Milwaukee Ready for Central Division Semifinal Battle Against Manitoba

Mark your calendars - playoff hockey is nearly here.
No, not in Nashville, but in Milwaukee as the Predators' AHL-affiliate Admirals look for their second consecutive Central Division Semifinal win over the Manitoba Moose - and then some.
With the action starting Friday at Winnipeg's Canada Life Centre, the Ads received a Calder Cup Playoffs care package from their big brother in Music City
containing nine of their previously called-up players.
Speaking after a team practice late last week, Head Coach Karl Taylor said the influx of talent has led to something of a "storming phase," with each of the returning players battling for key spots among the team's modified March-April roster.
"It is a challenge, but we'll accept that challenge every day of the week," Taylor said. "Most of them have spent a really long time of the season with us, and have basically been full-time Milwaukee Admirals… So it's an easier fit because they've already been with us for 40 to 50 games. They understand how this stuff works. They understand Milwaukee, understand the city, and all those things. So it's a challenge, but we accept it and we're excited to find the correct combinations to make sure that on Friday we start the right way for Game One."

That group of nine included offensive firepower like Luke Evangelista, Philip Tomasino, Kiefer Sherwood and Egor Afanasyev, as well as veteran leaders like Zach Sanford and Kevin Gravel.
With each of those players skating together and finding success in meaningful games late in Nashville's season, expectations are high for some of that momentum to carry on in Milwaukee.
"They're coming back with lots of really positive energy," Taylor said. "One, from their experience and two, from staying for an extended period of time in the NHL, and three, they all performed very well. So they're coming back confident and feeling good. And from what I can tell, they're excited to help us dive in and be a big part of our culture and our cup drive."
Despite losing those players down the stretch, Milwaukee kept pace in the standings and finished second in the Central Division - five points ahead of their postseason foe.
"I think overall the credit goes to the players," Taylor said. "We found a few guys at the deadline] and then found some guys on PTOs that we needed. And all the players dug in. We had a very hungry group. There were people on second chances from other organizations trying to get some stability and get their feet on the ground. And there were call-up guys from the ECHL, where guys are very desperate for new opportunities… In the end, the guys really bought in and the coaching staff dug in and coached the players that we had here, and obviously both goalies played very well and hid some of the warts that we had as we went through that process."
As a result of their hard work, the second-placed Ads got to choose between starting the first two of their best-of-five series at home or on the road.
Finishing the regular season with the third-best road record in the league, Milwaukee opted to play the numbers in their favor, and will play games one and two at Manitoba before returning to their home crowd at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena for games three, four and five.
With the goal to steal at least one on the road before returning home to capture the remaining two, Milwaukee's three wins at home and one at Manitoba in their eight-game regular season series adds another stamp of confidence to the plan.
Though as the old adage goes, anything can happen in the postseason, and the Admirals will need to rely on more than just probability to push them through to the next round - especially against a hard-nosed opponent like Manitoba.
"They're a good team," Taylor said. "I know their coaching staff well, and they know us well. They know how we're going to play and we know how they're going to play. Obviously, we played in the playoffs last year and went the distance… But I would anticipate this being a close series. I would also anticipate it being a physical, heavy series. They're a team that likes to play in the O-zone. They like to grind a little bit. And for us to have success, we're going to have to have some clean exits, get out of our zone as soon as we can and not allow them to play to their strengths."
"They're a big, heavy team," Evangelista said. "They like to filter pucks to the net and they've got some D-men on the back end that contribute a lot offensively. So I think if we're able to work against what they like to do and their tendencies, then we'll find success."
The action begins Friday, April 28 as the Ads take on the Moose at Winnipeg's Canada Life Centre at 7 p.m. CT. Fans can tune in to postseason action by
[purchasing an AHLTV Playoffs All-Access subscription
or by following the

.
Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Admirals.