The Admirals are currently riding a five game losing streak. During this streak they’ve been outscored 23-9 while going 0/18 on the power-play. It has been so very -very- rough. And yet, oddly, there have still been positives.

One of the major points of emphasis last month for the Admirals was simplifying their game and being able to generate pucks to the net. While the scoreline in the last five games reads a different story the shot totals say a lot of the work rate the offense is delivering as they’ve outshot opponents 162-131.

It comes down to finishing. Pucks are getting to the net. That’s good. Being able to generate some rebound or second and third chance opportunities is the next big step. If the Admirals can maintain their offensive stride, work to the front of the net, and play a structured North/South defensive game they may just snap this current funk that’s plaguing them. All that stands in their way is a team that has beaten them twice during this losing streak by a score of 5-1.

~Since Last We Met~

The Oklahoma City Barons enter tonight’s game with a record of 37-18-3-3 (80 points). They are first in the West Division and can move into a tie with the Grand Rapids Griffins for the Western Conference lead with a win tonight.

Since thrashing the Admirals back-to-back games by the score of 5-1 the Barons have played two games against the Charlotte Checkers.

In the first contest, the Checkers managed to pick up a thrilling 2-1 win thanks to a Zach Boychuck power-play goal with only two-seconds remaining. Hey, it could be worse OKC. It could have been scored with 0.4 seconds remaining.

As punishment for the late-winner it was all Barons all the time in the follow-up against the Checkers. The Barons won 6-1 in a game where they had nine chances on the power-play in a really heated divisional game. There were 60 combined penalty minutes in that game. Sounds like something the Admirals and IceHogs would produce.

~The Key~

I think I’ve stated the key above but, just to drive a point home, it is going to be a must for the Admirals to be disruptive in front of the net. Whether it is Laurent Brossoit or even Tyler Bunz in net the Admirals must continue to commit pucks to the net but strive for low shots and the rebound chances they provide.

It has been all Brossoit against the Admirals this season. Three starts. Three wins. He has a 1.67 goals against average and 0.946 save percentage against the Admirals. It’s about time that those numbers take a dent.

Expectations for tonight’s game? Can the Admirals offense erupt tonight or will it be the defense that rises to the occasion?

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Yesterday we had a great Q&A with Stephen Meserve of 100 Degree Hockey to get an inside look on the Texas Stars. Today on gameday we’ll take our quick rundown on the Stars.

~Short & Sweet~

Last season’s Calder Cup winners have a record of 26-18-13-1 (66 points) which sees them third in the West Division behind the Oklahoma City Barons (78 points) and San Antonio Rampage (74 points). The Stars are currently sitting in eighth place of the Western Conference standings with the Chicago Wolves (65 points), Adirondack Flames (64 points), Toronto Marlies (63 points), and Lake Erie Monsters (62 points) all in shouting distance.

In the Stars last ten games they have a record of 5-2-3-0 (13 points). In their last outing they won a track meet against the Monsters by the final score of 6-4. In that game the Stars allowed 40 shots on goal and had a penalty kill that ended the night 1/3.

Special Teams: PP (overall), ranked seventh with a 19.0% conversion rate… PP (home), ranked fourth with a 22.4% conversion rate… PK (overall), ranked seventh with a 86.0% success rate… PK (home), ranked twenty-fourth with a 81.5% success rate.

~Ol’ Reliable~

Travis Morin has been the main man in Texas forever and a day it seems. That fact remains true in 2014-15. Last season’s AHL MVP currently leads the Stars in scoring with 47 points (17 goals, 30 assists). He has only played 47 games this season which means he is a point per game player. And yet, it feels like off of season. I suppose you could say that about the Stars in general but Morin averaged 1.33 points per game last season.

~Familiar Faces in Different Places~

Remember that Kevin Henderson guy? How about Scott Valentine? Well, for those that have missed seeing or hearing from them both, tonight is the game for you!

Henderson joined the Stars last season on a loan that pretty much worked like a trade. The Admirals received Francis Wathier on loan on the flip-side to that. As it happened, Henderson would win out on the deal by being part of the Calder Cup winning Stars team. With him staying over there for this season things haven’t gone as smashing as they did last year. Hendo has had injury woes and has 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists), a plus/minus rating of -5, and 21 penalty minutes in 40 games.

Valentine ended last season with the Admirals by undergoing shoulder surgery. He didn’t find a home for the 2014-15 season until joining the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL in mid-October. He was brought up to the Stars and has since stayed up with a stat-line of 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists), a plus/minus rating of +2, and 62 penalty minutes in 38 games.

~Merica~

Jack Campbell, of World Juniors hockey fame, is currently in Stars camp. It hasn’t been a good year for the 23-year old. In the AHL this season he has a record of 3-11-5-0, a 3.47 goals against average, and a 0.888 save percentage. He’s been put through the ECHL cycle to get a run of games and has performed much better during his time with the Steelheads: 5-2-0-0 record, 1.73 goals against average, 0.945 save percentage, and a shutout.

Expectations for this weekend’s games against the Stars? What needs to be done from the Admirals to buck this three-game winless streak? At this point, does it matter to you whether or not Marek Mazanec or Magnus Hellberg start in net or are they churning out similar performances?

Be sure to follow Admirals Roundtable on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and see our photos on Instagram.

The Milwaukee Admirals hope to break out of their current three-game winless skid at the expense of last season’s Calder Cup winners the Texas Stars. The two will meet on Saturday and Sunday and, to preview the match-up, we have a very special guest. Stephen Meserve of 100 Degree Hockey took the time to answer some questions and give us all some insight on the Stars season and their pair of former-Admirals.

~Texas Stars: Scouting the Enemy~

Admirals Roundtable: Following last season’s Calder Cup success the Texas Stars have struggled a bit this season. What has factored into the up and down season?

Stephen Meserve: Texas lost a lot of talent all over the roster. It’s the blessing and the curse of success.

Goalie Cristopher Nilstorp headed back to Sweden after leading the team to victory in the playoffs. Goalie Jack Campbell has had a very forgettable season and found himself on an ECHL stint recently to get playing time. Big-time scorers Mike Hedden, Chris Mueller, and Dustin Jeffrey all departed for various locales. Mueller, who your readers are surely familiar with, was a huge part of the Stars win last year. He currently holds the record for points per game in team history with just one season of work. On defense, the team lost Patrik Nemeth, Jyrki Jokipakka, and Jamie Oleksiak. Additionally, John Klingberg, who is currently lighting up the NHL rookie scoring, was slated to be an AHL defenseman for much of the year but only lasted 10 games before callup.

Finally, coach Willie Desjardins and assistant coach Doug Lidster both went to Vancouver.

Also, Dallas has had some issues in various positions that have led to instability. Forwards have gotten hurt and forced the recall of Curtis McKenzie and Brett Ritchie for much of the year. Waiver claims took David Schlemko and Kevin Connauton, which put gaps in the roster.

Par for the course in the AHL though.

AR: Have you run out of superlatives to describe Travis Morin‘s presence for the Stars?

SM: Absolutely. He and Maxime Fortunus are the only remaining players from the first season. Recently Texas scored its 1500th goal in franchise history and Travis Morin has scored just a hair under one of every eleven goals in franchise history. In fact, 25% of all goals scored ever have Morin as the goal scorer or one of the two assists. You can’t overstate what he does for this team. He’s a player that does little things on the ice. He kills penalties for Texas and is the first one over the boards on a unit with Greg Rallo. He just re-signed with Dallas on a two-year deal, and I’m sure he’s getting well-compensated in the AHL for his services. Chris Mueller made 300k last year for Texas and I’m certain Morin will make at least that on the new deal.

AR: Our old pal Kevin Henderson joined the Stars last season. What have you seen from his game since he arrived and how has he looked this season?

SM: Henderson has been an interesting story this season. He was injured in the mid-season stretch and lost a lot of playing time there. He didn’t score his first goal until the past month, but has scored three since then. Maybe things are heading in the right direction for him. Henderson has played a checking line winger role. Last year, he was on the ‘Czeching’ line in the playoffs with Radek Faksa and Matej Stransky. The three had scoring prowess and also shut down defensive capability. This year, he’s had some difficulty finding linemates, but he is now settled in with Stransky and a new center, Éric Faille. Radek Faksa was lost to shoulder injury for the season early on.

He’s playing for a new contract because it’s pretty clear Nashville won’t be re-signing him. He needs a solid final 18 games and playoffs to ensure a North American deal.

AR: Another former-Admiral turned up in Texas this season by the name of Scott Valentine. How has he fit in since joining at the start of the season?

SM: Once Dallas called Klingberg, Scott Valentine was up with the Texas Stars. Valentine started with Idaho of the ECHL and was signed to a standard contract right away. From his time in Milwaukee, Texas GM Scott White knew what he’d get with Valentine. He plays bottom 4 minutes for Texas and has that physical edge that he’s always had. He’s been in and out of the lineup at times with players like Jokipakka, Oleksiak or Nemeth making appearances form Dallas on occasion. Overall a solid defender for Texas though.

AR: There is some pretty exciting talent in the Texas Stars lineup – favorite of which for me is Julius Honka. Who are some of the top performing prospects that you think are set for the NHL?

SM: Julius Honka, oh my. This kid is only 19 and has a lot of promise. He’s raw. He’s a rookie. But he can skate like the wind, puck handle like a forward and, despite his size, has a heavy shot that catches goalies offguard. He scored a beauty PPG last game and had a nice assist to Kevin Henderson for another goal. He’s learning still, but there’s so much promise. Scouts in the press box Wednesday night audibly exclaimed when he made the moves that led to the Henderson goal. Everyon’s impressed.

Others to watch include: Justin Dowling, skilled center who joined Texas on a PTO and now has a Dallas contract; Devin Shore, high draft pick who just joined on an ATO and is an unknown; Derek Hulak, currently on an AHL only deal but very talented and solid winger who has earned top six time.

AR: This playoff race is as tense as it always seems to be. How do you think things are going to shake out in the Western Conference?

SM: There’s some smoke and mirrors going right now in the West with regards to games played. Hamilton has played way more than Texas, so their rank is deceiving. I think Texas makes it in as the seven or eight seed. As Dallas fades down the stretch but also gets healthier, some players may return and give the Stars a boost at just the right time. If Texas can matchup against OKC in the playoffs, they might be able to trip up the Barons. Otherwise, it will be a tough row to hoe.

Thanks very much again to Stephen Meserve for taking the time to shed some light on the Texas Stars our way. You can read his work at 100 Degree Hockey and follow along with him on Twitter via @100degreehockey.

Expectations for this weekend’s games against the Texas Stars? Miss the seeing the likes of Henderson or Valentine at all?

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Let’s all pretend these last two games never happened. There have been some really good things done by the Admirals against the Oklahoma City Barons but darn near every mistake made against them seemed to be promptly and swiftly punished. They’re a good team. That should be expected if errors are made. The lesson is simply to learn and push on for the next game. Carrying that bad form or mindset into the next contest helps no one. Well, except for the rest of the Western Conference competitors looking to gain ground that is.

~San Antonio Rampage~

The San Antonio Rampage enter tonight’s game with a record of 33-19-5-1 (72 points). They are second in the West Division and trail the Barons by 6 points for the divisional lead. Their record slots them in fifth place in the current Western Conference standings which is the spot ahead of the Admirals in sixth. They are separated by 2 points but the Admirals have played an additional game that the Rampage have.

In their last ten games the Rampage are 5-3-1-1 (12 points) and are currently riding a three-game point streak. They have a +13 goal differential (189 GF, 176 GA), the sixth ranked power-play (overall) 19.1%, fourteenth ranked power-play (home) 16.3%, nineteenth ranked penalty kill (overall) 82.3%, and twenty-third ranked penalty (home) 82.0%.

~Who What Now~

There are quite a few quality scorers on the Rampage that are all well worth listing: Bobby Butler, 50 points (24 goals, 26 assists)… Mark Mancari, 40 points (11 goals, 29 assists)… Connor Brickley, 34 points (19 goals, 15 assists)… Garrett Wilson, 30 points (19 goals, 11 assists).

Also, you may notice some bloke by the name of Dany Heatley on San Antonio’s roster. This is no joke. This is that Dany Heatley. His wild up, down, and around season has led to him playing AHL hockey with the Rampage. He’s only played 3 games for them so far without a point of offense but it would be foolish to think that will remain the case as their season continues.

Outside of the guns up top there is a delightfully familiar name in San Antonio for us Admirals fans, Greg Zanon. This season he has played in 57 games for the Rampage with a total of 22 points (3 goals, 19 assists), a plus/minus of +11, and 36 penalty minutes.

Another familiar name within our system is Wade Megan. For those who have followed along with the Cincinnati Cyclones in the ECHL you’ll have tracked his work which has led to a decent AHL stint with the Rampage this year. He has managed to play 42 games while scoring 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists).

~Goaltending~

With the Florida Panthers recent fun goaltending situation, it means that the Admirals will be facing the Rampages without the man who has had the better majority of games in net this season for them – Dan Ellis.

Instead, another former-Cyclones product, Michael Houser, has stepped up into the main role. This season Houser has played in 25 games, has a record of 11-8-3-1, 2.93 goals against average, 0.899 save percentage, and a shutout.

What are you thinking about the Admirals as the stroll into this game? Will their heads be on straight for tonight’s game or will last night’s third period spill into tonight?

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If you completely ignore how often the Admirals play the Iowa Wild – it’s been a long time since we’ve had a good dosage of the AHL’s West Division. You have to go all the way back to January when the Admirals finished off their season series against the Charlotte Checkers to find a non-Iowa team from the West. I suppose that explains this upcoming road trip pretty well enough. After today’s game the Admirals are on the road for six-games. Of those games only one contest doesn’t feature a West Division team.

~Oooooooooooooo~

OK, I really wanted to use this clip for the song “Oklahoma” but I digress. The Oklahoma City Barons enter today’s game with a record of 34-17-3-3 (74 points). They are current on top of the West Division and, thanks to the now fifteen-game point streak of the Grand Rapids Griffins, are second in the Western Conference.

The Admirals could well be playing the Barons at the exact right moment in time. The Ads have been on the upswing and the Barons have been knocked around these last few games. In their last ten games the Barons have gone 4-6-0-0 and have lost their last two games by a combined score of 12-2. Both of those losses came courtesy of Midwest Division opponents.

In some short and sweet special teams stats: Barons power-play ranks 11th in the AHL with a 18.4% success rate (44/239) while allowing a pair of shorthanded goals on the season. Their penalty kill also ranks 11th in the AHL with an 85.2% kill rate (30/203) with a lone shorthanded tally recorded from the Barons.

~Who What Now?~

The Admirals played the Barons back in early-December and lost 5-3. The story from that game was a pair of rapid fire power-play goals scored by Anton “Moon” Lander and Brad Hunt. Combine that with a quality performance in net by Laurent Brossoit, stopping 33/36 shots, and you get the result with the Barons coming out on top.

With today’s game in Milwaukee, and Tuesday’s game in OKC, Lander will be a non-factor as he remains out with shoulder injury up with the Edmonton Oilers. In his place (possibly) is the recently acquired and familiar face to the Admirals, Brad Winchester. He was brought in from the Norfolk Admirals on Friday for future considerations. Winchester has not played since mid-January so, depending on how quickly he joins the Barons, he could well return to the ice this afternoon.

The Barons have three scorers at the 40 point plateau right now: Andrew Miller, 48 points (21 goals, 27 assists)… Jason Williams, 42 points (18 goals, 24 assists)… and the aforementioned Hunt with 40 points (14 goals, 26 assists). Close behind these three in team scoring is Matthew Ford, 36 points (14 goals, 22 assists).

Brossoit has been the primary man in net for the Barons this season. He has played in thirty-five games with a record of 18-13-2-1, 2.61 goals against average, 0.916 save percentage, and a pair of shutouts. Not such a bad line for his first full-season in the AHL at the age of 21-years old.

Expectations for this game? With two games so close together between these two can we anticipate some rough stuff today? How do you think the Admirals are going to do when this long road trip starts up on Tuesday?

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Tonight is the first of only five home games for the Admirals in a jam packed fifteen game slate for the month of March. It’s the busiest month of the season for the Admirals. The previous high for games in a month was twelve in November, December, and January. With ten road games this month it’s going to be important to take advantage of home ice. Unfortunately, the Admirals have one win from their last five home games. Time to change that tonight and doing so at the expense of the AHL’s hottest team.

~The Grand Ol’ Enemy~

The Grand Rapids Griffins enter tonight’s game with a record of 34-17-5-1 (74 points) are currently leading the Midwest Division by 4 points over the Rockford IceHogs and are 6 points clear of the Admirals. The Griffins do have a game-up on both the IceHogs and Admirals. So, do take that points gap with a grain of salt.

Grand Rapids is without question the hottest team in the AHL right now. They are on a points streak of thirteen-games (11-0-2-0) and are currently on a winning streak of nine-games. The last time the Griffins were defeated in regulation came at the hands of the Admirals in Grand Rapids with a 4-0 shutout.

On this thirteen game run for the Griffins they have outscored opponents by an outrageous 55-25. They’ve gone past regulation and into overtime five times and came up the better three of the five times. Their power-play: 19.6% (9/46). Their penalty kill: 97.4% (37/38).

~Two Headed Monster~

There are two names that give me the heebie jeebies when it comes to the Griffins: Petr Mrázek and Teemu Pulkkinen. When last we met, the Griffins had Mrázek but not Pulkkinen and shutout the Admirals 4-0.

Scary news? Pulkkinen is now back to complement the Admiral-killer in net. In his first game back from his latest stint with the Red Wings all Pulkkinen did was score a hat trick as the Griffins pounded the Western Conference leading Oklahoma City Barons 7-1.

Pulkkinen, despite his NHL time, remains the AHL’s leading scorer this season with 60 points (33 goals, 27 assists) in 45 games. The next closest to him in the goal scoring department is Shane Harper of the Chicago Wolves with 25 goals and he has played in ten more games than Pulkkinen has.

Since being brought back to Grand Rapids Mrázek has done Mrázek like things. By that I mean: winning all six games he has started since being reassigned, three shutouts, 0.89 goals against average, and a 0.972 save percentage. His last loss in the AHL came in late-October when he allowed 5 goals to the Lake Erie Monsters. He’s only allowed that many goals in a game once since and it came courtesy of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

~The Game Plan~

What will the Admirals need to do in order to stop the hottest team in the AHL tonight? The answer is simple. No really, just keep things simple. What had the Admirals looking so sharp last time out against the Monsters in their 3-0 shutout win was a simplified North/South game that had crisp passing and shutdown defense that generated right back up to offense for a massively lopsided shot total of 31-16.

With a penalty kill that has been devastatingly sharp, a netminder that is a wall, and sniper that is picking his spots. Keep it simple. Get bodies in front of Mrázek to take his sight-lines away and look for loose pucks off rebounds. Don’t take stupid penalties to allow the Griffins to wheel and deal Pulkkinen along the left wing on the power-play to hammer that howitzer slap shot of his. Be smart. Be simple. Because it ends up being highly effective for the Admirals when they play that style of hockey.

Expectations for tonight’s game? What must be done to stop the likes of Mrázek and Pulkkinen? Should the Admirals change much of anything from last time out against the Monsters to match-up with the Griffins?

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The Milwaukee Admirals season has been all about these hot and cold stretches. They’re currently skidding through another cold one: five game losing streak, four regulation losses in those five defeats, one win from eight games, and are 4-5-2-1 (11 points) from their last twelve games.

Consider what the other teams in the Midwest Division have done in their last twelve games: Grand Rapids Griffins, 10-0-2-0 (22 points)… Rockford IceHogs, 7-5-0-0 (14 points)… Chicago Wolves, 7-4-1-0 (15 points)… and the Lake Erie Monsters, 5-6-1-0 (11 points). Not hard to see why the Admirals have sputtered down the divisional standings is it?

Some good news? The last time the Admirals won was against these very same Monsters. It was a 5-2 win. The bad news? They followed that up with a 3-2 loss two days later that kicked off the losing streak that the Admirals are still on.

If there is anything that is going to right the ship for the Admirals tonight it’s getting back to the “play the right way” formula that worked so well in January. The game needs to be simplified. Passes need to connect. And puck control must be paramount. Take care of the defensive end, chip pucks up to forwards, get shots on target, and crash for second and third chance opportunities.

That very same simple formula can just as easily map over to the power-play. That twelve game span mentioned up above? The Admirals went 18.9% (10/53) on the power-play while conceding six shorthanded goals. Pass smart. Pass shooting lanes open. Shoot. Use the numbers to work around the net for screens and rebound opportunities.

~What’s That Coming Over The Hill?~

The Monsters aren’t exactly doing great at the moment, either. As mentioned about they’ve earned the same points total over twelve games as the Admirals. Lake Erie’s current overall record is 24-22-5-3 (56 points). They remain in last place in the Midwest Division and current sit in twelfth place of the Western Conference – they trail the current eighth placed Texas Stars by 7 points.

~Recent History~

This season the Monsters have managed to be a thorn in the Admirals side with some late comebacks that have cost the Admirals ‘should have been’ wins.

12/18/14, the Admirals held a 2-0 lead before coughing up four straight goals – including the go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal twenty-six seconds apart in the final two minutes of the game.

2/3/15, the Admirals have a 2-0 lead -again- and concede two goals in the third period before losing in the shootout.

The two have matched-up seven times this season and the match up has favored Lake Erie, 4-2-0-1. Of those games all but two games have been separated by one goal. In those games? The Admirals won both contests.

~Chet’s Brother~

Calvin Pickard has always been solid against the Admirals and that trend has continued this season. He absolutely stole the show last time they played the Monsters and now has a 2.11 goals against average and 0.929 save percentage against the Admirals from four games on the season.

Pickard was hugely active last month. He started all but one of the Monsters twelve games in February and went 5-5-1-0 in net with a 2.78 goals against average and 0.903 save percentage.

~Score!~

The Monsters will be without their top two scorers in the head-to-head against the Admirals. Paul Carey was involved in a trade deadline deal with the Boston Bruins that sent him out of the Colorado Avalanche organization with Maxime Talbot in exchange for Jordan Caron and the Bruins sixth round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. As for the other top scorer? Joey Hishon is currently up with the Colorado Avalanche in the NHL.

This will mean keeping an eye out for the likes of Colin Smith and Andrew Agozzino. Smith inherits the head-to-head scoring lead for the Monsters against the Admirals with 4 assists. He has 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) on the season. Agozzino had 3 goals against the Admirals this season and leads the Monsters active roster in scoring with 31 points (15 goals, 16 assists).

~Forward Watch~

If I were you folks, I’d keep a keen eye on the AHL’s transactions page throughout the morning to see if Frédérick Gaudreau gets called up from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. Rich Clune was suspended yesterday as a result of accumulating three instigating misconducts this season. Should Gaudreau get the call up it would be telling of how injured Mike Liambas is after his “lower body” injury suffered last time out. It didn’t look pretty at all and Liambas did not return from the first period onwards.

No Clune. No Liambas (possibly). You’ll probably see Gaudreau get the call should Liambas be out tonight.

~UPDATE~

And, surprise surprise, Gaudreau was officially called up this afternoon from the Cyclones. It’s his first time back with the Admirals since January and he has since played fourteen games in the ECHL.

Who will rebound tonight? What will the Admirals have to do in order to get a positive result against the Lake Erie Monsters on the road tonight? Who would you start in net for the Admirals?

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Remember how the Admirals were shutout by the Grand Rapids Griffins 4-0? Welp, while we were all enjoying a day off, the Griffins and Petr Mrázek did it again. They shutout today’s opponents, the Chicago Wolves, 5-0 to push their point streak to 12 games and lead over the Admirals to 6 points.

~Short & Sweet~

The Amtrak Rivals currently have a record of 27-21-5-1 (60 points) which sees them in fourth place of the Midwest Division and ninth in the Western Conference. They trail the Admirals for third place in the division by 6 points and each have played 54 games on the season.

The Wolves are 6-4-0-0 (12 points) in their last 10 games. They’ve lost back-to-back games in regulation, both at home, by a combined score of 10-2. They have a +9 goal scoring differential (149 goals forced, 140 goals allowed). Their power-play at home ranks twenty-second in the league, 13.8% conversion rate, and penalty kill at home is twenty-eighth with a 79.3% kill rate.

~On To The Next Big Bad Goalie~

Jordan Binnington‘s first full season of AHL work has been rather successful. He’s been first choice goalie over Matt Climie this season for Chicago and has earned that role. Binnington has a record of 18-12-3-1 in net with a 2.42 goals against average, 0.913 save percentage, and 2 shutouts.

In the last month Binnington was the work horse in net. He played in all 9 games for the Wolves last month, won 5 games, had a 2.37 goals against average, 0.919 save percentage, and shutout. It’s worth saying though that he started to wear down by the end of February. He lost his last 2 games and allowed 7 goals in those contests. He started yesterday’s game against the Griffins but was pulled after two periods of play.

~Lacking Their Ignitor~

It’s not that Ty Rattie isn’t on the ice but that he hasn’t been playing like himself for nearly two months. Through the 2014 side of the calendar Rattie had 22 points (15 goals, 7 assists). Since? He has only produced 7 points (2 goals, 5 assists) in 16 games.

When looking into his shots per game totals it isn’t as if things are going too wrong but he is falling off a cliff: October, 4.2 shots per game… November, 3.0 shots per game… December, 3.0 shots per game… January, 2.7 shots per game…February, 4.0.

Could be a slight funk. Perhaps he’s playing with a nagging injury? The fact remains that the biggest weapon in the Wolves arsenal right now has flamed out. Comes as no surprise to see the Wolves results coming and going with Rattie’s form, either.

Expectations for tonight’s game? Which team will rebound with a win tonight? What do the Admirals need to do to get their offense back and rolling?

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After a good six days between games, the Milwaukee Admirals are back in action tonight with the new leaders of the Midwest Division in their sights. The Grand Rapids Griffins played on Tuesday night on the road against the Iowa Wild. Once the Wild figured out that they were playing a team that wasn’t from Milwaukee or named the Admirals they simply stood no chance and the Griffins claimed sole possession of the Midwest Division for the first time all season with a comfortable 6-2 win.

~Long Story Short~

The Griffins overall record is 31-17-5-1 (68 points) and they’ve been riding a 10 game point streak (8-0-2-0). Their goal differential of +38 (174 goals forced, 136 goals allowed) is the best in the Western Conference and second to only the Manchester Monarch’s +41 (160 GF, 119 GA) in the AHL.

 ~The Mrázek Factor~

The last time we saw the Griffins I was having what I would consider a minor panic attack when seeing that Petr Mrázek was on the Grand Rapids roster. The coaching staff saw it best for him to be re-introduced to their lineup slowly rather than straight into the firing line and he sat on the bench for that game. We will probably not be so lucky tonight.

Mrázek has played in 3 games for the Griffins since his recent reassignment from the Detroit Red Wings. Gasp. Shock. Awe. He has won them all. His statline from those games sees him holding a 1.30 goals against average, 0.957 save percentage, and a shutout. So, same ol’ same ol’ for him.

As mentioned in the previous scouting report on the Griffins – Mrázek is a known Admiral Killer. His career totals in the head-to-head against Milwaukee is: 11 games, 7-3-0-1 record, 1.66 goals against average, 0.934 save percentage, and 2 shutouts.

If he has hit the ground running back at the AHL level it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him in net, sucking the life out of a packed concert night crowd, and making life miserable on Admirals shooters. The game plan, as you could say with any goalie of this caliber, is rather simple. Screen him, take his sight-lines away, throw pucks early and often, and crash the net for loose pucks. To beat Mrázek will mean generating and capitalizing on second and third chance opportunities. Bank on it… but, mostly, just hope that Jared Coreau starts instead.

~No Pulkkinen, No Callahan, No Problem~

The run that the Griffins have been on has basically been accomplished with out two of their best forwards. Teemu Pulkkinen remains up in the NHL playing for the Red Wings. And, in a bit of sad news, Mitch Callahan will be done for the rest of the 2014-15 season with a third-degree ACL tear in his right knee.

So who has been picking up all the slack? Who has been the man that has taken the reigns? Look no further than the last time we faced the Griffins and the guy who scored with 0.4 seconds remaining to tie the game and then won it in overtime, Andy Miele. This month the 26-year old forward has produced 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists) in 10 games. His scoring currently leads active players on the Griffins roster.

~The Admirals Revamped Defense~

There will be a few returning faces to the Admirals defense tonight. Johan Alm is set to play his first game since early-December. He has missed 32 consecutive games with a wrist injury. Also returning from injury will be Jimmy Oligny who had tweaked his right knee on a scary collision into the end boards at the end of January. He missed the Admirals previous 10 games. For one more addition, Ian White -who had missed the last two games following the loss of his grandmother- will also be back in the lineup.

In total, you’ll have three returning faces to the Admirals defense. That’s not even counting the returning Anthony Bitetto from his latest spell in the NHL. The biggest of those returns will be Alm who was going to be a big player in the system this season. It feels like it has been forever since he was in a game. Alm has only played 21 of the Admirals 53 games this season. While the injury itself was unfortunate the positive spin to take from this is that it means a 100% healthy Alm at the start of the playoff crunch. That’s a very welcome boost.

~We Talking About Practice, Man~

I had attended practice yesterday and everyone was on the ice for the Admirals except for Miikka Salomäki – who remains sidelined with an upper body injury. Joe Piskula was back on the ice skating and could be a week or so away from making a return to the team. The good news for him and the Admirals is that there is no rush to get Piskula back on the ice now that so many bodies are back on defense. I think it would be best for the Admirals captain to fully heal before returning to game action. Early projection on him was four to six weeks. Doubt it even makes four weeks. But I think it best for the team that

Interested in what the lines looked like? Some lines really kicked around wildly – especially on defense. These are more-or-less what they looked like throughout the practice:

Stålberg-Sissons-Fiala
Arvidsson-Watson-Åberg
Clune-Van Guilder-Grant
Liambas-Girard-Budish (Pendenza)

Alm-Bitetto
Diaby-White (Noonan)
Oligny-Aronson

And you’re usual suspects were both in net. Garrett Noonan cycled a few times. Joe Pendenza also played a bit of center and wing with that fourth line. I get the impression those two will be the odd men out tomorrow night.

Interview with head coach Dean Evason (2/26/15):

Expectations for tonight’s game? Was this time off what the Admirals needed as a team to regroup and get back to winning games? How will the re-introduction of Alm, Oligny, White, and Bitetto go on defense?

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I’m not sure if I want to tempt fate by saying this -but- after the Milwaukee Admirals have suffered two pretty rough results it is pleasant that we’ll be seeing a team like the Iowa Wild tonight. They are entering this game on a seven game losing streak and are the worst team in the AHL by a firm 10 points. What could possibly go wrong?

10/17/14 @ Iowa: W, 4-3
10/18/14 @ Iowa: W, 4-0
10/29/14 vs. Iowa: L, 4-2
11/12/14 vs. Iowa: L, 3-2
11/23/14 @ Iowa: L, 2-1 (SO)
12/29/14 @ Iowa: L, 3-2 (OT)
1/23/15 vs. Iowa: W, 4-3

Yeah, it’s not been a kind head-to-head at all. In fact I would go as far to say that the Wild look on par with the Admirals each and every time we’ve seen them play this season. So odd considering their 17-36-1-1 (36 points) record. It wasn’t until last time out that the Admirals managed to beat the Wild on home ice and, even then, it was a tight contest.

~The Current Run of Form~

This seven game losing streak that the Wild are on right now matches the one that the Admirals had back in December. Fortunately for them, the top honor for a losing streak is still out of reach. The Toronto Marlies had a nine game losing streak in November.

During the losing streak the Wild have been outscored 25-11, their power-play has gone 5.3% (1/19), and their penalty kill has gone 78.9% (15/19). They have been onwards and upwards in shots per game though: averaging 31 shots per game in the losing streak while allowing an average of 27 shots per game.

When looking in net during this time you’ll have seen three different goalies: Darcy Kuemper, John Curry, and Johan Gustafsson. Kuemper has since been brought back up to the Minnesota Wild leaving the usual tandem of Gustafsson and Curry for Iowa.

~Missing Pieces~

The team that has given the Admirals some problems here and there will be without some key figures on the ice tonight. Injuries up top have meant Iowa have lost out on players such as Michael Keränen, Jordan Schroeder, Matt Dumba, and their team captain this season Stéphane Veilleux.

Not having Schroeder and Keränen is pretty big in this match-up. Schroeder leads the Wild in scoring against the Admirals this season with 7 points (2 goals, 5 assists). Keränen has had 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists). This will mean big nights required for Tyler Graovac, Zack Mitchell, and Danny Syvret.

~The Admirals End of the Equation~

Ian White missed the last game due to the loss of his grandmother. This meant Mike Liambas stepping into an old role he hadn’t played in a long time, defense. He looked actually pretty good back there but I’m sure the team would prefer keeping a core of six defensemen. I’m not certain on White’s status heading into this game but, with Mike Santorelli and Cody Franson now with the Nashville Predators, there is a good chance that Anthony Bitetto should be set to re-join the ranks soon enough. Perhaps even by 7pm tonight enough. That would be a nice addition as Bitetto’s 7 assists against the Wild lead the Admirals in head-to-head scoring.

Speaking of which, Viktor Arvidsson may have only seen this Wild team 7 times this season but he has scored 6 goals against them – including a hat trick. Austin Watson follows him up in head-to-head scoring with 6 points (4 goals, 2 assists).

Colton Sissons‘ current scoring binge has been huge. If you were looking for players to step up following Brendan Leipsic‘s trade out to Toronto take a gander at the work of Sissons of late. Since the calendar turned to 2015 Sissons has produced 17 points (11 goals, 6 assists) in 21 games.

Another name that’s stepping up since the Leipsic trade is Kevin Fiala. Why? A combination of his comfort level improving and him being directly slotted into Leipsic’s role on the ice. He’s getting solid power-play time on Leipsic’s spot on the right wing half-wall and has 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) in his last three games.

In net against the Wild this season it has been all Marek Mazanec. The Czech has played seven games against Iowa to the lone appearance by Magnus Hellberg. Mazanec has a 2.50 goals against average, 0.911 save percentage, and a shutout. Hellberg’s lone game against the Wild resulted in an 18/19 save performance in an overtime loss.

I’ll be attending morning skate ahead of today’s game. It’s at 8:30am at the MSOE Kern Center – which means open to the public. There will be no Frédérick Gaudreau in attendance as he was returned to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL since last game. Expect an update on line combinations and other ramblings prior to puck drop tonight.

~Update~

Practice this morning was optional and only Johan Alm, Jimmy Oligny, and a single netminder – Hellberg – participated. White will not be with the team tonight and nor will Bitetto. This means another game with Liambas on defense.

Expectations for tonight’s game? Why have the Iowa Wild played the Admirals so tightly this season?

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