AHL Morning Skate: June 21, 2025

A2-Charlotte Checkers vs. P2-Abbotsford Canucks
Game 5 – Tonight, 9:00 ET
, NHL Network, SiriusXM NHL Network Radio
(Abbotsford leads series, 3-1)

Game 1 – Fri., June 13 – Abbotsford 4, CHARLOTTE 3 (2OT) | Recap/Highlights
Game 2 – Sun., June 15 – CHARLOTTE 3, Abbotsford 2 (OT) | Recap/Highlights
Game 3 – Tue., June 17 – ABBOTSFORD 6, Charlotte 1 | Recap/Highlights
Game 4 – Thu., June 19 – ABBOTSFORD 3, Charlotte 2 | Recap/Highlights
Game 5 – Sat., June 21 – Charlotte at Abbotsford, 9:00
*Game 6 – Mon., June 23 – Abbotsford at Charlotte, 7:00
*Game 7 – Wed., June 25 – Abbotsford at Charlotte, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

GAME 5 NOTES
The Abbotsford Canucks are one win away from the Vancouver organization’s first Calder Cup championship as they host Game 5 of the Finals this evening... The Canucks took a 3-1 series lead with a 3-2 victory on Thursday... Jonathan Lekkerimäki (3-4-7), a scratch for five straight games before returning to the Abbotsford lineup for Game 3 of the Finals, opened the scoring just 1:15 into Thursday’s contest and added what stood up as the game-winning goal early in the third period... Arshdeep Bains (6-14-20) also scored in Game 4, his sixth goal in the last six games... Artūrs Šilovs (15-6, 1.94, .933) made 32 saves in Game 4 and now has a .943 save percentage in the Finals... Šilovs is 10-2 with a 1.49 GAA, a .945 save percentage and four shutouts in 12 starts at Abbotsford Centre this postseason, as well as 4-3 (1.43, .949, 3 SO) in potential series-clinching games... Jack Devine (1-2-3), who joined Charlotte in April following his senior season at the University of Denver, had two points in Game 4, including his first professional goal... It was Devine’s first game action since May 9 vs. Providence... Kyle Criscuolo (2-6-8) scored a power-play goal in the third period on Thursday, the first PPG allowed by the Canucks on home ice all postseason... Kaapo Kähkönen (11-5, 2.11, .908) stopped 20 shots in Game 4; he has an .851 save percentage in the Finals after entering the series with a .927 mark over the Checkers’ first three rounds... Charlotte has lost consecutive games in regulation for the first time since Jan. 11 and Jan. 14... Abbotsford’s Bains (3-3-6), Sammy Blais (2-4-6) and Linus Karlsson (2-4-6) lead all scorers with six points in the series... The Canucks are 5-for-16 (31.3 percent) on the power play in the series, while the Checkers are 3-for-17 (17.6 percent)... Abbotsford is bidding to join the 2002 Chicago Wolves as the only teams to win five series in a single postseason... Four goaltenders own a share of the AHL record with 16 wins in one playoff year: Wade Flaherty (Milwaukee, 2004), Frederic Cassivi (Hershey, 2006), Ondrej Pavelec (Chicago, 2008) and Michal Neuvirth (Hershey, 2009)... Three teams in AHL history have won the Calder Cup after trailing 3-1 in the Finals: the 1949 Providence Reds (vs. Hershey), the 1947 Hershey Bears (vs. Pittsburgh) and the 1946 Buffalo Bisons (vs. Cleveland).

Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra may have been understating it a bit in describing his team’s start in Game 4 on Thursday.

“We continuously talk about wanting to start on the front foot and apply pressure on teams,” Malhotra said.

Jonathan Lekkerimäki finished off a two-on-one rush 75 seconds into the contest and the Canucks fended off a late Charlotte comeback attempt to nail down a 3-2 victory. Abbotsford is 9-1 when scoring the game’s first goal this postseason.

“I liked the start of our game, just establishing our forecheck and making plays earlier, and when we had opportunities to capitalize, we did,” Malhotra added.

Said forward Arshdeep Bains, “I liked that we started on time.”

The top line of Bains, Max Sasson and Calder Cup Playoffs leading scorer Linus Karlsson again had a dominant performance. Malhotra is pleased that the line takes care of its defensive responsibilities first before looking to create offensively.

“The thing I like about those guys, is they do all the little things right,” Malhotra said. “Their wall battles were really good. They get pucks out of the zone for us. They get us up the ice, and from there their offensive talents take over… They’re not forcing plays and trying to force the offense.”.

“For me, it was a better overall game from our group,” Charlotte head coach Geordie Kinnear said after Game 4, although he acknowledged there were too many mistakes that cost them.

With defenseman Tobias Bjornfot still unavailable, Kinnear brought rookie Eamon Powell into the lineup for the first time since Game 4 of the division semifinals against Providence. Forward Jack Devine also came back in and picked up his first pro goal in the third period.

The Checkers are now facing elimination for the first time since their winner-take-all victory against the Bruins on May 11. Kinnear will take some solace from Charlotte’s two third-period goals Thursday that forced the Canucks to scramble to close out the game in the final minute.

That fight will need to continue if the Checkers are to push this series to Game 6 back at home, but Kinnear remains confident.

“The fight that we have, we’ve done it all year,” he stated.

― with files from Patrick Williams

Florida defeated Edmonton, 5-1, on Tuesday night to win the 2025 Stanley Cup championship... The Panthers became the 10th franchise in NHL history to repeat as Stanley Cup champions... Rochester Americans alumnus Sam Reinhart scored four goals in the clinching win, and 2018-19 AHL scoring champion Carter Verhaeghe recorded three assists... Brad Marchand finished the postseason with 10 goals and 10 assists for Florida.