League-Leading Griffins Welcome Texas for Pair of Games
AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

League-Leading Griffins Welcome Texas for Pair of Games

Published on January 6, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


This Week's Games

GRIFFINS (28-1-1-1) vs. Texas Stars (13-15-3-1) // Wed., Jan. 7 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

GRIFFINS vs. Texas Stars // Fri., Jan. 9 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday and 7 p.m. on Friday

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey on Wednesday and WXSP-TV and AHLTV on FloHockey on Friday

Season Series: 4-0-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Home. Fifth and sixth of eight meetings overall, first and second of four at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 49-32-7-5 Overall, 24-14-2-4 Home

NHL Affiliation: Dallas Stars

Noteworthy: The Griffins have a 23-9 scoring margin over the Stars this season, which includes a franchise-record nine-goal margin in a 10-1 win on Nov. 25 at Texas. The Stars are on a three-game win streak while Grand Rapids is on an 18-game point streak (17-0-1-0).

A Happy New Year: The Griffins have continued their league-record start with a 28-1-1-1 ledger and 58 points through 31 games, surpassing the 2005-06 W-B/Scranton Penguins (24-3-2-1, 51 pts.) as the best team in the AHL's 90-year history through 30 outings. Grand Rapids also reached 50 points three games faster than any team in the AHL's 90-year history. The team saw its franchise-record tying 15-game win streak from Nov. 22-Dec. 27 come to an end in overtime last Wednesday, which also tied for the sixth-longest run in AHL history. The Griffins remain on an 18-game point streak from Nov. 22-Jan. 3 (17-0-1-0), which is tied for the second-longest run in franchise history. The Griffins are 14-0-0-1 on the road and 14-1-1-0 at home, which both are franchise records to begin a season. The 15-game point streak on the road is one game shy of tying the league record of 16 set by the Milwaukee Admirals in 2010-11. Grand Rapids ranks first in the AHL in points (58), has a 22-point cushion over Chicago for first place in the Central Division, and is 29 points up on a playoff spot.

Going Back to Back: Last Friday, Sebastian Cossa was selected as the AHL Goaltender of the Month for December. Cossa also won the award for November, becoming the first netminder in franchise history to receive the honor twice in the same season and the first AHL goalie to win consecutive awards since Henderson's Logan Thompson in Feb.-March 2021. The 23-year-old also became just the third goaltender in team history to win the award twice in any fashion, joining Jared Coreau (Feb. 2018, Dec. 2015) and Jimmy Howard (Dec. 2007, March 2006). In December, Cossa went 7-0-1 with two shutouts to go along with a 1.76 GAA and a .929 save percentage. He went 7-0 from Dec. 3-27 with two shutouts, a 1.59 GAA and a .937 save percentage. In addition, Cossa held opponents to two goals or less in six of his eight appearances. Cossa enjoyed a career-high 10-game win streak from Nov. 25-Dec. 27, showing a 1.51 GAA and a .939 save percentage, and is currently on a 12-game point streak (11-0-1). With the Griffins this season, Cossa is 16-1-1 with four shutouts, a 1.67 GAA and a .938 save percentage in 18 appearances.

Going for Gold: Earlier today, Team Latvia announced that forward Eduards Tralmaks will represent the country at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games from Feb. 6-22. Tralmaks becomes the seventh player to participate in an Olympics while playing for the Griffins. Tralmaks is the third current or former Griffin to be named to an Olympic roster for 2026, joining USA's Dylan Larkin and Germany's Moritz Seider. Tralmaks, a native of Riga, Latvia, has 18 points (14-4-18), six penalty minutes and a plus-15 rating in 31 games with the Griffins this season. He ranks among the team leaders in goals (T2nd), points (6th), and plus-minus rating (T8th), while tying for 10th in the AHL in goals and tying for 15th in plus-minus rating. Tralmaks has competed for Team Latvia at the two previous World Championships in 2024 and 2025, showing a combined nine points (4-5-9) in 14 games. At last year's World Championship, Tralmaks led Latvia in points (3-4-7) and assists, while ranking second in goals in seven games. Also in 2024-25, he potted one goal in three Olympic qualifying games with Latvia.

Leaders of the Pack: The Griffins currently lead the Central Division and are 22 points above second-place Chicago and 29 points up on a playoff spot. Grand Rapids is 21-0-1-1 against its division rivals and has outscored them 94-42. Last season, it took the Griffins 41 games to reach 21 wins against the division (21-16-3-1) compared to 23 games this season. Thirty-three of the remaining 41 games for Grand Rapids will be against the Central Division (80.5%), which includes the next eight contests. The Griffins will see the most games against the Milwaukee Admirals (9) followed by the Chicago Wolves (6).

A Warm Welcome Back: After rehabbing a lower-body injury that kept him sidelined from Nov. 12-Dec. 14, goaltender Michal Postava returned to the crease last Saturday and collected a 4-1 victory with 21 saves at Chicago. The rookie is undefeated in the AHL with a 5-0-0 record with a 1.93 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage in six games. Last season, Postava became a Czech Extraliga champion with Kometa Brno, showing a league-best .940 save percentage with a 1.97 GAA and a 10-7 record in 17 playoff games. During the regular season with Kometa Brno, the 23-year-old ranked among the Czech Extraliga leaders in save percentage (.921, 5th), GAA (2.39, 11th), wins (23, 4th), games played (42, T2nd) and shutouts (3, T7th). As an undrafted free agent, Postava signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Detroit Red Wings last summer.

What's The Password?: The Griffins' defense is the best in the AHL, as it ranks first with 1.74 goals allowed per contest. Providence is the closest to Grand Rapids with 2.03 goals allowed per game. Grand Rapids shut out its opponent in two straight games from Dec. 21-27 for the first time since Feb. 15-17, 2018. The Griffins have allowed more than two goals just four times in their last 25 games and have averaged just 1.22 goals allowed in their last nine outings, which includes three shutouts. In fact, the team has allowed more than two goals just six times all season (19.4%). In addition, the team's penalty kill is first in the AHL at 87.2% (82-for-94). In net, Sebastian Cossa sports a 1.67 GAA with a .938 save percentage, while first-year netminder Michal Postava possesses a 1.93 GAA and a .939 save percentage. Grand Rapids also has five of the top nine plus-minus ratings in the AHL and four of the top five ratings among defensemen. The Griffins have four defensemen who have played at least 100 games in the NHL in Erik Gustafsson (516), Justin Holl (396), Ian Mitchell (110), and William Lagesson (107), totaling 1,129 appearances.

Fill Up the Tank: Grand Rapids has 28 goals in its last seven contests (4.00 per game) and ranks first in the AHL with 3.90 goals per game. The team has outscored its opponents 121-54 and is 21-0 when scoring the game's first goal. Last season, it took Grand Rapids 36 games to eclipse 100 goals compared to just 26 outings this campaign. The Griffins have outscored their opponents 55-25 at home, while possessing a 66-29 advantage on the road. Grand Rapids has its largest scoring margin against its opponents in the third period (48-19). In addition to ranking first in goals, the Griffins are 14th in shots per game (29.0). John Leonard, who is on recall to Detroit, leads the team and ranks second in the AHL with 20 goals, while Dominik Shine and Eduards Tralmaks are tied for second on the roster with 14.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard-Tied for eighth in plus-minus (+18), third in game-winners (5), tied for 13th among rookies in goals (8), tied for seventh among rookies in assists (13), tied for 11th among rookies in points (21), first among rookies in plus-minus (+18), first among rookies in game-winners (5)

Sebastian Cossa-First in GAA (1.67), first in save percentage (.938), first in shutouts (4), first in wins (16)

Sheldon Dries-Tied for 10th in plus-minus (+17)

Erik Gustafsson-Tied for fourth in plus-minus (+20), tied for sixth among defensemen in points (20), fifth among defensemen in assists (18), tied for second among defensemen in plus-minus (+20)

Justin Holl-Third in plus-minus (+21), first among defensemen in plus-minus (+21)

William Lagesson-Tied for fourth in plus-minus (+20), tied for second among defensemen in plus-minus (+20)

x John Leonard-Second in goals (20), tied for sixth in points (32), tied for first in shorthanded goals (3), first in game-winners (7)

Ian Mitchell-14th in plus-minus (+16), fifth among defensemen in plus-minus (+16)

Dominik Shine-Tied for 10th in goals (14), tied for eighth in plus-minus (+18)

Eduards Tralmaks-Tied for 10th in goals (14)

Antti Tuomisto-Tied for fourth among defensemen in goals (6), tied for 14th among defensemen in points (17), tied for sixth among defensemen in plus-minus (+15)

William Wallinder-Tied for 11th among defensemen in plus-minus (+12)

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from January 6, 2026


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