Detroit — It didn’t start the way the Grand Rapids Griffins wanted, but it ended up just fine.
The Red Wings’ minor league affiliate opened the American League playoffs with a 1-0 shutout loss in Manitoba, not exactly the way the regular-season powerhouse Griffins had drawn things up.
But Grand Rapids recovered to win three consecutive games and capture the best-of-five series, 3-1. The Griffins advanced to the AHL Central Division Finals, beginning Thursday in Grand Rapids, against the Chicago Wolves.
“Very hard series,” said Eduards Tralmaks, whose power-play goal in Game 4 got the Griffins rolling. “We’ve seen the other upsets in the other divisions. It’s just great to get that first series out of the way.”
The Griffins scored three power-play goals in Game 4’s 5-2 victory over Manitoba, with Tralmaks, Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Carter Mazur (two goals and an assist) each netting one. Goaltender Michal Postava stopped 86 of 91 shots in the four games, taking hold of the goaltending position.
After the Game 1 upset loss, the Griffins showed the mettle that helped them win 51 of 72 games during the regular season.
“This group is very resilient,” Tralmaks said. “We play for each other. Special teams were huge (in the first round). Special teams will be a big part of the game if we want to win it all.”
The Griffins’ reward for advancing is facing the second-seeded Wolves, the Carolina Hurricanes’ affiliate who play a similar fast, aggressive, in-your-face style the Hurricanes play.
Grand Rapids won the season series over the Wolves, 6-3-1, but five of the games went past regulation time.
“They’re a dangerous team,” Griffins coach Dan Watson said. “They can score goals and they’re right on top of you. They skate extremely well. Great goaltending. They’re a deep team. We expect another hard-fought battle with that team.
“Our record is what it is against that team, but every game was hard and tight.”
Postava, who posted a 1.25 goals-against average and .945 save percentage against Manitoba, gives the Griffins the knowledge they possess a hot goaltender. Watson turned to Postava, a Czech undrafted free agent, instead of former Wings’ first-round pick Sebastian Cossa, to begin the playoffs and was rewarded for his decision.
Tralmaks played against Postava in the Czech pro league last season and didn’t find out until late last summer that both players would be in Grand Rapids. Tralmaks isn’t surprised by Postava’s success.
“Back then I knew he was a special guy,” Tralmaks said. “I didn’t know he was going to be my teammate (in Grand Rapids). This guy will play in the NHL for a long time. He’s going to be a big-time player in the future.”
Another important future Red Wing could be Sandin-Pellikka, who has been one of the Griffins’ steadiest defensemen since being reassigned by the Wings late in the NHL season.
Sandin-Pellikka made the Wings roster out of opening night, but his defensive growing pains led the team to acquire defenseman Justin Faulk at the trade deadline. The Wings eventually sent Sandin-Pellikka to the bench, and then the AHL.
But the AHL playoffs are proving to be a positive learning experience for Sandin-Pellikka.
“It never hurts to get more games over here and just work on defense, work on offense, play to the best of my abilities and get better as a hockey player,” Sandin-Pellikka said. “But my main focus and everyone’s focus here is to go all the way.”
Sandin-Pellikka won a professional championship in Sweden playing for Skelleftea in 2024.
“It’s so fun to win and I’ve been on a winning team before and know it’s hard and a very fun ride when you do it all the way,” Sandin-Pellikka said.
Another pair of Wings prospects, Mazur (four goals) and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (two goals), had impressive first rounds for the Griffins.
“We have a strong, physical team,” said Brandsegg-Nygard, mentioning another Griffins strength. “We have big guys who aren’t afraid going into battles. It’s a big, tough team and tough to play against. It’s in our favor, that part (physicality) of the game.”
Grand Rapids Griffins vs. Chicago Wolves
Playoffs: AHL Central Division Finals, best-of-five series
Season series: Grand Rapids (51-16-5, 107 points) was 6-3-1 vs. Chicago (36-21-15, 87 points)
TV/radio: AHL-TV/WOOD 106.9 FM
SERIES SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES EASTERN)
Game 1: at Grand Rapids, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Game 2: at Grand Rapids, Saturday, 7 p.m.
Game 3: at Chicago, Tuesday, 8 p.m.
Game 4 (if necessary): at Chicago, Thursday, May 21, 8 p.m.
Game 5 (if necessary): at Grand Rapids, Saturday, May 23, 7 p.m.
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
@tkulfan
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Resilient Griffins ready for next playoff step after tough first round
Reporting by Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
