Griffins begin defense of Calder Cup championship Saturday

The Grand Rapids Griffins had to fight to make the AHL's Calder Cup playoffs and they know it will be an equally difficult battle to defend their title.
On Dec. 21, the Griffins were five games under .500 at 10-15-1-3 and in seventh place in the Central Division, 23 points behind the first-place Manitoba Moose.

"Definitely there was a Calder Cup hangover," Griffins coach Todd Nelson said on The Red and White Authority podcast on DetroitRedWings.com. "I think at the start of the year, the first two months we were trying to win games easy, not paying the price. Just stuff like that, not playing the game the right way, trying to take the easy way out. You pretty much expect that after a championship run but I didn't expect it to last so long. But a few things happened. We were a bit banged up, we had guys out with injury, and at the middle of December we started to get guys back, they were healthy. Because during that span Ben Street was hurt, (Eric) Tangradi was hurt, (Matt) Puempel was hurt, key players to our offense. With that being said, right after that 21st game in Chicago, we lost, I think we were up in the game 3-0 and we lost, it was a tough pill for us to swallow."
Griffins captain Matthew Ford said he didn't believe in a Calder Cup hangover until he experienced it himself.
"You don't think that thing kind of exists, you don't think it's going to happen to you," Ford said on The Red and White Authority podcast. "You know what, at the beginning of this year, we just weren't the same team that we were last year. We weren't playing the right way, we were trying to win games the easy way, we weren't putting in the work to have the success we needed. We were five games below .500 and we were one of the lowest teams in the American Hockey League. Not only Nellie, but as a group we looked at ourselves and we said we were wasting time, we were running out of time and if we kind of didn't grab the bull by the horns, so to say, we were going to run out of time to make playoffs and put ourselves in a position, just give ourselves a chance. We kind of talked about, you just got to make playoffs, you don't need to be the No. 1 seed, you don't need to (have) home ice, that wasn't the worry, it was just getting in. Just kind of as a group, we strapped on our boots and if you look at the way we played, we found ways to win rather than finding ways to lose than we did in the first half."
The Griffins went on a 32-10-1-4 run while the Moose went 20-21-3-2, enabling the Griffins to pass them in the standings.
Nelson said the Christmas break came at just the right time for the Griffins.
"I think guys were able to go home, clear their heads and when they came back, it was like a different team came back," Nelson said. "They were rejuvenated, they were excited to get things going. I think everybody realized that we have to make our move right now. From that point forward right after Christmas, we started to go on this tear and I think it was just business as usual once we started winning games consistently. I think guys grew with more confidence, I think the players were understanding the system better, it's just everything kind of came into play. It was a situation where I felt pretty comfortable after Christmas because I'd been through this before but when we came back, the message was now it's go time and the guys all realized that."
The challenge for the Griffins isn't just the Moose, it's the five-game series in the first round.
Even though the Griffins have home-ice advantage, they are forced to start on the road for the first two games this Saturday and Sunday.
"If we go into Manitoba and win two games, I like our chances playing for the division title," Nelson said. "If we go there and drop two games, all of a sudden now we have to run the table at home. It's a situation where it's scary for coaches and players but we just got to make sure we come out Saturday and play a solid playoff game."
Ford agreed with Nelson that he would prefer a seven-game series.
"You have to go there and win," Ford said. "You can't come back, if you lose home-ice advantage losing two there, you're going to have to win three in a row back home. It's tough. I'd say it's probably one of the toughest series."
Fortunately for the Griffins, not only did they have an excellent road record at 22-10-1-5, they were 4-0 in Manitoba.
"We've had some success playing there this season," Ford said. "We definitely need to win at least one. They're a good hockey team, if you look at the middle of the year, they're in first place by a huge stretch and they had some guys called up and some injuries, but they seem to be getting their guys back and they have goaltending now, it's going to be a series, it's going to be tough."
Jared Coreau won the AHL Goaltender of the Month for February in part because of back-to-back shutouts he recorded at Manitoba Feb. 15 and 17.
Coreau has not allowed a goal at Bell MTS Place since :53 of the first period on Jan. 10, so his shutout streak there is 178:51.
"Right now I'm in a bit of a pickle," Nelson said. "Jared went up to Detroit and didn't play as much as he was down here and when he left us, he was the goalie of the month in February. Then he went up there and he didn't play as much and a guy like Jared has to be playing quite a bit so he's not as sharp as he was when he went up. Then I have Tommy McCollum, who's been playing the best hockey of his season. I'm going to have to tip my hat to who's starting in Game 1 and I know what Jared's stats are like against Manitoba, but at least I have a few more nights to sleep on it to see who I'm starting on Saturday."
Nelson also has a challenge in that he will be missing two of his top centers who helped lead the team to the Calder Cup last year in Matt Lorito and Dominic Turgeon.
Lorito and Turgeon are both out for the rest of the season, Lorito due to a knee injury and Turgeon with a blood clot due to thoracic outlet syndrome.
Michael Rasmussen, the Wings' 2017 first-round draft pick, and the Tri-City Americans start the WHL's Western Conference Finals tonight against the Everett Silvertips.
If the Americans fail to advance, Nelson would be happy to have Rasmussen join the Griffins.
"Now that's a player that I wish all the best in the playoffs, but right now we're hurting at center and that's somebody that we could definitely use," Nelson said. "I'd probably plug him right into the lineup and he'd play second line for our hockey team because right now we're just not very deep at center. We had the incident with Dominic Turgeon and then Christoffer Ehn came over and when he got here he was diagnosed with mono so he went back to Sweden. It seems like our centermen are dropping like flies right now. So Rasmussen would be a welcome addition. I don't think we're going to get him until if we advance to the second round."
The Everett Silvertips eliminated the Portland Winterhawks, which freed up defenseman Dennis Cholowski, the Wings' 2016 first-round pick, to meet the team in Manitoba.
"Our D corps is pretty solid right now, I think it's one of our strengths, but with that being said, it's nice to have Dennis here," Nelson said. "He was here last year for about half the playoff run and then went back to train. But I think he got his eyes open last year. I don't think he realized how intense, how emotional the games were. In that case it'll be good experience to have him come here but I'll have to watch him in practice to see if he's going to help us or knock somebody out of the box. But it's nice having that depth."
Whoever starts in goal and whoever ends up playing center, the Griffins know that every team will be gunning for them, trying to knock off the defending champs.
"It's been there all year but now it's even more so and we understand that," Nelson said. "It also gives our players some swagger. I think we have to have that swagger going into the playoffs. When I talk about swagger, it's not cockiness, it's a quiet confidence.
"We are the defending champs, that's our Cup until somebody takes it away from us."