Around the second time Milwaukee got kicked in the teeth by Grand Rapids on home ice, doubts started creeping in about the Admirals’ chances of an 11th straight playoff berth, much as they did at a similar time last year.

However, when the Admirals/Predators made several key transactions down the stretch, and goaltender Magnus Hellberg got hot, my expectations for this constantly overachieving club rose. Little did I know that Milwaukee would need a final run of 15-4-1-0 in order claim the eighth and final playoff spot in the AHL’s Western Conference, needing to sweep its last four contests to overcome hard-charging, nemesis Rockford.

The Admirals managed to do just that, winning their final two games in shutouts to boot, to claim a playoff spot on the final night of the regular season for the second straight year. Make it 11 straight berths and ten straight 40 or more win seasons, as my feature on MilwaukeeAdmirals.com states.

Now Milwaukee gets Texas, about as favorable an opponent as a team can find in a top seed in the conference. The Admirals have just two fewer wins than the Stars this season, and are playing better hockey as of late compared to Texas. But how will the matchup breakdown?

1. Texas Stars (43-22-5-6) vs. 8. Milwaukee (41-28-4-3)

Offense: Without a doubt, Texas is is a deeper, more dangerous team offensively than Milwaukee. Currently up with Dallas, Matt Fraser has 33 goals (on just goals he has 11 fewer points than Milwaukee’s top scorer). Texas scored 235 goals this season, while Milwaukee put up less than 200, and veterans Colton Sceviour (team leading 52 points) and Travis Morin remain dangerous threats.

The Admirals counter at some point (likely by Game 3) with a full compliment of talent, and will have all five of its top scorers during the season in the lineup (Zach Hamill, Taylor Beck, Austin Watson and Chris Mueller). Brad Winchester also re-discovered his offensive prowess (27 points in 37 games). Slight Advantage Texas.

Defense: Surprisingly, Milwaukee gave up one fewer goal than the usually stout defensively Stars, (200 to 201), and much of the Admirals damages came during the January/February funk and four miserable blowout losses. Milwaukee shored up that aspect of their game with the additions of Scott Ford and Joe Piskula. Add soon-to-be NHL full timers Victor Bartley and Ryan Ellis to the mix (Bartley later in the series) and the Admirals are stout on the blueline.

However, don’t count out the Stars’ blueline quite so fast. NHL veteran Cam Barker, and future/current NHL talents Brenden Dillon and Jordie Benn (back likely for Game 3) are solid, while Jamie Oleksiak had a phenomenal season. Slight Advantage Milwaukee.

Goaltending: If there is one place where either team has an obvious edge, its here. Simply put, Admirals goaltender Magnus Hellberg has been the best goaltender in the AHL since the calender turned to February. The rookie has lost just seven times since Feb. 1 in 27 appearances, posting an 18-7-6 record in that span, and the Uppsala, Sweden native racked up three shutouts in April when the Admirals needed them most.

For Texas, there is no clear cut No. 1 in net between Christopher Nilstorp or rookie Jack Campbell. Bachman’s been up with Dallas, making 12 appearances, but hasn’t played since April 15. He may get a start against Milwaukee in Texas. Advantage Milwaukee.

Coaching: Its been an impressive first season for Willie Desjardins in Texas. All the rookie head coach did in his first campaign was guide the Stars to a Western Conference regular season title after a last place finish a season ago.

Milwaukee’s Dean Evason earned his stripes coaching as an assistant with the Washington Capitals. Considering the lockout, it was a tough first season for any coach, but both did a great job. But because of their full season of success and an incredible 30-point turnaround, I give an edge to Texas.

Intangibles: Tough call here, but because of the Admirals end of season momentum, I will give Milwaukee a minor edge, but last year it didn’t mean much.

Who wins the series: The only two matchups during the regular season were won by Texas, but that should mean little on the outcome, considering how early they were on the schedule. Goaltender Jeremy Smith was a star of the Admirals six-game series victory against the Stars in 2011, but Smith is unlikely to even play this time around.

This series may get decided in the first two games in Milwaukee. Texas was the best team in the AHL on the road this season, going an incredible 25-9-3-1, while the Admirals impressed at home: 21-12-3-2. If the series splits heading to Austin, either team has a chance to grab momentum in three games in Texas. I will take Milwaukee in five games.

So Roundtable . . . How do you see the series shaking out? Any places where Milwaukee/Texas has an edge? Who will win the coaching battle? Am I crazy to pick the Admirals over the West’s top seed?

He’s not here.

Officially, it was just announced that Filip Forsberg was recalled by the Predators today.

For their game Saturday.

While Daniel Bang and Kevin Henderson were sent down so they could play for us tonight.

Why wouldn’t Forsberg play too?

GREAT question.

Well, it’s that time of year again.

Milwaukee fans have grown pretty accustomed to playoff hockey with the Admirals making their 11th straight appearance, but this season’s postseason berth almost wasn’t.

It took a huge push down the stretch, but the Ads got it done and were rewarded with the pleasure of facing the top seed in the West.

Texas has more than earned that distinction, but while eight-seeds generally don’t get much respect versus one-seeds, (hell, even that’s shifting in the world of hockey with an eight-seed taking home the Stanley Cup last season) this particular matchup doesn’t quite feel like your usual first-round top vs. bottom showdown.

There’s the overall eight-point differential between the teams in the standings. That’s basically four games that separate the top and bottom of the conference playoff picture.

Also the head-to-head matchups this season (yes, it’s a small, two-game sample size) were both won by Texas, but neither was a particularly dominating performance by the Stars.

A 3-1 road loss way back on October 24 was marred by a horrible start for the Ads and seven Milwaukee two-minute minors. Milwaukee didn’t register a shot on net in the first 15 minutes and spending so much time on the kill kept the Ads from getting into a rhythm.

The second game was played much closer with the Ads dropping a 2-1 decision in OT at the Bradley Center on December 6. The Ads took a 1-0 lead on an early second-period goal by Austin Watson, but Cody Eakin scored on a late power play chance with 6:25 left in the game to send it to the extra period. Tomas Vincour scored the game-winner.

Mark Van Guilder spoke to the fact that with the current makeup of both sides in mind, it’s best to throw out the results of both contests heading into this weekend.

“I think both teams have gotten a lot better since the last time we met,” Van Guilder said.

Both losses came with Jeremy Smith in net, meaning Magnus Hellberg will get his first crack at Texas this season. His presence alone speaks to the fact that this Admirals team is quite different from the one that faced the Stars earlier in the season.

“I think it’s been good for me to have a lot of games in a row going into the playoffs,” Hellberg said. “I didn’t play much in the beginning so I had to work a lot in the gym to get my conditioning up and I feel that I have use for it now for sure.”

“We worry about what we do, but we do some scouting as well to see what they’re up to. I know the Swedish goalie (Christopher Nilstorp) a little bit. I played against him last year so if we both play it will be a fun little Swedish goalie battle for sure.”

The arrival of Filip Forsberg along with the traveling trio of Daniel Bang, Austin Watson and Kevin Henderson adds plenty of intrigue to the game one matchup, though the quartet may head back up to Nashville on Saturday.

That situation is nothing new for coach Dean Evason, however, as the Ads experienced plenty of emergency recalls and a fluctuating lineup during their playoff push.

“Whoever’s here when the puck’s dropped, they play,” Evason said. “It doesn’t matter who it is, as long as they know what they’re doing, they all play hard. We’ve been able to get our mindset in the right spot and go out and play the game on the ice. We’ve been playing playoff hockey now for a couple of months, so our group should know exactly how to play in tight situations.”

“We’re not 100 percent on their lineup and they’re not 100 percent on ours. We’re not a huge matchup team, but we like to get a few matchups on our back end against their high end players.”

Evason attributed a lot of credit to the personal drive of each of his players during the team’s late surge. He claimed he didn’t have to push them as hard as he’d expected down the stretch.

“There’s an inner coaching and teaching within the group that the guys do, not only away from games, but in games during timeouts. They’re constantly talking to each other about doing the right things, putting pucks in the right areas and what have you. I think our group’s pretty strong mentally, so I think we’re fresh physically and mentally going in.”

Throughout the season, Van Guilder has established himself at the forefront of that inner coaching movement.

“I think it’s too hard for the coaches to teach and lead all by themselves,” Van Guilder said. “It takes a handful of guys stepping up in the locker room. I think my role is just to lead by example and be a professional, teaching the younger guys how to prepare and play hard every night. I also try to set the example of staying calm in tight situations.”

The last time the Stars and Ads met in the playoffs back in 2011, Van Guilder scored the series-clinching double overtime goal to advance Milwaukee to the Division Finals.

“That was an unbelievable series,” Van Guilder said. “That’s a team that I obviously have a lot of respect for. We play a very similar game to theirs and hopefully it’ll be another fun series.”

“I think with the way we’ve played the last couple of weeks, we’ve got good momentum going in. We’re definitely confident going in, but we know they’re the number one seed for a reason. I hope that it’s closer than a one vs. eight series implies, but I think you’re going to see some really good hockey by both teams.”

Questions:

What’s your official series prediction? Who wins in how many?

What kind of impact do you think Filip Forsberg will bring in his Admirals debut? How do you see the team rebounding from likely losing him along with possibly Bang, Watson and Henderson for the next game?

(Photo credit:  Sanford Myers/Gannett Tennessee)

On the Admirals Center Ice Radio Show on Sportsradio 1250 WSSP, Paul Fenton told Aaron and Wojo on Monday that there may be “a couple of surprises sprinkled in” when answering a question about the playoff roster.

One of those surprises was sent down to Milwaukee today.

Along with Austin Watson, it was announced that Filip Forsberg has been assigned to the Admirals.  Joonas Rask was also called up to the Predators.

The jewel of the trade that sent Martin Erat and Michael Latta to Washington has played in four games with the Predators so far.  If he had played in six games, then Nashville would activate the first year of his entry level contract, which wasn’t a very likely prospect.

So we’re expecting to see him on the ice tomorrow night in Game 1 against the Texas Stars.  And that will be a treat.  Hopefully there won’t be any airport delays or things like that.

So Roundtable….who would you like Forsberg’s linemates to be if he makes it tomorrow night?

Yes, guys were called back up.  Yes, Austin Watson scored his first NHL goal.  Yes, Josh Shalla was sent to Cincy.  It’s all true.  It’s more action than we’re used to seeing the week after the season ends and before the playoffs begin.

Usually, this is where we throw in a fluff piece before previewing the upcoming series.  And this year will be no different.  It’s time for the 2012-13 Paper Plate Awards.  Where we take a moment to recall the good times, the bad times, and the odd times of the regular season.  We’ve got most of the players….a few were left out either due to small sample sizes, or lack of easy jokes to make about them.

Again this year, we’ve left a few of the awards up to you, so leave your nominations in the comments section for Liambas, Mueller, and Moore.

2 Anthony Bitetto – Man Of The Year Runner Up Award – Mark Van Guilder won it, but Bitetto had to be the runner up. He’s great with fans, great with the community, and he raised money for Hurricane Sandy relief for his home town. I think he might have had a better chance to win Man Of Year Award if he wasn’t a stinkin’ Yankee fan….

4 Scott Ford – PLEASE Get Me Out Of Peoria Award – The Rivermen scratched their captain because there were too many veterans on the roster. His first game back with the Admirals was on February 21st….it was only his second game since January 24th. He’s still got some gas in the tank, and is it just a coincidence that the Admirals went on this great late season run shortly after he arrived?

6 Ryan Ellis – Bear Market Award – I’ve been really sad to see the Nashville faithful turn on Ellis this year. They were so excited when he was first called up. Now they say he’s too small….a power play specialist…. I haven’t seen very many of the Preds games this season, but I’ve seen a lot of the Milwaukee games. Ellis has been very good down here. I think he’s still got a future on the blue line in Nashville.

7 Jon Blum – Reputation Preceeds Him Award – Tough crowd here at the Roundtable sometimes. I don’t think he deserved ALL of the scrutiny that readers threw his way early in the year. Some of it, sure, based on some plays. But I think when he was here early in the season, he had a bit of a bum rap, despite playing some decent hockey. We’re happy for his success.

8 Mike Liambas – Reader submission

10 Patrick Cehlin – Griffin & Checker Killer Award – Seven of his nine goals were against the Grand Rapids Griffins or the Charlotte Checkers.

11 Brad Winchester – Good Omen Award – The Admirals don’t lose in regulation when he scores a goal. 8-0-1-0 record this season. Memo to his linemates: feed him.

12 Mattias Ekholm – Most Improved Defender – At the start of the year, it was a little rough at times. But as the season has progressed, Ekholm became one of the most dependable defensemen on both ends of the ice. Great on the power play, and staying within the system in the defensive zone. And by the time he was called up to Nashville, he had definitely earned it. He’s got a bright future in the organization.

15 Kevin Henderson – Unsung Hero Award – He’s not flashy…he just works hard and delivers. Good for 17 goals, and he played on the shutdown line with Van Guilder and Latta for most of the year. Thrilled that he got a goal in his NHL debut. He was very quietly, one of the most essential pieces to Milwaukee’s success this year.

16 Ben Ryan – No seriously, take my number. Please. Award –  Ben Ryan was #16. And then he suffered a *cough* upper body injury *cough*. And he hasn’t played since. But his jersey has. #16 – Craig Smith, Paul Crowder. Just don’t tell Jon Blum that Ryan is sporting #7 on the AHL website these days.

17 Michael Latta – Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow Award – I could figuratively hear people’s hearts breaking when the news came down the pipeline that Latta was part of the deal that brought Filip Forsberg to Nashville. From his play to his personality (and his history of leaving the penalty box area without his jersey on), it’s easy to see why he was a fan favorite, and easy to see why he is so missed. His game took a big leap forward this year, and we wish him the best with the Caps.

17 Zach Hamill – The Gee, Thanks Florida Award – A former 8th overall draft pick of the Bruins, the Florida Panthers organization preferred to loan him to Milwaukee than give him minutes in San Antonio. But they didn’t seem to have a problem with Nolan Yonkman’s league worst -34 defensive rating. No matter. In 6 regular season games with us, Hamill had three goals and an assist. We’ll take it.

18 Chris Mueller – Reader submission

19 Gabriel Bourque – Most Likely To Lead The Predators In Goals – Didn’t see that coming. Good for him, but wow….even now that he’s missed a bunch of games at the end of the season, he’s STILL on top. Amazing. (edit:  Legwand scored tonight….but I’m not re-writing this!)

20 Daniel Bang – Most Likely To Have Intense Debates About How To Pronounce His Last Name Award –  Bang or Bong? Potato. Po-tot-o. Depends on who you ask, and what continent you’re on. If you ask Daniel, in North America, he says Bang. Not sure what there is to debate.

21 Mike Moore – Reader submission

22 Scott Valentine – Mr. Versatility Award – He played really well at forward when pressed into duty there, and scored some huge goals from the forward position down the stretch.

24 Jani Lajunen – The Invisible Man Award – It’s like he was never here.

25 Josh Shalla – Not In Kansas Anymore Award – 76 points in 53 games for Saginaw in the OHL last year. Points were a little tougher to come by in the AHL. He had a good line in Cincy — 21 goals in 37 games in pretty great, and we’re happy that he’s playing his best AHL hockey of the year lately too. Don’t know if we should expect those sick junior numbers next season, but I’m optimistic that he’ll continue to improve.

28 Jack MacLellan – Master Electrician Award – For his role in the Virtual Aspects promo. “Let them decide the system that’s right for you, and right within your budget!”

29 Mark Van Guilder – Keeps Getting Better Award – The counting stats keep going up every year, and he’s turned into a great leader for this team. The Admirals Man-of-the-year again. I hope that this off-season is the one where he gets that NHL deal.

30 Jeremy Smith – Dexshow Award – Seems like it was just two years ago that a freak injury ended the season of a goalie, and then the other guy assumed control of the wheel and took the team on a nice playoff run.

36 Joonas Jarvinen – Junk Yard Dog Award – Coach said he needed to play like a junk yard dog to be effective, and he turned into one of the most physical players on the team. But there’s still a fine line between playing physical and getting called for a lot of minor penalties. The penalty kill has been good late in the season, despite his frequent parades to the box.

37 Zoltan Hetenyi – Most Likely To Spend A Night In the Gwinnett County Jail Award – Yeah, that was a mistake.

41 Taylor Beck – Easier Than It Looks Award – The interweb seems to be gushing about Taylor Beck’s performance in the NHL after his callup. He amassed points in Milwaukee, but was subject to some inconsistent play. Maybe there’s just too much time to think in the AHL. Take away that, and Beck has the instincts and smarts to be successful up there. Good for him.

43 Cam Reid – The Little Things Award – A Nashville draft pick that never signed…and then ended up with the Admirals anyway. A PTO that turned into an SPC contract, Reid has played on different lines, in different situations, and has done a lot of the little things to earn the trust of the coaching staff.

45 Magnus Hellberg – Most Valuable Player – It’s been great watching Hellberg’s game evolve over the course of the year. In the beginning, he looked more like Chet Pickard than Pekka Rinne, letting in some softies. Then he lost six in a row from December 11th through January 20th, as the Admirals just couldn’t score in those games. And then something started to click. He won six in a row in February. He became the hot hand, and then when Jeremy Smith was injured in the game against Rockford March 29th, it was Hellberg’s show the rest of the way. He won 7 of his last 8 games, and capped the season with a pair of shutouts on consecutive nights. Magnus has sported a goals against average under two in each of the last three months. Lots of credit of course goes his defense…but more often than not down the stretch, when the Admirals needed a big save, they got it from Hellberg.  Another feather in the cap of Mitch and Ben.

47 Joe Piskula – Unsung Addition Award – McGrattan for Piskula? We won that trade. I’m sure he has made mistakes in the 23 games that he’s been here, but I don’t ever remember ever thinking, “Oh man, that goal is totally on Piskula.” A veteran stay-at-home defenseman that doesn’t make mistakes that end up in the back of our net? Priceless.

51 Austin Watson – Most Web Savvy Fan Club – Every year, someone’s fan club comes out in droves and makes their presence known. Last year, it was the Ryan Ellis fan club. This year, it was the Austin Watson fan club. With family and friends on twitter and commenting on various blogs around town, they were certainly well connected to how their boy was doing. Some of them were a bit rowdy at times…but we thank them for reading.

64 Victor Bartley – Most Likely To Go Viral – Say what you want about the Gangnam Style phenomenon….but the Victor Bartley video? It was pretty awesome. I almost made his award the best supporting actor award, because obviously, trainer Doug Agnew was the REAL star. AM I RIGHT?

71 Juuso Puustinen – Undisputed Swamp Soccer Champion – If you ever get the chance to talk to Juuso, ask him about his glory days playing swamp soccer. Great stories.

And that’s the end!  Thanks for reading.

(Photo Credit:  Scott Paulus)

So the guy who writes for the Tennessean that isn’t Josh Cooper tweeted and reported yesterday that Kevin Henderson and Daniel Bang are going to join the Preds for their game in Chicago against the Blackhawks tonight.

Coach Barry Trotz (or Tritz, according to the tweet from the guy who writes for the Tennessean that isn’t Josh Cooper) obviously thought he was talking to Josh Cooper, so he gave a thoughtful answer about Henderson’s pending promotion.

“A couple of times (this year) when we were getting lean on forwards, he was the next guy to be called up,” Trotz said. “He was playing well and all that, and then when we would actually need guys when everybody (on the NHL roster) was hurt, he was hurt. So he’s just had some bad timing in terms of playing really well at certain times … This is an opportunity for him to show what he can do.”

I haven’t seen an official press release about it yet from the Preds or the Admirals, and the transactions haven’t posted on the AHL’s page yet.  So nothing is official until it’s official.

It’s official now, say the Admirals, Preds, and AHL website.

I’m hopeful that they’ll be returned back after the game tonight so that they can continue to play for Milwaukee as they finish their season-ending-3-in-3 this weekend.  Cheap travel costs too….Preds are in Chicago tonight, and then the Admirals are in Rosemont Saturday night.  Piece of cake, right?