The AHL Western Conference Playoff Preview kicks off the last professional league to begin their postseason. As a reminder, the AHL seeds the teams based on winning percentage, not points. A primer on the interesting rankings is found here.
AHL Western Conference Playoff Preview
Ontario Reign vs. San Jose Barracuda
The mirror image of the NHL series but at the AHL level. The two teams are well acquainted having played 12 games this year. The Reign won the season series 6-3-3-0. Both teams won three games at home. San Jose had the lowest number of points among playoff teams with only 73.
The experienced and dependable Peter Budaj will get the starts in net for the Ontario Reign. Budaj, the AHL’s top goaltender, enjoyed a stellar campaign featuring a 1.75 goals against average and .932 save percentage in 60 appearances. Budaj has been able to cover many mistakes for a decent Reign blueline that does not skate as well as some other squads. San Jose can exploit a Reign defense that is big and physical but struggles if the game is not north/south. Adrian Kempe has not had the consistent year the Kings likely were hoping for out of the talented Swede. Sean Backman led the Reign with 55 points. Michael Mersch was the leading goal getter with 24 but is prone to lax defensive play as well.
San Jose has been a scrappy team with a variety of players on the blueline that coach Roy Sommer has magically made into a professional level group. Joakim Ryan is the leading defensive scorer, but prone to defensive lapses. Mirco Mueller is still with the club and has been more solid in the defensive zone and less predictable since the All-Star break. Goalie Aaron Dell won the starting late in the season and has run with the opportunity. Ryan Carpenter was the Barracuda’s most consistent forward and leading scorer with 55 points. Nikolay Goldobin turned his season around beginning in February when the AHL game seemingly started to click for him. His effectiveness down the stretch run was key for the ‘Cuda and will be if San Jose hopes to get to Budaj.
Last Word on the Series: Reign in five games.
Lake Erie Monsters vs. Rockford Ice Hogs
Home ice has been a huge advantage during the regular season series between Lake Erie and Rockford. The two split the season series 4-4 with the road team losing in every contest. Lake Erie has the lowest shooting percentage of all playoff teams.
With the Columbus Blue Jackets returning a number of AHL-eligible talents to the Monsters, the talent pool deepens considerably. Oliver Bjorkstrand, Sonny Milano, and Kerby Rychel all saw time with the parent club and are skilled offensively. Bjorkstrand, in particular, seemed to have his game round into form after a shoulder injury early in his first professional year. Well-rounded forward Daniel Zaar was the Monsters leading goal scorer with 21 and a player to remember for the future for Columbus and could be another late round steal. Anton Forsberg, Joonas Korpisalo, and veteran Bran Thiessen all provided solid goaltending for the Monsters, but Thiessen is likely the odd man out in the playoffs.
Vincent Hinostroza is one of the few promising youngsters not up with Chicago and his 51 points in 66 games leads the Ice Hogs. Ville Pokka continues to develop his game and in his second season with the Ice Hogs was the top scoring defenseman with 45 points. There will not be much help for Pokka, as no other defender had more than 15 points on the year. The goaltender tandem of Mac Carruth and Michael Leighton provide steady play in net. While the Ice Hogs play well as a team, there is not much talent left in the cupboard. Rockford has many players with AHL experience in its line-up who will play hard and heavy but ultimately the well is finally starting to run dry for the Blackhawks farm club.
Last Word on the Series: Monsters in four games.
San Diego Gulls vs. Texas Stars
The Gulls do not want to mess with Texas but will give it a shot in their semifinal match-up. The Stars owned the Gulls during the regular season winning five of the six games the two teams played. The Stars also scored five or more goals in each of those wins. Both teams will want to keep out of the penalty box: The Gulls had the third best power play in the AHL, the Stars finished right behind them in fourth.
The Stars defense boasts a heavily European flavor. Esa Lindell, Julius Honka, and Ludwig Bystrom have been with Texas all year and have played big minutes in all situations for the Stars. Niklas Hansson signed less than a month ago from the Swedish Elite League joins Finn Mattias Backman on defense as well. Both Honka and Lindell recorded over 40 points from the blueline. Four Stars forwards have more than 50 points this year. Brenden Ranford led the squad with 59 points including a team-high of 40 assists. Curtis McMenzie was the Stars leading goal scorer (24) and leader in penalty minutes (120). Matej Stransky also potted 23 goals for Texas as well.
San Diego also has impressive blueliners. The most talented, Shea Theodore, is currently playing for the parent club in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and his absence will be evident. Offensive defenseman Brandon Montour will move the puck from the backend for the Gulls. Montour is another defenseman that is more of a Brent Burns/Dustin Bufgalin-type player. Montour’s 57 points were tied for the team scoring lead with forward Chris Mueller. The Gulls line-up features plenty of physical play, but not much in terms of offensive talent.
Last Word on the Series: Stars in four games.
Milwaukee Admirals vs. Grand Rapids Griffins
Home ice was an advantage in the season series with seven of the eight games were won by the home team. The Griffins won five of the eight regular season meetings against Milwaukee. Interesting side-note: the Admirals are the youngest team in the AHL playoffs, and the Griffins are the oldest according to Eliteprospects.com.
Milwaukee has received excellent goaltending from Juuse Saros. Saros has turned heads with a .920 save percentage in the AHL as a 20-year-old rookie. Saros was a fourth-round draft pick in 2013 and competing in his first year in North America. He has split starts with Marek Mazanec, who with a .912 is more than competent should Saros falter. Kevin Fiala led the Admirals with 50 points but also posted team-worst -19 plus/minus rating. Max Gortz, also in his first year in North America is a big-bodied winger and was right behind Fiala with 47 points, including 18 goals. Potus Aberg’s 25 goals led the Admirals.
Goaltending will not be an issue for the Griffins either. Tom McCollum and Jared Coreau were nearly identical statistically and posted a .923 save percentage between them. Coreau played the lion’s share of games, and the team won at a higher clip with him between the pipes. Coreau also posted six shutouts. Robby Russo played in 71 games, recoded 39 points and was a +40 in his first professional year. Offensively, Andy Miele, Eric Tangradi, and Mark Zengerle are likely no longer considered NHL talents but continue to post solid AHL numbers and help make the Griffins offense a handful.
Last Word on the Series: Griffins in five games.
The Eastern Conference can be found here.
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