AHL Morning Skate: May 11

Take a game-day spin around the AHL ice with latest from around the American Hockey League in today’s Morning Skate.

Complete Schedule || Playoff Brackets || Today’s Scoreboard || League Leaders || Series Previews

Tonight’s Previews

gr  tor
Game 2 – 3:00 ET, AHL Live (GR leads series, 1-0)
Grand Rapids began round two against Toronto as it ended round one, with a resounding 7-0 victory last night… Tomas Tatar (2g, 1a), Chad Billins (1g, 2a) and Francis Pare (3a) enjoyed three-point night for the Griffins and Petr Mrazek made 25 saves for his second consecutive shutout… Tatar (5-2-7), who also had two goals and an assist in last Saturday’s series-clinching 7-0 win over Houston, now has six points in his last two contests… Luke Glendening (3-3-6) extended his scoring streak to five games with a goal and an assist… Mitch Callahan (1-1-2), Teemu Pulkkinen (3-1-4) and Jan Mursak (2-2-4) also scored in Game 1 for Grand Rapids… Drew MacIntyre allowed six goals on 28 shots before yielding to Garret Sparks, who stopped nine of 10 shots in relief… The Griffins became the first team in AHL history to record back-to-back playoff shutouts while scoring at least seven goals in both… Grand Rapids is also the first team to score at least seven goals in consecutive playoff games since 2007, when Hershey beat Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 7-6 in overtime, and Manchester, 7-2… The Griffins are now 4-0 all-time in playoff games at Ricoh Coliseum… The Marlies allowed seven goals in a game for the first time since a 9-3 loss at Chicago on Jan. 5, 2011.

Western Conference Semifinal – Series “L” (best-of-7)
2-Toronto Marlies vs. 3-Grand Rapids Griffins

Game 1 – Fri., May 10 – Grand Rapids 7, TORONTO 0
Game 2 – Sat., May 11 – Grand Rapids at Toronto, 3:00
Game 3 – Wed., May 15 – Toronto at Grand Rapids, 7:00
Game 4 – Fri., May 17 – Toronto at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sat., May 18 – Toronto at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 6 – Tue., May 21 – Grand Rapids at Toronto, 7:00
*Game 7 – Wed., May 22 – Grand Rapids at Toronto, 7:00
   *if necessary… All times Eastern

wbs  pro
Game 2 – 7:05 ET, AHL Live (PRO leads series, 1-0)
They were the top two defensive teams in the AHL during the regular season, but Providence and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton combined for 13 goals in Game 1, a wild 8-5 Bruins victory last night… It was the highest scoring Calder Cup Playoff game since Hershey defeated the Penguins, 7-6 in overtime, on May 11, 2007… Chris Bourque (4-6-10) led the Providence offense with a goal and three assists, and now has 21 points in 24 career playoff games vs. Wilkes-Barre… Jamie Tardif (5-1-6) scored twice and Carter Camper (6-4-10) ran his scoring streak to five games as eight different Bruins had multiple-point nights… The Penguins had a 15-2 edge in shots on goal 9:31 into the game, when Chad Kolarik (3-1-4) converted on a penalty shot… Providence scored four times during a span of 5:15 in the second period to open up a 5-2 lead… Paul Thompson (2-2-4) notched two goals and an assist for the Penguins, who pulled to within 6-5 with 2:41 remaining before the Bruins scored two more late goals… Brian Gibbons (2-2-4) and Chris Collins (2-1-3) each notched a goal and an assist for Wilkes-Barre, which allowed its most goals in a game since a 9-5 loss vs. Charlotte on Jan. 23, 2011… Niklas Svedberg (4-2, 3.79, .877) stopped 25 of 30 Penguins shots but still earned his fourth consecutive victory… Jeff Zatkoff (2-1, 3.84, .880) faced 27 shots and allowed a career-high eight goals.

Eastern Conference Semifinal – Series “I” (best-of-7)
1-Providence Bruins vs. 5-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Game 1 – Fri., May 10 – PROVIDENCE 8, W-B/Scranton 5
Game 2 – Sat., May 11 – W-B/Scranton at Providence, 7:05
Game 3 – Wed., May 15 – Providence at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Game 4 – Fri., May 17 – Providence at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
*Game 5 – Sat., May 18 – Providence at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
*Game 6 – Mon., May 20 – W-B/Scranton at Providence, 7:05
*Game 7 – Wed., May 22 – W-B/Scranton at Providence, 7:05
   *if necessary… All times Eastern

syr  spr
Game 2 – 7:00 ET, AHL Live (SYR leads series, 1-0)
Four first-period goals set the tone early and Syracuse rolled to a 5-2 win over Springfield in the opener of their Eastern Conference semifinal series last night… Mark Barberio (2-1-3) and Richard Panik (2-2-4) opened the scoring with goals 20 seconds apart, and J.T. Brown (2-0-2) and Brett Connolly (2-1-3) added markers later in the period to give the Crunch a 4-1 lead at the first intermission… Tyler Johnson (3-6-9) finished the night with a goal and two assists, giving him 8-8-16 in seven games since returning to Syracuse from his NHL stint with Tampa Bay… Cedrick Desjardins (4-0, 2.26, .892) made 22 saves, allowing only a pair of power-play goals to Nick Drazenovic (2-2-4) and Ryan Craig (1-2-3)… Springfield was 2-for-6 on the power play in Game 1 after going 2-for-20 in four first-round games vs. Manchester.. Curtis McElhinney (3-2, 2.55, .913) allowed five goals on nine shots in 30:10 of work in Game 1; Allen York stopped all 11 shots he faced in his AHL playoff debut.

Eastern Conference Semifinal – Series “J” (best-of-7)
2-Springfield Falcons vs. 3-Syracuse Crunch
Game 1 – Fri., May 10 – Syracuse 5, SPRINGFIELD 2
Game 2 – Sat., May 11 – Syracuse at Springfield, 7:00
Game 3 – Wed., May 15 – Springfield at Syracuse, 7:00
Game 4 – Fri., May 17 – Springfield at Syracuse, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sat., May 18 – Springfield at Syracuse, 7:00
*Game 6 – Tue., May 21 – Syracuse at Springfield, 7:00
*Game 7 – Wed., May 22 – Syracuse at Springfield, 7:00
   *if necessary… All times Eastern

okc  tex
Game 2 – 8:30 ET, AHL Live (OKC leads series, 1-0)
Texas looks to bounce back and even the series as the puck drops for Game 2 at the Cedar Park Center tonight… Oklahoma City grabbed the early series lead when Anton Lander (3-1-4) scored 1:28 into overtime on Thursday night, giving the Barons a 2-1 victory… Mark Arcobello (4-4-8) scored in regulation for Oklahoma City, his 13th point in 13 games vs. Texas this season… Francis Wathier (1-0-1) notched his first goal of the postseason for the Stars… Yann Danis (4-2, 2.64, .923) got the win in goal, stopping 34 of 35 shots… Danis has allowed four goals on 111 shots (.964) in three games since a 6-1 loss to Charlotte in Game 3 of the first round… Cristopher Nilstorp (3-2, 1.15, .955) took the loss in Game 1, but has still allowed two goals or fewer in each of his first five playoff starts for Texas… After an 0-for-1 showing in Game 1, the Barons are 1-for-23 on the power play in their last seven games vs. the Stars… Oklahoma City is now 4-1 all-time in playoff overtime games; Texas is 7-6.

Western Conference Semifinal – Series “K” (best-of-7)
1-Texas Stars vs. 5-Oklahoma City Barons

Game 1 – Thu., May 9 – Oklahoma City 2, TEXAS 1 (OT)
Game 2 – Sat., May 11 – Oklahoma City at Texas, 8:30
Game 3 – Mon., May 13 – Texas at Oklahoma City, 8:00
Game 4 – Wed., May 15 – Texas at Oklahoma City, 8:00
*Game 5 – Thu., May 16 – Texas at Oklahoma City, 8:00
*Game 6 – Mon., May 20 – Oklahoma City at Texas, 8:30
*Game 7 – Tue., May 21 – Oklahoma City at Texas, 8:30
   *if necessary… All times Eastern

About Last Night…
Following the victories by Syracuse and Grand Rapids, lower seeds won three of the four Game 1’s on the road to open the conference semifinals… A total of 27 goals were scored in the three AHL games last night, and only three players — Grand Rapids’ Tomas Tatar, Providence’s Jamie Tardif and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Paul Thompson — scored more than once… Fifty-five different players recorded a point in last night’s action, with 21 notching more than one… In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, former Cincinnati Mighty Duck and Portland Pirate Dustin Penner scored with less than one second remaining in the second period, sending Los Angeles to a 2-1 win over St. Louis and a 4-2 triumph in their first-round series… 2008 AHL All-Star Jimmy Howard made 34 saves to help Detroit to a 4-3 overtime win over Anaheim, forcing a Game 7 in their series… James Reimer stopped 43 shots as Toronto staved off elimination with a 2-1 win over Boston in Game 5… Mike Ribeiro, who played in the AHL with Fredericton, Quebec and Hamilton, scored 9:24 into overtime as Washington beat the N.Y. Rangers in Game 5, 2-1.

Lopsided Goose Eggs
Grand Rapids’ 7-0 win over Toronto last night matched the most one-sided shutout in the Calder Cup Playoffs since 1995:

May 10, 2013 – Grand Rapids 7, TORONTO 0
May 4, 2013 – GRAND RAPIDS 7, Houston 0
May 11, 2009 – MILWAUKEE 7, Houston 0
May 2, 2007 – CHICAGO 7, Iowa 0
Apr. 23, 2006 – Hartford 7, MANCHESTER 0
May 6, 2006 – MILWAUKEE 7, Houston 0
May 19, 2002 – CHICAGO 7, Houston 0
Apr. 19, 1995 – Binghamton 8, ROCHESTER 0

Working Overtime
There have been 11 overtime games played in the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs so far… Road teams are 8-3:

Apr. 26 – Texas 3, MILWAUKEE 2 (Brett Ritchie, 11:44)
Apr. 26 – Charlotte 4, OKLAHOMA CITY 3 (Brody Sutter, 3:06)
Apr. 27 – SPRINGFIELD 2, Manchester 1 (Cody Bass, 10:36)
Apr. 27 – W-B/Scranton 3, BINGHAMTON 2 (Chad Kolarik, 8:18)
Apr. 27 – SYRACUSE 4, Portland 3 (Richard Panik, 6:36)
Apr. 28 – Hershey 5, PROVIDENCE 4 (Jon DiSalvatore, 3:05)
Apr. 28 – SPRINGFIELD 3, Manchester 2 (Cody Bass, 18:44)
*May 1 – Toronto 3, ROCHESTER 2 (Will Acton, 5:14)
*May 2 – Syracuse 4, PORTLAND 3 (Ondrej Palat, 19:43)
*May 4 – Springfield 4, MANCHESTER 3 (Nick Drazenovic, 8:06)
May 9 – Oklahoma City 2, TEXAS 1 (Anton Lander, 1:28)

AHL Live
Don’t miss a second on the road to the 2013 Calder Cup championship. AHL Live brings AHL action to your computer all season long with live video webcasts and highlights of every AHL game, as well as behind-the-scenes features and interviews in the Video On Demand section… Visit ahllive.com for details.