Aussie_Wing

Ohhh that's right, real shame as he had been playing great, possbly even our best defenceman. Well done Downey.

Lose this game and I'll become real worried about the series, win it and I'll be very confident we'll get the job done. Huge, huge game, c'mon Wings, get the job done! Can't see the point in playing Chelios given he received 6 or so minutes in a 3OT game, why bother dressing him? Why did we even re-sign him again? Let's not get into that now.

Kid has freakish talent but I'm real worried nothing significant will ever become of it. He's our best offensive prospect in terms of pure offensive ability but I fear for his future with the Wings sometimes. Hopefully he comes over for training camp and does all the right things on and off the ice.

I really, really rate this kid. For all I care Howard can be moved on at seasons end, don't see him in our future plans. I do with this kid.

Why the heck wouldn't Lashoff play? Surely he was injured and not a healthy scratch, he's been great. Kindl put up 5 shots, very good effort by Jakub. Good to see he wasn't a minus either, and would've been a plus if not for the empty net goal. I feel for the Griffins, had a great season but things haven't gone their way of late. Losing Oulahen was a massive blow, and McGrath hasn't been on the ice for a while now which really hurt the secondary scoring meaning we've essentially become a one line team. Ritola is playing but way off 100% and losing Ericsson and Helm were huge blows. They've played alright against Manitoba, lost 2-1, 2-1 and 3-1 but with an empty net. All games have been close, just needed a bit of luck. I've virtually given up but while there's life there's hope...

Great win! Awesome finish, Lids what a champion.

Being outshot 13-3 after 1 period but... 1. GR Pare, (1) (Jozsa, Mursak), 18:04 Mursak wasn't even on the playoff roster not long ago and now he seems to be a permanent part of the team.

Thanks Mac for all the hard work. DET/ANA 4-2 VAN/CHI 4-1 BOS/CAR 4-2 WSH/PIT 4-2

The equation is simple, Grand Rapids win and they win the series, Hamilton win and they force a Game 7. Hopefully the Griffins will continue their good form from the previous game and will finish the series tonight. Cmon lads, lets advance tonight!

Great work Griffins! I thought they might have blown their chances when the series got back level and with the inclusion of some quality players to Hamilton but they really put in two fine performances to close it out. Howard came up big in the last two games and Abdelkader and Leino continue to amaze. Both should be in the NHL. Leino has 12 points, Haydar 11 and Abs has 6 goals and 8 points. Really pleased for them!

4-1 Griffins! 1. GR Galvin, (1) (Kindl, Andersson), 8:00 (PP) 1. GR Kindl, (1) (Pare, Galvin), 15:07 2. GR Haydar, (2) (Stafford, Leino), 11:11 (PP) 3. GR Haydar, (3) (Leino, Jozsa), 7:17 Good to see Kindl amongst the goals, and 3rd star. He needed that after a couple of rough outings. the Griffins limited Hamilton to a mere 15 shots, now that is what I call defence. 34 shots to 15 is extremely encouraging. And things got ugly at the end... 3 - HAM Stewart, 19:41 - Fighting , 5 min 3 - GR Downey, 19:41 - Roughing , 2 min (PP) 3 - GR Downey, 19:41 - Fighting , 5 min 3 - HAM Weber, 19:48 - Misconduct - Unsportsmanlike conduct (75.4), 10 min 3 - HAM White, 19:48 - Fighting , 5 min 3 - GR Kolosov, 19:48 - Fighting , 5 min 3 - HAM Belle, 19:57 - Roughing , 2 min (PP) 3 - HAM Belle, 19:57 - Misconduct - Unsportsmanlike conduct (75.4), 10 min 3 - HAM Trotter, 19:57 - Fighting , 5 min 3 - GR Jozsa, 19:57 - Fighting , 5 min

From Griffins Central...

Abdelkader will be in Grand Rapids next season, Helm 50/50 but no way will Leino. He'll be back in Finland before he is playing for the Griffins again. He's served his time in the minor league, Detroit knows they've got a beauty here, they won't let him leave. He'll be a Red Wing next season serving as a replacement for Samuelsson.

I can't help but get the feeling he is extremely underrated. He is an exceptionally good prospect, there is definitely top 6 potential in him. I like this kid more after each day. What a gem!

GAME 4: Hamilton Bulldogs @ Grand Rapids Griffins @ Tonight's result will go a long way towards determining who advances in this series. The Griffins still have the upper hand with a 2-1 lead and with 2 games to come at home but they would be best advised to finish off the series now before Hamilton possibly obtain a few quality players from Montreal. The Griffins lost their first home playoff game 5-4 and saw their series lead halved. Dick Axelsson's absence from the line-up is somewhat of a mystery as he appears to be over his finger injury and yet he has been out of the line-up for the first three games. Whether he plays tonight remains to be seen. Jimmy Howard will be hoping for a stronger performance in net and he'll be hoping to receive greater support from his defence. Tonight is a must win and I get the feeling whoever takes this game will win the series. Possible line-up: Leino - Abdelkader - Haydar Ritola - Andersson - McCarty Lemieux - Pare - Tardif Axelsson (?) - Gagnon - Downey Stafford - Lashoff Galvin - Kindl Kolosov - Josza Howard Larsson Playoff Leaders: Goals: Abdelkader (4), McCarty, Leino (2) Assists: Haydar (5), Leino (4) Points: Abdelkader, Leino, Haydar (6) PIM: McCarty (6), 4 tied (4) Plus/Minus: Abdelkader, Leino, Haydar (3)

Pare and Lemieux are doing nothing, they badly need McGrath alongside. That line was ridiculously hot there for a while, we need them back together. Although to be fair, scoring is not the issue, the defence and goaltending is. I understand Howard isn't getting much support but his last few games haven't been stellar either. I hope the Wings aren't expecting much from him in the future, his inconsistency is a major flaw.

Gee that didn't take long, Hamilton win in OT. Series in real danger now, losing two straight at home is a disaster.

That's very disappointing, blowing a 3-0 3rd period lead and now we're going to OT. 3 consecutive goals? We need this win, losing two straight at home would be bad enough but especially conceding 4 straight goals to lose a game.

GAME 3: Hamilton Bulldogs @ Grand Rapids Griffins @ The series shifts to Van Andel Arena as Hamilton are on the road to battle the Griffins who have a commanding 2-0 series lead after a pair of wins on the road. Grand Rapids won Game 1 4-3 and followed it up by a 3-1 win. Jimmy Howard has been stellar in net and the defence has provided a lot of timely help. Rookie Justin Abdelkader has 5 points in 2 games and each and every point has come in the 3rd period. Justin is once again showing his ability to be a clutch performer. The next three games are scheduled at Van Andel Arena so the Griffins have a huge oppertunity to finish the series at home. A win tonight would all but guarantee victory but they will need to be focussed and play as well as they have the past two games. Possible line-up: Leino - Abdelkader - Haydar McCarty - Andersson - Ritola Pare - Gagnon - Lemieux Downey - Emmerton - Tardif Stafford - Lashoff Galvin - Kindl Kolosov - Josza Howard Larsson Playoff Leaders: Goals: Abdelkader (3), 4 tied (1) Assists: Leino (3), Abdelkader, Haydar, Ritola (2) Points: Abdelkader (5), Leino (4) PIM: McCarty, Tardif (4) Plus/Minus: Abdelkader, Leino (3)

Disappointing, conceding 5 goals is just too much. Looks like we have a real good player on our hands in Lashoff though, and Leino continues to put up the points as does Abdelkader. Defence will need to improve on that performance. Still got a series lead but we must win the next game.

GAME 2: Grand Rapids Griffins @ Hamilton Bulldogs @ The Griffins are again on the road to take on the Hamilton Bulldogs for the second time in as many nights in their playoff battle. The Griffins secured a key 4-3 road victory last night to take a 1-0 lead in the series. The Griffins recieved offensive boost from rookie Justin Abdelkader who tallied a goal and an assist and Ville Leino who chipped in with 2 assists. Veteran Darren McCarty also had a 2 point night. The defence will need to be as sharp as they were last night if the Griffins are to have any chance of securing a 2-0 lead. Jimmy Howard had a strong outing in net and the defence played solid hockey throughout. Joakim Andersson score his first AHL goal and the line of McCarty-Andersson-Ritola worked well as they accounted for two first period goals. Hamilton will come out firing tonight and will be desperate on leveling the series. They will be know the significance of the game as falling behind by two games with 3 consecutive games to be played in Grand Rapids would be costly. The Griffins on the other hand have a huge oppertunity to take a commanding lead. Possible line-up: Leino - Abdelkader - Haydar McCarty - Andersson - Ritola Pare - Gagnon - Lemieux Downey - Emmerton - Tardif Stafford - Lashoff Galvin - Kindl Kolosov - Josza Howard Larsson Playoff Leaders: Goals: Haydar, Abdelkader, Andersson, McCarty (1) Assists: Leino (2) Points: Abdelkader, McCarty, Leino (2) PIM: Kolosov, Tardif (2) Plus/Minus: 6 tied (1)

Once again, wow, what a performance by the Griffins! Trailing going into the third only to score 3 goals to take a 2-0 series lead! Abdelkader 5 points in 2 games, Leino with 4. These guys could be playing for the Wings right now.

GAME 1: Grand Rapids Griffins @ Hamilton Bulldogs @ The Griffins begin their playoff campaign tomorrow with a trip to Hamilton to take on the surging Bulldogs. Dick Axelsson signed an ATO with Griffins and is expected to be in the line-up tonight. For comparisons sake, Hamilton scored 263 goals in the regular seasonand conceded 201, while the Griffins scored 255 and gave up 226. The Griffins were once challenging for the top spot in the league but after a very poor latter half of the season they finished 8th overall. Injuries to key players and call-ups to the Wings cost them down the stretch. McGrath and Tardif are likely to miss tonight while Ryan Oulahen is out for the season. But with talents like Axlesson, Andersson and Lashoff recently signing big things could be in store. They do have a lot of rookies in the line-up though and how they perform will reflect on the teams performance. Good luck Griffins, lets steal one on the road! Possible line-up: Leino - Abdelkader - Haydar McCarty - Gagnon - Ritola Axelsson - Pare - Lemieux Mursak - Andersson - Emmerton Stafford - Lashoff Galvin - Kindl Kolosov - Peterson Howard Pearce Regular Season Leaders: Goals: Haydar (31), Abdelkader, Pare (24) Assists: Haydar (49), Stafford (34) Points: Haydar (80), Abdelkader (52) PIM: Downey (126), Abdelkader (102) Plus/Minus: Pare (23), 3 tied (12)

Wow! Did not expect them to win! That is an absolutely fantastic result for the young Griffins team. Real pleased to see Andersson get a goal which will do wonders for his confidence. Abdelkader is just a very, very good hockey player and starts out his pro playoff career with a goal and assist. I don't expect them to win Game 2 but at least they took one on the road. Great start Griffins!

Ericsson??? What a star!