has a 1.28 goals against average, 0.949 save percentage, and a shutout. McCollum has a 2.02 goals against average and a 0.918 save percentage.

The bulk of games in net have been going to McCollum lately. Since March he has played in ten of the Griffins fourteen games. Coreau might have the better numbers against the Admirals but has two starts in the Griffins last nineteen games.

~Griffins Killer~

The term “Admirals Killer” can go to someone the likes of Mrázek for all the damage he has done. The term “Griffins Killer” can just as easily go to Colton Sissons for how lethal he has been against Grand Rapids. In seventeen games against the Griffins Sissons has scored 12 points (10 goals, 2 assists). 26.1% of Sissons goals this season have come against the Griffins.

What will the Admirals need to do to earn a win over the Griffins on the road tonight? If the Admirals lose in regulation again would that be a nail in the coffin? After Mazanec was pulled from net last night would you stick with him or switch to Hellberg?

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Alright, yesterday wasn’t that great of a day in Wisconsin sports but –great news– the Milwaukee Admirals are back in action tonight and tomorrow to ease or amplify all of the damage that Monday caused you.

The Admirals take on the top two teams in the Midwest Division and still need to expand or maintain their gap over the trailing teams in the Western Conference standings. Make no bones about it. These next two road games are going to be tough ones to plow through but there isn’t really any surprises in-store for them either. There has been success in both of these same fixtures throughout the season so there is still plenty of reason to be up for what’s ahead.

~Short & Sweet~

The Rockford IceHogs enter tonight’s game with a record of 41-21-5-2 (89 points). They current sit behind the Grand Rapids Griffins in the Midwest Division and rank fourth in the Western Conference.

Rockford have played 69 games on the season so far compared to the Admirals (71) and Griffins (70). While the Ads are pushing to stay in the playoff picture the IceHogs have their sights still set on winning the division. They trail the Griffins by only 3 points with a game in-hand. It’s entirely doable. As for taking the top of the conference? That would take some losing on the part of the Utica Comets (69 games, 93 points) and San Antonio Rampage (70 games, 92 points).

~The Road So Far~

The season match-up between the Admirals and IceHogs has seen 11 games played so far with the Admirals holding a record of 7-4-0-0.

When looking at the recent string of overtime games for the Ads there might be some good news here. There has only been one overtime game played between the Admirals and IceHogs this season and it ended as a 1-0 Admirals shutout victory in Rockford.

There has also been a ton of scoring in this match-up. The Admirals and IceHogs have multiple players with over 7 points in the head-to-head: Viktor Arvidsson, 9 points (1 goal, 8 assists)… Phillip Danault, 8 points (4 goals, 4 assists)… Taylor Aronson, 8 points (1 goal, 7 assists)… Austin Watson, 7 points (4 goals, 3 assists)… Ville Pokka, 7 points (0 goals, 7 assists).

Goaltending has also had its great moments on both sides. Marek Mazanec: 7 games, 5-2-0-0 record, 2.15 goals against average, 0.930 save percentage, and 1 shutout… Magnus Hellberg: 4 games, 2-2-0-0 record, 2.02 goals against average, and 0.924 save percentage… Michael Leighton: 7 games, 2-3-1-0 record, 1.92 goals against average, 0.921 save percentage, and 1 shutout.

~Since Last We Met~

You might have noticed I left a name off the goaltending list there. That’s because former-Admiral Scott Darling is no longer a member of the IceHogs he’s been up with the Chicago Blackhawks since signing a two-year contract extension back in late-February. He has been doing brilliantly at the NHL level when called upon and that made a swap with Antti Raanta effortless for the Blackhawks.

Raanta has played in 9 games for the IceHogs this season and has a record of 6-1-1-0 with a 2.60 goals against average, 0.913 save percentage, and a shutout. He has allowed 10 goals in his last 4 games in net.

Since we last met feels like ages ago. No, it really does. You have to go back to mid-February to the last time the Admirals and IceHogs faced off. That game ended with a 2-1 IceHogs win in Milwaukee.

Want a swift kick in the gut? Here is a stat for you. In the time since that last encounter the IceHogs have gone 14-5-1-0 (29 points) while the Admirals have gone 5-11-4-2 (16 points).

~Scoreboard Watching~

Around the AHL tonight there are some games of interest to the playoff chase that is taking place right behind the Admirals in the Western Conference. The current ninth seed the Hamilton Bulldogs will be playing on the road against the top team in the West the Utica Comets. The tenth and eleventh seeds will square off when the Toronto Marlies host the Adirondack Flames. Then, the twelfth seeded Lake Erie Monsters face the seventh seeded Chicago Wolves on the road.

What are your expectations from these two games? Can the Admirals catch the IceHogs and Griffins taking some sort of a breather with both already having cliched their playoff spots?

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Remember how the Admirals were on a six-game losing streak? Me too, and there is some good news. That streak is dead and, in its place, is another one. The Admirals are now on a three game point streak. Hey, it’s a start right?

The Admirals enter tonight’s game with a record of 33-25-7-5 (78 points). With the Chicago Wolves besting the Hamilton Bulldogs last night by the final score of 4-2 the Admirals have fallen behind the Amtrak Rivals in both divisional and conference standings.

It is getting to the point now where you might want to start looking at teams such as the Bulldogs, Toronto Marlies, Lake Erie Monsters, and Adirondack Flames to lose with the Admirals earning either wins or points. The gap between the Admirals in eighth in the Western Conference and ninth place might end up being all the difference this season. Still, goes without saying (so I’m going to say it). If the Admirals can string together wins they shouldn’t have to worry so much about what other teams are doing.

~The Texas! The Finger Thing Means The Texas~

The Texas Stars will enter tonight’s game with a record of 33-21-13-1 (80 points). They are currently third in the West Division and sit sixth in the Western Conference standings.

In their last ten games they have sported a 7-3-0-0 (14 points). That includes three regulation wins over the Admirals. Outside of that, the Midwest Division has done well against them in that span with the Rockford IceHogs and Grand Rapids Griffins winning three games.

~The Road So Far~

The Admirals have lost to the Stars in all three meetings so far this season and done so in regulation. The first meeting was a 4-3 defeat in Texas when the mistake bug started to turn its ugly little head. That was followed up by a 6-2 thrashing on the road. And then, in Milwaukee almost two weeks ago, the Stars held on late for a 4-3 win.

I want to say that the mistakes that had cropped up during that lengthy road trip have been either eliminated or at least minimized lately. The Admirals have been playing tighter defensively and the real question mark of late has been if the offense can catch a break against hot goaltending.

If Wednesday’s result provided a lift past simply winning a game it is that the Ads pulled off three goals late in a game against Calvin Pickard who was SportsCenter number one play good in that game. There should be reason to believe confidence should be back in all facets of the Admirals play at the moment.

And then you look back at what the Admirals did against the Stars and wonder if this could be a long night. The Admirals have gone 0/13 on the power-play against the Stars this season. Flip side of that is the Stars going 5/11 on their power-play against the Admirals. Emotions need to be held in check tonight. The Admirals can’t allow special teams to be the difference maker in this game.

One thing that the season head-to-head does say that could be big for the Admirals is their ability to play with speed and get pucks to the net. There were some bad things done against the Stars in those three games. No question. But, the Admirals managed to outshoot the Stars 111-70. That needs to continue and the finishing needs to sharpen up.

~Ol’ Reliable~

Travis Morin continues to be the leading man for the Stars in scoring. He has produced 54 points (19 goals, 35 assists) in 57 games this season. It seemed like when the Admirals last met he was on a hot run where he scored the entirety of his 8 points (2 goals, 6 assists) in the month of March in a six game span. It wasn’t until last night’s game when he seemed to wake back up again by scoring a goal and hammering in five shots on goal to boot.

~Young Guns on Defense~

The Stars have a pair of fantastic young defensemen in their lineup at the moment: Julius Honka and Jamie Oleksiak.

Honka was selected by the Dallas Stars just a few spots behind Kevin Fiala in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft. The 19-year old Finn has done incredibly well in the AHL this season by scoring 26 points (7 goals, 19 assists) in 60 games.

Did I mention Fiala? I’m sure Oleksiak remembers that name. Fiala put his name in the hat for “Goal of the Season” the last time the Admirals and Stars met. I’m going to assume he remembers that when #12 is charging at him one-on-one he’ll need to avoid making the highlight reel again.

Another Finnish defenseman that would have been fun getting a glimpse of again will not be with the Stars for this game. 20-year old Esa Lindell was assigned to Team Finland for the IIHF World Championships.

Expectations for tonight’s game? Can the Admirals start stringing together wins? With the recent games against the Stars in mind how will this game play out?

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If there were ever a time for the Milwaukee Admirals to get on a run it is right now with a two-in-two against the Lake Erie Monsters. The Admirals have fallen out of the playoff picture following their weekend defeats to the Chicago Wolves and there is only one team sitting beneath them now in the Midwest Division. That’s where the Monsters come in. Time is running out. And the Admirals need to start earning points very badly. The time to collect is now.

~Short & Sweet~

The Monsters are 30-26-6 -4 (70 points) entering tonight’s game. They are last in the Midwest Division. That being said, it’s not as if they are a bad team. The Midwest Division features teams that all have records above .500 or better. The only other division in the AHL that can say the same is the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division.

In their last ten games the Monsters have gone 5-3-1-1 (12 points) while winning their previous two contests. Those last two games came on the road against the Charlotte Checkers and they won 3-2 and 5-1.

~Recording Team History~

This season could be going better for the Monsters but that doesn’t mean some individuals haven’t stepped up a notch along the way. Monsters play-by-play man Doug Plagens said as much yesterday on Twitter with the following facts:

Stefan Elliott has recorded 5 goals in the Monsters’ previous six games. Elliott’s work this season has helped him to tie Ryan Stoa for the Monsters’ all-time records in power-play goals (18) and game-winning goals.

Andrew Agozzino tied T.J. Hensick for the Monsters’ all-time lead in assists (92). Agozzino has also set a Monsters’ record for a points streak of eleven games that will be active when the Admirals play tonight.

Calvin Pickard, Chet‘s brother, has established Monsters’ goaltending records this season for wins (18) and games played (40).

~Possible AHL Player of the Month of March~

Let’s go back to Agozzino for a moment. His month of March has been stunningly good for Lake Erie. He has 19 points (7 goals, 12 assists) in twelve games this month. All of that has come in a stretch of the last eleven consecutive games. His points production leads the team on the season with 50 points (22 goals, 28 assists). The next closest on the team is the defenseman Elliott who has 35 points (18 goals, 17 assists).

~Head to Head~

The Admirals and Monsters actually mirror each other rather well. They have played eight games against one another on the season and have split the season series to date. The Admirals power-play at home is bad, ney the league’s worst, and -hey- the Monsters power-play at home is also poor. Both special teams for these teams are improved when on the road so the advantage tonight, on paper, should be for the Admirals.

The top scorer for the Monsters in this match up is Paul Carey with 8 points (4 goals, 4 assists). For those that remember things such as trades though. He isn’t a product of the Colorado Avalanche organization anymore. He quite literally shipped up to Boston.

That means the successor is Joey Hishon with 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists). Oh wait. He’s in Colorado whilst their injury struggles have hampered them. So, he’s not here either.

That lastly gives the title for top scorer against the Admirals this season, active on the Monsters roster tonight, to Colin Smith who has produced 4 points (0 goals, 4 assists). He is followed by: Agozzino, 3 points (3 goals, 0 assists)… Mitchell Heard, 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist)… Ben Street, 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists)… Maxim Noreau, 3 points (0 goals, 3 assists).

The Admirals top scorers in this match up are Colton Sissons with 7 points (4 goals, 3 assists) and Pontus Åberg with 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists). In addition, Kevin Fiala has scored a point per game against the Monsters. He has scored 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in only four games.

Goaltending in the match-up has been pretty good for the Admirals. Marek Mazanec has recorded two of his four shutouts this season against the Monsters but has been hit and miss outside of those games by allowing 12 goals in his other three appearances for a 2.43 goals against average and 0.897 save percentage against Lake Erie. Magnus Hellberg has been really solid in his three appearances against the Monsters with a 1.55 goals against average and 0.943 save percentage. As for the Monsters? They only have one goaltender this season with a sub-3.00 goals against average and save percentage above .900 and that would be none other than Chet’s brother.

~Dropping Mitts~

The Wolves might be a team more willing to talk that box but the Monsters have proven themselves more than willing combatants on the season. There have been a total of eleven fights between the Admirals and Monsters in eight games this season. Daniel Maggio, Rich Clune, and the Monsters’ Heard have all dropped the gloves four times on the season. Plenty of those for Clune and Heard came against one-another.

There have been a grand total of 272 combined penalty minutes. The Monsters have averaged 17.6 penalty minutes against the Admirals. The Admirals have averaged 16.4 penalty minutes against the Monsters. I wouldn’t expect the aggression levels to drop any with both teams clawing for a role to be had in the playoffs.

Expectations for tonight and tomorrow’s games? What will the Admirals need to do in order to start cranking out wins? Do you go with Mazanec or Hellberg in net tonight?

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It feels like ages ago since we last played the Chicago Wolves back on the first of this month. I think that speaks volumes to this current rough patch for the Admirals. They’re currently on a run of one win from their last nine games. Not good. Not good at all.

The good news is that it feels like the results are coming. There have been good in-game performances from the Admirals lately and it feels like all that is missing is a start to finish effort from the team. I don’t feel the team has put themselves under pressure during this bad run of late. No one is kicking themselves. But I also feel a weekend sweep over the Amtrak Rivals could be just the moral boost everyone on the team needs for the final push to end the 2014-15 season.

~Short & Sweet~

The Chicago Wolves enter tonight’s game with a record of 31-25-6-1 (69 points). They are in fourth place of the Midwest Division and trail the Admirals for third place by five points. Their current Western Conference standing sees them on the outside of the playoff picture at the moment in eleventh place.

In the last ten games the Wolves have gone 4-5-1-0 (9 points). They are coming in off of two big wins on the road over the Oklahoma City Barons, 2-1 (OT) and 4-1. Considering how rough it was playing in OKC for the Admirals that last game produced by the Wolves is jaw-dropping. The Wolves outshot the Barons 48-25 in three periods of play.

~Trigger Man~

When talking about the Wolves the conversation has to immediately go towards Ty Rattie. It’s not been as polished of a season as he produced last year as a rookie. He scored fifteen of his nineteen goals this season during the 2014 portion of the calendar.

What should be concerning though is that he has goals in each of his last two games. He has 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) this month while averaging 3.9 shots per game over the last two months.  Rattie is heating up and he might be the igniter for Chicago this weekend.

~Almost Pulkkinen-worthy~

There isn’t just Rattie to worry about there is also Shane Harper that will need to be clamped down. Harper leads the Wolves in scoring this season with 43 points (29 goals, 14 assists). He ranked second in the AHL for goals scored this season trailing only Teemu Pulkkinen. Not too shabby.

~In Net~

Jordan Binnington and Matt Climie have continued to work in concert this season. Binnington has played in 37 games with a record of 20-13-4-1, 2.39 goals against average, 0.914 save percentage, and 2 shutouts. Climie has played in 30 games with a record of 11-12-3-0, 2.27 goals against average, 0.915 save percentage, and 2 shutouts. Pretty similar if you overlook the records, right?

This season against the Admirals both have played 4 games and that’s where things aren’t similar at all. Climie has yet to win a game and has allowed 12 goals: 2.89 goals against average and 0.876 save percentage. The youngster Binnington has fared far better against the Admirals as he has won all 4 games he has factored while allowing half the goals that Climie has: 1.46 goals against average and 0.933 save percentage.

~UPDATE~

The Nashville Predators have recalled Kevin Fiala under emergency conditions from the Milwaukee Admirals.

Press Release via Nashville Predators:

Nashville, Tennessee (March 27, 2015) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Friday that the club has recalled 2014 first-round selection (11th overall) Kevin Fiala from Milwaukee (AHL) under emergency conditions.

Fiala, 18 (7/22/96), became the fourth 18-year-old in franchise history when he made his NHL debut in a 3-2 victory over Montreal on Thursday, logging 11:25 and putting three shots on goal. He has also amassed 17 points (9g-8a) in 26 American Hockey League games since making his North American professional debut with the Admirals on Jan. 21. The native of St. Gallen, Switzerland, started the 2014-15 season with HV-71 of the Swedish Hockey League, posting 14 points (5g-9a) in 20 games – tied for the fourth-most goals and assists, and sixth-most points among SHL junior players – before being assigned to Nashville’s AHL affiliate on Jan. 15. Fiala also represented Switzerland at the 2015 World Junior Championship, being named one of the nation’s three best players for the tournament while tying for fifth among all skaters in goals (4g-1a-5pts, 6gp).

The 5-10, 180-pound winger was a finalist for the 2014 SHL Rookie of the Year Award after tying for the lead in points among all under-18 SHL players with 11 (3g-8a) in 17 games for HV-71. He also represented his homeland at the World Junior Championship, Under-18 World Championship and World Championship in 2014, becoming just the third player ever to participate in all three tournaments in the same year (Andrei Kostitsyn and Vadim Karagan, Belarus in 2003). Fiala led the Swiss in points at both the under-18 tournament (4g-5a-9pts, 5gp), was named one of the nation’s three best players in the process, and World Juniors (1g-4a-5pts, 5gp) as the team’s youngest member. At 17, he was the youngest member of Switzerland’s entry at the World Championship by three years, posting three assists and a team-best +3 rating playing alongside Predators defenseman Roman Josi.

Fiala is one of six members of the 2014 Draft to already appear in the NHL, along with teammate Viktor Arvidsson (112th overall); Aaron Ekblad (FLA, first overall), Sam Reinhart (BUF, second overall), Leon Draisaitl (EDM, third overall) and David Pastrnak (BOS, 25th overall).

He speaks five languages – Czech, English, French, German and Swedish – and is on Twitter @KevinFiala22.

The Nashville Predators, who became the first Central Division team to reach 100 points with their win over the Lightning last night, play the last of their 2014-15 regular-season games against Eastern Conference opponents tomorrow in Washington, D.C. (11:30 a.m. CT, FOX Sports Tennessee, 102.5 The Game).

This move comes less than a day after he was reassigned to the Admirals. My guess? It was nothing more than a paper transaction with him sticking close to the team while they knew he’d be needed right back the next day. At least that’s just my assumption for a move that fast. Otherwise I hope Fiala used some of Viktor Stålberg‘s frequent flyer miles from this season.

Expectations for the weekend set against the Chicago Wolves? How crucial is the win on home ice tonight?

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The question tonight is a familiar one. Is tonight the night that the Admirals get rewarded for their work? Recent games game been positive for the Admirals but, fact remains, they’re still losing games. In March the Admirals have pulled in a record of 3-7-1-0 (7 points) from 11 games. It looks bad but there is lots of good being done. Is tonight the night that things start trending forward?

~Short & Sweet~

The San Antonio Rampage enter tonight’s game with a record of 39-20-5-1 (84 points). They now sit atop the West Division by 2 points over the Oklahoma City Barons. Haven’t looked at the conference standings in awhile? It’s tight all-around and the same can be said for the division leaders battling out for the top three spots. The Utica Comets lead the Grand Rapids Griffins, and the Rampage, by a single point. That’s the gap from #1 to #3 and the same gap can be said from #8 to #11. Admirals need to avoid plummeting into that vortex.

It’s been a hot run for the Rampage. They have won 5 straight games and are 8-1-0-1 (17 points) in their last 10 games. This current winning streak for the Rampage started after they were shutout 4-0 by the Lake Erie Monsters. Since, they’ve outscored opponents 25-12 on this current winning streak including a 9-3 thrashing of the Charlotte Checkers and a pair of overtime victories.

~When Last We Met~

As you might recall, when the Admirals and Rampage locked up in San Antonio it was a tight game and a good game for the Admirals. The game ended with a 4-3 (OT) loss for the Ads but they outshot the home-side 35-24. The problem? That’s been the trend lately. Lots and lots of shots but not enough results coming from them.

It’s not as if the Rampage did any sort of rope-a-dope to the Admirals, either. Huge credit should be given to the Admirals defensively for limiting the Rampage in shots during that game. Looking at San Antonio’s recent winning streak they have only been outshot in a game once. Every other game? It has been all Rampage all the time as far as putting pucks on net are concerned. They’ve averaged 33.8 shots per game while limiting their opposition to 26.8 shots per game during the win streak. That Admirals defense, as I’m sure they did last time, will need to expect a wave of offense looking to wear them out.

~The Usual Suspects~

The top scorers for the Rampage haven’t changed all that much since last time. Bobby Butler still leads the way for San Antonio with 55 points (25 goals, 30 assists) in 62 games. Butler is currently tied for sixth in the AHL in scoring with Nick Cousins (Lehigh Valley Phantoms) and Tim Kennedy (Hershey Bears).

Following Butler in scoring are three other players on the 40+ points plateau: Mark Mancari, 42 points (12 goals, 30 assists)… Brett Olson, 41 points (13 goals, 28 assists)… Connor Brickley, 40 points (21 goals, 19 assists).

~Netminding~

Michael Houser is still the main man in net for the Rampage at this point. He has a record of 17-9-3-1 this season with a 2.80 goals against average, 0.902 save percentage, and a shutout. He has played all 10 games that the Rampage have played this month and has won 8 games with a 2.15 goals against average and 0.923 save percentage. Could we see Rob Madore‘s Cincinnati Cyclones goaltending battery-mate of this season Sam Brittain instead? I doubt it.

~In House~

What will the Admirals forward lines end up being tonight and how will all these recent shots get converted into actual goals? Perhaps recent PTO signing Gary Steffes could help. It is his first chance in the AHL since the 2012-13 season and he has exploded for 73 points (44 goals, 29 assists) in the ECHL this season. Steffes has tallied 16 points (9 goals, 7 assists) in 10 games in the month of March alone.

What I like about the Steffes signing is that it is a short term solution to the current Nashville Predators injury bug that has taken two of the Admirals more active offensive skill players. While Steffes might not be a Kevin Fiala or Viktor Arvidsson he is also not Fiala or Arvidsson. He hasn’t had the proper chance to really prove himself at the AHL level and this could be the icing on the cake for Steffes in an ECHL season that has been massive from him. He’ll be eager to please the Admirals and hungry to earn an AHL spot here, there, or anywhere and the Admirals are the possible launch pad for him to do that.

He could only be here for a few games or more. Who knows. But he is here now and that’s more AHL daylight than he’s seen in a long time. Can his play translate with the Admirals? We’ll just have to wait and see.

It should also be yet another chance for Eric Robinson to show his value to the Admirals. Personally, it has been a small sample size of 2 games but I’ve really liked what I’ve seen out of Robinson. He moves around really well. Last time out he had a few really nice looking scoring chances and appeared that the coaching staff felt more than happy to keep giving him ice time. He hasn’t looked overwhelmed or out of his depth yet. Like Steffes, he’s also trying to prove himself worthy of an AHL level contract. Having a pair of hungry competitive players should be a nice boost despite some of the bigger names getting recalled on emergency basis.

Expectations for tonight’s game? What are the keys to the Admirals earning a win over a hot San Antonio Rampage team tonight? Who would you feel more confident starting in net tonight, Magnus Hellberg or Marek Mazanec?

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Home again, home again, jiggety-jig. The Milwaukee Admirals season long six-game road trip is finally and -mercifully- over. With the Admirals going 1-4-1-0 on that road trip a return to home ice out to be a sight for sore eyes.

~Rant~

I would really like to stress something on the Admirals before going into this very brief edition of Scouting the Enemy (we only just played these Texas folks a week ago). I don’t think the Admirals have played all that bad during the road trip. The power-play is something I certainly won’t attempt to defend. It’s woeful. Yet when it comes to five-on-five play I think the Admirals have performed very well. They’ve wanted badly to generate shots and have goaltenders working for their saves. On the road trip they outshot teams 188-172.

The problem there? Goaltenders who were up to the task with defenses forcing Admirals out of the garbage areas around the net that minimized follow-up opportunities. The result was the record above and a road trip scoreline of Admirals 13 – Opponents 23. At least that’s the “offensive” issue.

If there was any other issue that detracted from the solid play of the Admirals during the road trip it was the amount of mistakes that took place that led directly to goals. Let’s run those down in order of appearance as they took place on the six-game roadie: (1) Falling asleep defensively and allowing the Oklahoma City Barons to score fifty-three seconds after they had taken their first lead of the game to make it a two-goal lead. (2) Joe Piskula and Kevin Fiala botch defensive zone exit that instantly gets converted to a Barons goal. (3) Shorthanded goal allowed to the San Antonio Rampage for the game’s opening goal. (4) Taking a retaliation penalty, failed penalty kill clearance, and opening goal allowed off a Texas Stars power-play. (5) Another failed/soft defensive zone clearance that put the defense in scramble mode before allowing a quick goal. (6) Equalizing the Stars opening goal only to concede another goal fifty-nine seconds later. (7) Defensive brain lapse allowing Stars to score forty-nine seconds after scoring another goal. (8) Johan Alm falls asleep and allows Barons to nullify icing to score late to make it a one-goal game. (9) Taking a penalty with under four minutes remaining in a tied game.

Alright, that is a laundry list of bad. No doubt about that. But here is the counter. Those are all avoidable mistakes and they are all mistakes that need to be part of this team’s learning process. I much prefer the Admirals have a stretch as they’ve been on now than in the playoffs. There’s plenty to be ironed out but they are more niggling here and there lapses within games than major glaring unsolvable problems. Learn from the mistake. Get on with the game. Sights set on the next game. Simplicity is the Admirals greatest strength when they’ve been successful this season. The cure to their mistakes bug shouldn’t be any different.

~Short & Sweet~

The Texas Stars enter tonight’s game with a record of 30-18-13-1 (74 points). They are third in the West Division and, since we last played them, have leapfrogged the Admirals in the Western Conference standings. The Stars are sixth and the Admirals are seventh with a single point separating the two but the Ads having played an extra two-games at this point.

Since we last met the Stars have been rolling. They won 3-2 in a shootout over the Lake Erie Monsters and then secured a 3-0 road shutout in Rosemont over the Chicago Wolves. The Stars are currently on a six-game point streak and are 6-1-3-0 in their last ten games.

Expectations tonight? Will home ice cure some of the recent road woes or will the Stars keep bringing the pain like last weekend? How important is this homestand to restore confidence?

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The Admirals season-long six game road trip ends tonight with a match up with the Midwest Division and Western Conference leading Grand Rapids Griffins. To date, and results-wise, this road trip has not gone well. The good news? The Admirals have had good stretches within those bad results and came good with their 4-2 win over the Oklahoma City Barons. The good-er-er news? The Griffins could well be set for a fall tonight with some top talents up in the NHL.

~Short & Sweet~

The Griffins enter tonight’s game with a record of 37-17-6-2 (82 points). As mentioned above they lead both the division and conference. This comes thanks to the surge that is this astonishing eighteen game point streak: 14-0-3-1. The last time that the Griffins lost in regulation came on home ice at the hands of the Admirals in a 4-0 shutout.

~Lacking Star Power~

When looking at the Griffins roster tonight your spirits will be instantly lifted when you see the names Teemu Pulkkinen and Petr Mrázek are absent. Both were recalled to the Detroit Red Wings over the past two weeks. So what does their lack of presence mean tonight? Only good things!

Pulkkinen has been the AHL’s top scorer for a solid chunk of this season. If not for his NHL recalls he’d probably still be the AHL’s scoring leader. I’m sure he doesn’t mind the NHL time. Still, no Pulkkinen takes a major nuclear level weapon off the battlefield for Grand Rapids. He has scored 61 points (34 goals, 27 assists) this season. No one in the AHL has scored as many goals as him and the next closest is Shane Harper with 28 goals. Someone else for the Griffins will need to do the damage tonight.

I hope that Mrázek’s recent AHL spell was a warning shot across the bow of the Red Wings and potential NHL suitors everywhere. He pulled in six straight wins out of seven starts, recorded three shutouts, and had a ludicrous 1.39 goals against average and 0.956 save percentage. No offense to Tom McCollum or Jared Coreau but they are not Mrázek and I am therefore not as concerned heading into this game. Please ignore the fact that Coreau has played great against the Admirals and McCollum won his last start against the Admirals as well.

~That Other Bloke~

So, no Pulkkinen? Who should the Admirals fear the most on the Griffins now? Andy Miele. He hasn’t had an NHL chance yet this season but someone should take notice of the great season he has put together for Grand Rapids. Miele is tied for third in the league in scoring with 58 points (20 goals, 38 assists). Against the Admirals he has 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists). You might remember those goals specifically as well. He was the initial 0.4 second man before Viktor Stålberg took his gimmick and improved it with a hat trick and NHL call up.

~More Blokes~

Landon Ferraro is the leading scorer for the Griffins in this match-up. He has 5 points (4 goals, 1 assist) against the Admirals this season. He does trail the duo of Colton Sissons and Viktor Arvidsson though: Sissons, 7 points (6 goals, 1 assist)… Arvidsson, 7 points (0 goals, 7 assists). Ferraro might well be the trigger-man that the Griffins need in place of Pulkkinen as he trails him for the team lead in goal scoring with 23 goals this season.

One other player worth mentioning is first year pro Anthony Mantha. His season started with an injury but he’s managed to really get with the program and put in a productive season for the Griffins. He has 27 points (13 goals, 14 assists), a plus/minus rating of +11, and 53 penalty minutes in 51 games. Like Pulkkinen, Mantha’s slap shot is a powerful one and he can range from the wing to the point on the power-play effortlessly. He has scored 4 power-play goals this season for the Griffins. Yet another gem of many in the Red Wings system.

Expectations for tonight’s game? Which streak hits nineteen tonight, the Grand Rapids point streak or Scott Ford‘s ECHL/AHL winning streak? Should Magnus Hellberg be given the net over Marek Mazanec tonight?

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