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The Grand Rapids Press’s Andrew Streitel spoke with several members of the Grand Rapids Griffins regarding the team’s upcoming best-of-five playoff series against the Manitoba Moose, which kicks off with a pair of road games in Winnipeg on Saturday and Sunday:

The team was confident about their matchup against the Moose after going 6-2 against them during the regular season.

“We have been a good road team all season and we do a good job playing a simple game on the road and it’s a building we feel comfortable playing in,” said defenseman Brian Lashoff. “They are a really good team with size up front, great goaltending and special teams.”

Lashoff added that depth and execution on special teams could also help the Griffins in the series.

The Griffins finished the season on a roll at 9-1-1-1 in the final 12 games. The team played better on the road (22-10-1-5) and don’t feel stressed with the first two games at Manitoba.

“Feels like we are the underdogs and have something to prove,” Colin Campbell said after a three-goal night. “Physically we are a little worn out, but we have two days off here in a row. Everyone will be ready for them.”

Streitel continues, and Lashoff appeared on WOOD TV’s Sports Overtime with Larry Figurski on Sunday night:

 

MLive’s Ansar Khan filed a locker room clean-out day article regarding Martin Frk, discussing Frk’s desire to maximize his ice time by scoring more goals next season:

“I wish I scored more goals,” Frk said. “I was having kind of bad stretches. It’s a hard league and I got to find a way to be better with that. You’re also playing with great players on the power play. I learned a lot and I bet I will learn a lot in this league when I play more games.”

The right-shooting Frk’s booming one-timer was a weapon on the power play (five goals). His challenge is finding ways to score at even strength. He occasionally played on a top-two line but spent a lot of time on the fourth line. He averaged 10:17 in ice time, the lowest among regular forwards.

“There’s no way to have enough ice time for everybody if you want your better players in that 18-20 (minute) range,” Blashill said. “Someone’s going to get cut in ice time.

“As a group we got to find a way to score more goals. If we’re not able to score at elite levels with our top two lines, then we got to make sure we outscore teams in our bottom two lines, so certainly Marty would fit into that as well.”

Preventing goals also is important for Frk. His minus-14 was tied for the second-worst on the team.

“Blash is really strict and he wants the players to work on both sides of the ice,” Frk said. “It’s definitely a little bit different for me. I’m trying to be as good offensively and defensive side. Especially on that fourth line you don’t want the line to score against you.”

Khan continues, and he posted a video of Frk’s locker room clean-out day remarks:

I believe that Frk can be utilized as an asset in a scoring/checking role, but Frk’s going to have to improve his defensive play and skating to work his way off the fourth line.

Frk happens to have left Detroit on Sunday, so he said, “Goodbye” on Twitter and Instagram:

Until next time hockeytown ✌? Thank you Detroit for an unforgettable first season. It was a privilege to play for the Detroit fans, the Red Wings organization and staff, and with great teammates. ??pic.twitter.com/jaLWpxZNSo

— Martin Frk (@Frky91) April 15, 2018

 

Of playoff-related prospect note:

In the OHL, Givani Smith scored 2 goals, finishing at +2 with 3 shots as his Kitchener Rangers won 6-2 over the Sarnia Sting. You can watch highlights of the game here.

Kitchener won the teams’ second-round series in 6 games, and Kitchener advances to one of two OHL Conference Finals;

Kitchener will play against the winner of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds-Owen Sound Attack series, and Jordan Sambrook’s Greyhounds are in trouble.

Sambrook finished at -2 with 1 shot as Sault Ste. Marie lost 7-1 to Owen Sound, which now leads the teams’ second-round series 3 games to 2, tying the second-round series at 3 games apiece. You can watch highlights of the game here.

A bit of a bummer here as Matej Machovsky didn’t have the patience to stick around and earn a spot. From the Grand Rapids Griffins:

GRIFFINS ANNOUNCE ROSTER TRANSACTIONS

In the ECHL, in playoff action, the Toledo Walleye both rallied from a 1-0 deficit and fought of a late scare, scoring 3 straight goals en route to a 4-3 victory over the Indy Fuel.

Christian Hilbrich scored 2 goals, Tyler Barnes had 3 assists, Kyle Bonis had 2 assists and Pat Nagle stopped 29 of 32 shots as the Walleye took a 2 games-to-none lead over the Fuel.

The Walleye’s website posted a recap:

Continue reading Toledo Walleye take 2 games-to-none lead over Indy Fuel, winning 4-3

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a locker room clean-out day article regarding Andreas Athanasiou, duly noting that Athanasiou’s inconsistency clouds the restricted free agent’s future in Detroit:

“This is one of the greatest organizations in the NHL,” Athanasiou said. “If I get the opportunity to play here, it’s unbelievable. The main thing is trying to get this team back to a playoff position, so you’re a contender for the Stanley Cup.”

The opportunity to play more has been an issue for two seasons. Athanasiou saw his ice time slightly increase this season (15 minutes, 19 seconds, from 13:28 last year), but the inconsistency of playing time mirrored his production and overall play.

After a good start to his season, especially coming off a contract holdout (17 points in 31 games), Athanasiou struggled mightily the second half of the season (16 points in 40 games). Athanasiou also had a team-worst minus-15 plus-minus rating.

“You have to be ready; it’s that type of business you’re in,” Athanasiou said. “Whether it’s nine minutes, or 10 or 15, or 20, you have to be to try to do the best you can. Obviously you want to play a lot, and if I do play, I think can produce more and give the team a better chance of winning.

“(But) there are a lot of guys in this room that have to play. There’s a lot of things that go (into it) and you can’t really look to much into it. Whatever line combination (coach Jeff Blashill) puts out there, he’s trying to win hockey games. You have to respect that and be ready with whatever you got.”

Kulfan continues, and I’d peg the chances of Athanasiou being a Red Wing next fall at 60/40 “for.”

He and the coach disagree regarding the concept that ice time should be awarded based upon performance (or vice versa), and there really are games that Athanasiou dominates, and then stretches in which he disappears.

From the ECHL:

Indy’s Garrett Clake has been suspended for one game and fined an undisclosed amount under Rule #28 – Supplementary Discipline. Clarke was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for charging under Rule #42.5 at 16:57 of the first period.

Toledo’s Connor Crisp has been suspended for one game and fined an undisclosed amount under Rule #28 – Supplementary Discipline. Crisp was assessed a match penalty for fighting under #46.15 at 16:57 of the first period.

Both players will miss Sunday’s playoff game at Toledo.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the ECHL and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association, player fines collected by the ECHL are given to the PHPA for its ECHL Player’s Hardship Fund.

Per the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe:

Walleye F Connor Crisp has been suspended 1 game by the ECHL for his actions in Friday’s game. Indy’s Garrett Clarke also has been suspended for 1 game. Both won’t play in today’s Game 2 of the Central Division semis. Crisp punched Clarke, who boarded Toledo’s Christian Hilbrich.

— Mark Monroe (@MonroeBlade) April 15, 2018

 

Last week, Anthony Mantha told DetroitRedWings.com’s Arthur J. Regner and other media scribes that coach Jeff Blashill encouraged #39 to seek out a boxing coach this summer.

This afternoon, Hockeybuzz’s Bob Duff delivers a superb quote regarding the rationale behind Blashill’s suggestion:

“Greg Cronin, the assistant (coach) for the Islanders actually told me about it a long time ago,” Blashill said of boxing as a hockey training tool. “It teaches people how to handle fear. Not fear of getting hit necessarily but fear of life and overcoming that, and not having any fear at all. But I also think it brings out aggression.

“I think with Anthony, I just want him to continue to see that there’s more there in terms of pushing himself beyond his comfort level. I’m hoping that in summer training he can push himself beyond his comfort level. If he comes back and has the same year next year that he had this year, not good enough.

“We need guys to make significant steps. There’s teams in this league that last year were out (of the playoffs) and this year are in, and if you look at it, certain individual players made real significant steps. That’s what we need from guys that have that biggest area of growth.”

Duff continues, and I hope that the coaching staff and front office take Blashill’s words to heart. It wouldn’t hurt if some of the veterans push themselves to take “significant steps” forward, either.

Red Wings prospect Filip Hronek scored a goal and added 3 assists in last night’s Grand Rapids Griffins win over Cleveland, and the Grand Rapids Press’s Peter J. Wallner discussed Hronek’s potential:

He potentially gives the organization a productive offensive-minded blueliner that’s been missing since Niklas Kronwall in the mid-2010s. Kronwall was the Red Wings’ second leading scorer in 2013-14 (8-41-49) and was effective the following year as well (9-35-44). Since, Mike Green had led the team the past three seasons with a high of 36 points (14-22-36) in 2016-17.

Hronek, who tacked up 14 goals and 61 points in 59 games in juniors with the Saginaw Spirit in 2016-17, has made the most of his production this season. His 11 goals have included three on the power play and four game-winners. He was also two of six in shootouts.

“I give him all the latitude possible to play offensive as long as he’s responsible on the right side of the puck and making the right reads,” coach Todd Nelson said. “I’m got going to stifle anyone’s creativity especially someone like him.”

Wallner continues…

 

I’ve heard this rumor very quietly but very persistently proffered by both Wings scribes and others, and it’s worth noting not so much to make you or I dream of an unrealistic scenario, but as to note that it continues to make the rounds.

Newsday’s Andrew Gross penned an article handicapping the sweepstakes for New York Islanders captain John Tavares, should he not re-sign with the Isles, and Gross mentions a familiar destination as a possible landing spot:

Put another way, which team wouldn’t want Tavares? However, Tavares’ salary cap hit, his presumed preference for being as low key as possible and his stated desire to play for a winner would seem to eliminate some destinations. The Sharks, always in the playoff hunt, seem like a logical landing spot as a Joe Thornton replacement. The chance to play with Vladimir Tarasenko with the Blues may also be very attractive. The expansion Vegas Golden Knights are doing pretty well so far but, based on how far they get in the playoffs, could envision Tavares as a final piece to a Stanley Cup team. The Red Wings are likely to be active bidders as well and the Canucks, losing Henrik and Daniel Sedin to retirement may try to woo Tavares also.

Gross continues…

And I would suggest that the Red Wings are a long shot in terms of landing Tavares, both cap-wise (the Wings have some cap space, but when you add up the costs of re-signing Andreas Athanasiou, Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha, signing a back-up goalie, and the high probability of the Wings retaining Mike Green, and that cap space disappears in a hurry) and in terms of what the Wings have to offer…

But this rumor has stuck around, as an undercurrent of sorts, prior to last July, and I’ve learned to discount lesser persistent rumors (see: Mike Green, Frans Nielsen, Stephen Weiss and even Luke Witkowski coming to Detroit) at my peril.

You should know by now that I don’t like to stir shit up to stir shit up, and I don’t want you to start dreaming of “JT” having to change his number come July 1st, but this is a legitimate possibility, as improbable as it might be.