Griffins to Conclude Home Portion of Regular Season
AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins to Conclude Home Portion of Regular Season

Published on April 7, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Grand Rapids Griffins left wing Eduards Tralmaks (right) prepares for battle
Grand Rapids Griffins left wing Eduards Tralmaks (right) prepares for battle
(Grand Rapids Griffins, Credit: Nicolas Carrillo)

This Week's Games

GRIFFINS (49-13-4-1) vs. Chicago Wolves (31-21-8-6) // Fri., April 10 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 6:45 p.m.

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey

Season Series: 6-2-0-1 Overall, 3-1-0-0 Home. Tenth of 10 meetings overall, fifth of five at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 110-93-2-8-6 Overall, 54-41-2-6-4 Home

NHL Affiliation: Carolina Hurricanes

Noteworthy: Three of the four meetings at Van Andel Arena this season have been decided past regulation.

GRIFFINS vs. Rockford IceHogs (27-35-3-2) // Sat., April 11 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 7 p.m.

Watch: WXSP-TV and AHLTV on FloHockey

Season Series: 7-2-0-0 Overall, 3-1-0-0 Home. Tenth of 10 meetings overall, fifth of five at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 81-54-11-11 Overall, 46-21-6-5 Home

NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks

Noteworthy: This game marks the Griffins' final regular-season home game at Van Andel Arena. Grand Rapids will finish the regular season on the road next week.

Not Done Yet: Last Friday, the Griffins claimed the Western Conference regular-season title, which marked their third regular-season conference championship as members of the AHL (2005-06, 2002-03) and the fifth in franchise history, including IHL Eastern Conference crowns in 2000-01 and 1999-00. Grand Rapids also clinched the Central Division title last Thursday, which marked their sixth division crown as a member of the AHL. It also marked the Griffins' first division title since 2014-15, when they won the Midwest, and the first Central Division title since 2002-03. The Griffins clinched a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs on Feb. 27, marking the earliest clinching date in franchise history (previously March 6) and the earliest for an AHL team since 1993, when the Binghamton Rangers clinched on Feb. 24 with 24 games remaining. Grand Rapids now has a magic number of 11 to clinch the AHL's regular-season title. The Griffins trail the Providence Bruins by one point in the race for the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy, awarded to the AHL's regular-season champions. Grand Rapids is 38-9-4-1 against its division rivals and has outscored them 189-113, suffering its first regulation defeat against the division on Jan. 9 against Texas. The Griffins' 38 wins are the most divisional victories since 2016-17 (40-20-1-3).

We're Back: The Griffins have won five straight and are on a six-game point streak after dropping six of eight games from March 6-24. During the current five-game win streak, Grand Rapids has averaged 5.20 goals per game while allowing 1.80 goals, outscoring opponents 26-9. The Griffins have continued their historic campaign with a 49-13-4-1 ledger and 103 points through 67 games. Grand Rapids reached at least 100 points for the first time since 2016-17 and, currently, the 103 points are the fifth-most in franchise history. The Griffins also reached the 100-point mark (66 games) faster than any team in franchise history (previously 69 games in 2005-06). The team saw its franchise-record tying 15-game win streak from Nov. 22-Dec. 27 come to an end in overtime on Dec. 31, which also tied for the sixth-longest run in AHL history. In addition, the Griffins' 19-game point streak from Nov. 22-Jan. 7 (18-0-1-0) ended on Jan. 9, which tied for the longest run in franchise history (see table). The Griffins are 25-6-1-1 on the road and 24-7-3-0 at home. The 17-game points streak on the road from Oct. 10-Jan. 23 (15-0-1-1) set a new AHL record, eclipsing the 2010-11 Milwaukee Admirals' 16-game run (10-0-4-2).

Rewrite the Record Book: With the historic season the Griffins have had, several players have joined the franchise's all-time single-season record book. John Leonard ranks among the single-season leaders in shorthanded goals (5, T1st), game-winners (8, 5th), unassisted goals (4, T5th), shootout percentage (.750, T6th) and shooting percentage (.211, 1st). Michael Brandsegg-Nygard is tied for fifth in game-winners (8), Amadeus Lombardi is tied for first in overtime goals (3), and Dominik Shine and Eduards Tralmaks are tied for second in shooting percentage (.210). In net, Sebastian Cossa is eighth in wins (26) and tied for seventh in shutouts (5). Fellow goaltender Michal Postava ranks first in GAA (1.78) and second in save percentage (.935). In addition, Leonard (32) is the Griffins' first 30-goal scorer since Eric Tangradi (31) in 2017-18, and his 32 goals are the most by a Griffin since 2014-15 (Teemu Pulkkinen 34). Leonard, Tralmaks (25), Sheldon Dries (22) and Shine (21) have all hit the 20-goal mark this season, which marks the first time since 2017-18 that Grand Rapids has at least four 20-goal scorers.

Putting Up Points: During the Griffins' most recent scoring output, several players have posted impressive stat lines.

- Sheldon Dries: Season-high six-game point streak from March 7-April 4 (2-5-7)

- John Leonard: Three-game point streak from April 1-4 (2-3-5)

- Michael Brandsegg-Nygard: Three-game point streak from April 1-4 (3-3-6)

- Eduards Tralmaks: AHL career-high five-game point streak from March 26-April 4 (5-4-9)

- Wojciech Stachowiak: AHL career-high five-game point streak from March 26-April 4 (3-8-11)

- Erik Gustafsson: AHL career-high four-game assist streak from March 28-April 4 (0-7-7)

Firing on all Cylinders: Grand Rapids has posted at least four goals in five of its last six games (5.00 per game). Last week, the Griffins outscored their opponents 18-5, scoring at least five goals in each outing. The Griffins now rank second in the AHL with 3.51 goals per game. The team has outscored its opponents 235-142 and is 36-1-1-0 when scoring the game's first goal. The Griffins have outscored their opponents 107-69 at home, while possessing a 128-73 advantage on the road. Grand Rapids has its largest scoring margin against its opponents in the third period (96-42). John Leonard leads the team and ranks second in the AHL with 32 goals, while Eduards Tralmaks ranks second on the roster with 25 and Sheldon Dries places third with 22. Leonard, Tralmaks, Dries and Shine (21) have all hit the 20-goal mark this season, which marks the first time since 2017-18 that Grand Rapids has at least four 20-goal scorers.

Record Watch: The Griffins have already set the best road record in franchise history with a .788 points percentage (25-6-1-1), beating out the previous record of .713 (26-9-3-2) set in 2002-03. Grand Rapids needs just one win in its final three road games to tie the team record of 26 victories from 2002-03, when it played 40 road contests instead of the current 36. The Griffins also need just one point over their final five games to finish with the best record in franchise history. The team is currently at .769 (49-13-4-1), and with one more point can finish no worse than .722, beating the previous record of .719 (55-20-1-4), set in 2005-06.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard-Tied for first in game-winners (8), tied for fifth among rookies in goals (19), tied for 10th among rookies in assists (24), tied for sixth among rookies in points (43), fifth among rookies in plus-minus (+25), tied for sixth among rookies in power-play goals (6), sixth among rookies in shots (137), first among rookies in game-winners (8)

Sebastian Cossa-Fourth in GAA (2.26), fourth in save percentage (.918), second in shutouts (5), second in wins (26), 11th in games played (37), 10th in minutes played (2202:31)

Erik Gustafsson-11th among defensemen in assists (30), 11th among defensemen in plus-minus (+25)

Alex Kannok Leipert-Tied for 13th in shorthanded assists (2), tied for fifth among defensemen in shorthanded assists (2)

William Lagesson-Tied for fourth in plus-minus (+30), second among defensemen in plus-minus (+30)

John Leonard-Second in goals (32), tied for first in shorthanded goals (5), tied for first in game-winners (8)

Amadeus Lombardi-Tied for 11th in game-winners (5)

Eduards Tralmaks-Tied for fourth in plus-minus (+30)

Antti Tuomisto-Tied for 10th in plus-minus (+27), tied for sixth among defensemen in plus-minus (+27)

Austin Watson-Seventh in penalty minutes (146)

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics

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Images from this story

Grand Rapids Griffins left wing Eduards Tralmaks (right) prepares for battle
Grand Rapids Griffins left wing Eduards Tralmaks (right) prepares for battle
(Nicolas Carrillo)		   



American Hockey League Stories from April 7, 2026


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