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Norfolk Admirals

Norfolk Admirals Weekly: Admirals Control Their Playoff Picture in Final Weekend

April 19, 2013 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


NORFOLK - After winning two of three games last week, the Norfolk Admirals are in control of their playoff picture in the final three days of the regular season. If they earn at least five of a possible six standings points over three road games, they qualify for the Calder Cup Playoffs regardless of what anyone else does. Otherwise, they will need some help from other teams to clinch a playoff berth before the playoffs begin next week.

Last weekend on the road, the Admirals swept a pair of games against the Worcester Sharks before falling to the AHL's top team, the Providence Bruins. Steven Whitney scored twice as the Admirals held on for a 4-3 win at Worcester last Friday. The following night, Sami Vatanen scored in overtime as Norfolk earned another 4-3 win over the Sharks. On Sunday in Providence, the Admirals fell to the Eastern Conference-leading Bruins, 4-1.

Norfolk wraps up the regular season schedule this weekend with final three games of their season-long, six-game road trip. They take on the Syracuse Crunch tonight, the Albany Devils tomorrow evening and the Providence Bruins Sunday afternoon. All games will air live on 102.1-FM, 1490-AM, 1021TheGame.com and AHLLive.com.

STANDINGS UPDATE

At 37-31-4-1 (79 points), the Admirals are in 4th place in the East Division and tied for 7th place in the Eastern Conference. They are tied with the Connecticut Whale for seventh in the Eastern Conference. Norfolk has three games remaining, while Connecticut only has two games remaining. The Admirals and Whale hold a two-point lead over the Manchester Monarchs and Hershey Bears for a playoff spot.

Rank Team GP W L OTL SL PTS PCT

1 *y Providence Bruins 73 47 21 0 5 99 0.678

2 *y Springfield Falcons 74 44 21 5 4 97 0.655

3 *x Syracuse Crunch 73 41 21 6 5 93 0.637

4 x Binghamton Senators 73 42 23 1 7 92 0.630

5 x Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 74 42 28 2 2 88 0.595

6 Portland Pirates 73 39 29 3 2 83 0.568

7 Norfolk Admirals 73 37 31 4 1 79 0.541

8 Connecticut Whale 74 35 30 6 3 79 0.534

9 Manchester Monarchs 73 35 31 3 4 77 0.527

10 Hershey Bears 73 34 30 3 6 77 0.527

11 Bridgeport Sound Tigers 73 31 30 7 5 74 0.507

12 Albany Devils 73 29 31 1 12 71 0.486

13 Worcester Sharks 74 30 34 4 6 70 0.473

14 St. John's IceCaps 73 31 35 3 4 69 0.473

15 Adirondack Phantoms 73 30 36 3 4 67 0.459

* Division leader, x Clinched playoff berth, y Clinched division title

Eight teams in each conference shall qualify for the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs. Following the conclusion of each team's 76-game regular season, the three division winners in each conference will be seeded 1-3 (in order of regular-season points) and the next five best teams (in order of regular-season points) will be seeded 4-8.

THE ADMIRALS' WEEK AHEAD

Fri., Apr. 19 ...at Syracuse Crunch (Tampa Bay Lightning) 7:30 p.m.

Sat., Apr. 20 ... at Albany Devils (New Jersey Devils) ... 5:00 p.m.

Sun., Apr. 21 ... at Providence Bruins (Boston Bruins) ... 3:05 p.m.

LAST PLACE TO PLAYOFFS? FINAL REGULAR SEASON CHAPTER TO BE WRITTEN THIS WEEKEND

On Feb. 8th, the Admirals were tied with Adirondack for the Eastern Conference's worst record. At 18-23-2-1 with 39 points, Norfolk sat 10 points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Next week, the Admirals could begin an Eastern Conference Quarterfinals playoff series - if they can lock themselves into the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs this weekend.

Tonight's contests begin the final three days of the American Hockey League's regular season. The AHL will be incredibly busy with all 30 teams in action both tonight and tomorrow. Sunday's slate features 20 of 30 teams playing in the final day of the 2012-13 regular season, which began on Oct. 12th.

There are six teams battling for the three remaining spots in the Eastern Conference: the Portland Pirates, Norfolk Admirals, Connecticut Whale, Manchester Monarchs, Hershey Bears and Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Currently, the Pirates, Admirals and Whale are in playoff positions while the Monarchs, Bears and Sound Tigers are on the outside looking in. None of these teams have clinched a playoff berth or have been eliminated from playoff contention.

The Admirals are currently tied with Connecticut for seventh place with 79 points. In sixth place, Portland is four points ahead of Norfolk and Connecticut at 83 points and is very close to locking in its playoff berth. Manchester and Hershey are only two points back of the Admirals and Whale at 77 points. Bridgeport (74 points) trails Norfolk and Connecticut by five points. Portland, Norfolk, Manchester, Hershey and Bridgeport each play Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Connecticut plays only Friday and Saturday, giving the other five contenders a "game in hand" on the Whale.

With six teams vying for three spots with three days worth of games remaining, there are countless scenarios that could play out this weekend. Norfolk begins the weekend in a playoff position and in control of its own destiny. If the Admirals earn at least five of the six possible standings points this weekend, they are guaranteed a playoff berth regardless of what any other teams do. If they earn fewer than five points, they will need help from other teams in order to clinch a spot.

It is possible that the Eastern Conference playoff puzzle may not be complete until the final buzzer of the conference's final game. The Bears host the Monarchs at Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. By the time the puck drops in Hershey, all other Eastern Conference games should be wrapping up. It is possible that there may be teams tuned in to the conclusion of the Bears/Monarchs game to see whether they will make the playoffs.

We will have you covered through the Admirals' many online resources. We will keep norfolkadmirals.com up-to-date with the latest game recaps. Like us on Facebook and get the latest from the rink. Twitter will have up-to-the-minute updates through @NorfolkAdmirals and @AdsGameUpdates. Listen to the games at 102.1-FM, 1490-AM, 1021TheGame.com or watch at AHLLive.com. The American Hockey League also has great resources available. Learn more about them at theahl.com. Included among the resources at theahl.com is the Playoff Primer - a breakdown of the playoff picture updated daily with clinching scenarios, qualification rules and tiebreaking procedures.

BREAKING DOWN THE ADMIRALS SINCE FEBRUARY 8

In 29 games since Feb. 8th, Norfolk has earned 40 of a possible 58 points (19-8-2-0, .690 points percentage). The Admirals trail only the AHL-leading Providence Bruins (22-5-0-2, .793) for the best record in the AHL since Feb. 8th. The Admirals have jumped from a 14th-place tie to a 7th-place tie, passing six teams in the process while tying a seventh. Each of those teams was in a playoff push of its own at least a majority of that time. Norfolk has turned a 10-point playoff deficit into a two-point surplus.

Goaltender Frederik Andersen is 15-5-0 with a 1.93 goals-against average (GAA) and .934 save percentage (SV%) in 21 games since Feb. 8th. Forward Patrick Maroon leads the team with 12 goals since Feb. 8th and ranks second with 21 points in 19 games. Defenseman Sami Vatanen leads the team with 17 assists and 22 points in 28 games since Feb. 8th.

Norfolk has allowed an average of only 2.21 goals against per game since Feb. 8th. This is the second-best defense in the AHL in that time span, trailing only Providence (2.17).

INFORMATION ON POTENTIAL ADMIRALS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

If the Admirals qualify for the playoffs, they would begin a best-of-five Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series on the road next week. This series would be in a 2-2-1 format (two games at the higher seed's home rink, two games at the lower seed's home rink, then a final game at the higher seed's home rink). Game 4 and Game 5 would be played if necessary.

The Admirals announced earlier this week that Game 3 and Game 4 (if necessary) of any potential opening round series of the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs would be played on Wednesday and Thursday, May 1st and May 2nd. Both games would be played at 7:15 p.m. at Norfolk Scope Arena. Playoff packages for season ticket holders are on sale now and group ticket reservations are being taken. If the Admirals clinch a playoff berth, individual playoff tickets will go on sale on Monday, April 22nd, at 10:00 a.m. at the Norfolk Scope Box Office, any Ticketmaster Outlet, charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000 or online at ticketmaster.com.

ADMIRALS' LOG

Peter Holland has rejoined the Admirals from the Anaheim Ducks. He has 19 goals and 38 points in 42 games for the Admirals. In 21 games for Anaheim, he has three goals and five points.

Earlier this week, defensemen Sami Vatanen and Jordan Hendry were recalled by Anaheim. Hendry has since been returned to the Admirals. Vatanen, who scored his first NHL goal on Wednesday vs. Columbus, remains with the Ducks.

Also earlier this week, the Anaheim Ducks assigned goaltender John Gibson to the Admirals. Gibson led Team USA to a gold medal at this year's World Junior Championships, earning tournament MVP and top goaltender honors along the way.

This afternoon, the Ducks recalled goaltender Igor Bobkov from the Admirals on emergency conditions.

DUCKS STILL IN PRIME POSITION AS THE REGULAR SEASON WINDS DOWN

The Anaheim Ducks (27-10-6, 60 points) have clinched a playoff berth and are currently second in the NHL's Western Conference. If the Ducks earn at least four points in their final five games, they will clinch the Pacific Division title. The Ducks play the Calgary Flames tonight in Calgary to drop the puck on a four-game road trip.

NORFOLK LEADERS

Goals: Patrick Maroon (24)

Assists: Sami Vatanen (36)

Points: Patrick Maroon (48)

Games: Mat Clark (69)

PP goals: Patrick Maroon (12)

SH goals: Several (1)

+/- Rating: Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, Chris Wagner (+8)

PIM: Patrick Maroon (137)

GAA: Frederik Andersen (2.12)

Spct: Frederik Andersen (.932)

Wins: Frederik Andersen (24)

Losses: Igor Bobkov (17)

GPI: Frederik Andersen (44)

Minutes: Frederik Andersen (2545)

SYRACUSE LEADERS

Goals: Tyler Johnson (33)

Assists: Ondrej Palat (37)

Points: Brett Connolly, Tyler Johnson (60)

Games: J.T. Wyman (73)

PP goals: Tyler Johnson (12)

SH goals: Mike Angelidis, J.T. Wyman (2)

+/- Rating: Radko Gudas (+32)

PIM: Radko Gudas (207)

GAA: Cedrick Desjardins (2.15)

Spct: Cedrick Desjardins (.917)

Wins: Riku Helenius (17)

Losses: Riku Helenius (14)

GPI: Riku Helenius (32)

Minutes: Riku Helenius (1772)

ALBANY LEADERS

Goals: Joe Whitney (25)

Assists: Matt Anderson (30)

Points: Joe Whitney (50)

Games: Steve Zalewski (70)

PP goals: Joe Whitney (6)

SH goals: Several (2)

+/- Rating: Joe Whitney (+15)

PIM: Tim Sestito (106)

GAA: Jeff Frazee (2.67)

Spct: Jeff Frazee (.912)

Wins: Keith Kinkaid (20)

Losses: Keith Kinkaid (16)

GPI: Keith Kinkaid (43)

Minutes: Keith Kinkaid (2541)

PROVIDENCE LEADERS

Goals: Jamie Tardif (30)

Assists: Ryan Spooner (39)

Points: Ryan Spooner (53)

Games: Craig Cunningham (73)

PP goals: Jamie Tardif (13)

SH goals: Several (1)

+/- Rating: Garnet Exelby, Justin Florek (+13)

PIM: Bobby Robins (312)

GAA: Niklas Svedberg (2.15)

Spct: Niklas Svedberg (.925)

Wins: Niklas Svedberg (36)

Losses: Michael Hutchinson (13)

GPI: Niklas Svedberg (47)

Minutes: Niklas Svedberg (2813)

TICKETS

Don't miss a minute of Admirals action by purchasing your season tickets today. Stop by the Admirals' Administrative Offices at Scope, call (757) 640-1212 weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or visit norfolkadmirals.com anytime.

ON THE RADIO/INTERNET

All regular season games will air live on "The Game" 102.1-FM, 1490-AM and online at 1021TheGame.com. AHL Live will also carry online video of every Admirals game on a pay-per-view or season pass basis. Fans can log in to watch, listen or get more information about AHL Live's online audio and video features at ahllive.com.

Check out the Norfolk Admirals Statistics

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