Texas concluded their best-of-three first round series sweeping the Manitoba Moose in two games and will surely carry that momentum into their matchup with Milwaukee.
The two opponents concluded their season series nearly deadlocked in scoring against each other, with Milwaukee just taking the edge with 28 goals scored to Texas’ 27. Additionally, four games in Milwaukee’s eight-game season series against Texas were decided by one goal, two of which required at least overtime.
Texas posted the eighth-best power play in the American Hockey League and the 26th best penalty kill to Milwaukee’s 12th-ranked power play (18.6%) and 18th-ranked penalty kill (81.1%).
The Stars finished fourth in the Central Division with 72 points, going 33-33-6 overall, 18-15-3 at home and 15-18-3 on the road.
Egor Afanasyev and Tye Felhaber led the Admirals in scoring against the Stars with two goals and four assists each.
Stars rookie forward Logan Stankoven scored a team-high six goals, while Mavrik Borque, Derrick Pouliot and Curtis McKenzie each recorded a team-high five assists against the Admirals this season.
Stars netminder Remi Poirier is making the second Calder Cup Playoff appearance of his career, and earned both Texas’ wins over Manitoba in the first round, posting a 1.50 goals-against average and a .954 save percentage over the two-game span.
During the regular season, Poirier went 17-16-4, posting a 3.19 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage after 38 appearances.
Stars netminder Matthew Murray entered his third Calder Cup Playoffs last week. Though he has yet to receive a start this postseason, Murray went 14-15-2 this season and owned a 3.02 goals-against average and .896 save percentage in 31 games.
Make Way for Rookies:
Several Predators prospects - Jack Matier, Jeremy Hanzel, Alexander Campbell, Fedor Svechkov, Navrin Mutter, Reid Schaefer, Zachary L’Heureux, Nolan Burke, Jake Livingstone, Luke Prokop and Ryan Ufko - could make their Calder Cup Playoff debuts when postseason action begins Thursday.
With Head Coach Karl Taylor running an 11-forward, seven-defenseman format through the bulk of the campaign and a number of fresh faces filling injury vacancies down the stretch, Nichol is confident Milwaukee’s young core will have plenty to offer in postseason play.
“Everybody's been elevated in some different capacity in their roles,” Nichol said. “They've all played power play, penalty kill, 5-on-6, 6-on-5. So it gives us a lot of options. These guys have all played in those situations, and so if we do get beat up a little bit, they have some experience to draw from. They've all played a lot of hockey, especially when we've gone 11 forwards, seven defensemen. They’ve played in every situation, they're young, they’ve got young legs and they’ve got some good veteran guys to support them.”
During the 2023-24 campaign several Admirals rookies cracked the AHL leaderboards.
L’Heureux placed second on the Ads in points (48), goals (19) and assists (29), and fifth among AHL rookies in points. L’Heureux additionally led the Admirals and placed second among all AHL skaters in penalty minutes, recording 197 in 66 games.
Kemell concluded his season tied for 17th among all rookie skaters in points (41) and goals (16). His seven power-play goals led the Admirals and were additionally tied for the sixth-most among AHL rookies.
Matching Kemell, Svechkov also concluded his debut campaign tied for 17th in rookie goals (16). Livingstone placed fifth among AHL rookies in plus-minus, recording a +18 rating after 68 games.
Bench Press the Postseason:
Predators goaltending prospect Yaroslav Askarov is poised to play in his second career Calder Cup Playoffs, and there’s plenty to be excited about for the young netminder this go-round.
In his sophomore North American campaign, Askarov finished second among qualified AHL netminders (1,440+ minutes played) in wins (30) and shutouts (6), fifth in goals-against average (2.39) and tied for 16th in save percentage (.911).
In his debut postseason appearance last year, Askarov owned a 6-6-0 record, a 2.70 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage in 12 appearances. By the time the Admirals reached the Conference Final, Askarov was the only rookie goaltender remaining in the postseason.
With a stellar showing from the 21-year-old goalie this season, Nichol expects big things and bigger opportunities for Askarov during his second trip to the Calder Cup Playoffs.
“This will be a good test for him,” Nichol said. “Last year he was OK in the playoffs, and this year hopefully he can make that next step. At the end of the last playoffs, Devin Cooley kind of took over at the end of it and he got kind of worn down a little bit. So this is a big stepping stone for him, coming into the playoffs and taking the ball and running with it for the whole duration. It’s another good growth moment for him to see if he can do it. And I'm sure he will, but it's going to be tough and challenging. As everybody knows, the playoffs get dialed up a little bit.”
On the Calendar:
Finishing the 2023-24 regular season with a superior record to Texas, per AHL rules Milwaukee earned the choice to either play the first two games of the best-of-five series at home or on the road and opted for the latter.
See below for the full Central Division Semifinals schedule:
Game 1: Milwaukee at Texas, Thursday, May 2 at 7 p.m. CT
Game 2: Milwaukee at Texas, Saturday, May 4 at 7 p.m. CT
Game 3: Texas at Milwaukee, Wednesday, May 8 at 7 p.m. CT
*Game 4: Texas at Milwaukee, Friday, May 10 at 7 p.m. CT
*Game 5: Texas at Milwaukee, Sunday, May 12 at 5 p.m. CT
*if necessary
The winner of the best-of-five series will face the winner of the Grand Rapids Griffins/Rockford IceHogs series in the Central Division Final, another best-of-five format.
Predators fans can catch all the action by purchasing a subscription to AHLTV or by following the Milwaukee Admirals on social media and MilwaukeeAdmirals.com.
