The Abbotsford Canucks got a reminder of what the Colorado Eagles are capable of on Sunday night.
Colorado scored 1:57 into the contest, eventually taking a 5-2 victory that evened the series at one game each. After shutting out the Eagles in Game 1, the Canucks expected a strong response and they got it.
“I think we saw how fast and competitive they are,” Canucks forward Arshdeep Bains said after the loss. “It’s a five-game series. We knew they needed to come out here and try to take one. We played dipping our toes in the water a little bit in this game. They came out fast, and they’re a good team, so we’ll learn from this.”
Now the Canucks must figure out a way to go on the road for the remainder of the series and handle the Eagles, whose 26-6-2-2 regular-season home record topped the AHL. Colorado had a plus-60 goal differential (149-89) at home in regular-season play as well. But the Canucks did hold their own in four contests at Colorado in the regular season, winning a 2-1 shootout decision on Oct. 18 and then grabbing a 5-4 overtime victory there Feb. 7.
“They’ve got a building like ours,” Bains continued, “and it’s going to be loud. It’s going to be competitive, and we’ve had some success there. I think we’re going make some adjustments.”
Checkers head coach Geordie Kinnear has leaned heavily on goaltender Kaapo Kähkönen, who in turn has shown that he can handle the workload.
Kähkönen was acquired by the Florida Panthers from Winnipeg on Mar. 6 and played 12 of the Checkers’ final 18 regular-season games, going 8-4-0 with a 2.30 goals-against average and .906 save percentage. He has started all seven playoff games to date.
Kinnear felt confident enough in Kähkönen’s durability to start him on back-to-back nights to open the series with Hershey over the weekend.
“He’s been really good, obviously,” Kinnear said after Game 2 on Saturday. “It’s a younger back end, so to have that experience is huge for those guys. Another elite athlete that takes care of himself so he can play those back-to-backs.”
One of the top prospects in the Washington Capitals organization has joined Hershey, as the Caps reassigned forward Andrew Cristall from Spokane of the Western Hockey League on Tuesday. The 20-year-old Cristall, a 2023 second-round pick, had a league-leading 132 points (48 goals, 84 assists) in 57 regular-season games between Kelowna and Spokane. He then helped lead Spokane to the WHL finals with another 41 points (21 goals, 20 assists) in 19 playoff games, finishing second in the league.
Hershey head coach Todd Nelson has not made any indication as to whether Cristall could be an option for Game 3 or beyond.
“Our effort matched our execution, and I think that’s a critical piece for us.”
That’s how Milwaukee Admirals head coach Karl Taylor described his team’s 6-4 win in Game 2 at Texas on Sunday. Following a 4-2 loss in Game 1, the Admirals took control in Game 2 with five consecutive goals and then fought off a late-game rally by Texas.
“We tried hard in the first game,” Taylor elaborated, “but it was a little bit misdirected and not together. We weren’t going in the same direction. It was a little bit individual.”
While Taylor does not put a lot of stock in having home-ice advantage in the postseason, the Admirals did earn that privilege by capturing the Central Division regular-season title. Based on these past two meetings, Taylor expects there will be a lot of hockey to be played this week in Milwaukee. For these two intense rivals separated by only two points in the regular season, any margin of error is minimal.
“Game 1, it’s over,” Taylor said. “Didn’t mean anything. Game 2, now it’s over. Doesn’t mean anything other than the series is tied. So you can anticipate a five-game series. It’s just the way it’s gone with Texas over the years. It’s probably going to come down to Sunday.”
Rochester threw a curveball at Laval in Game 2.
Even after scoring four times in their Game 1 loss, Amerks head coach Michael Leone did some tinkering with his forward lines for Game 2. Noah Östlund stepped in for Brett Murray on the left side of their top line with Sabres first-round picks Jiří Kulich and Isak Rosén. Rosén had a pair of goals and an assist while Kulich also scored and chipped in an assist in Rochester’s 5-3 victory.
Murray shifted to a line with Mason Jobst and Lukáš Rousek while Anton Wahlberg, Tyson Kozak and Konsta Helenius filled out the third line.
“You can get some different looks, I think,” Rosén said. “For Laval, too, maybe they have to think different.”
Neither the Admirals nor the Stars make any effort to conceal their admiration for how each other plays the game. With several common links among players and coaches for the two teams along with Calder Cup Playoff meetings the past two years, the teams have built up considerable history and respect between each other.
“You’ve got to give them credit,” Stars head coach Neil Graham said after Sunday’s loss. “We know it’s going to be a tight series. It is every year.”
Although the Stars now have to face Milwaukee for as many as three games on the road, Graham is confident in his team’s ability to handle a difficult opposing building. By virtue of geography, the Stars can find themselves on extended road trips each season, and he believes that time away from home has been helpful. Texas tied for the AHL lead with 24 regular-season road victories.
“The one thing I’ve always said about this team is that their competitive spirit is the highest that I’ve seen of any team I’ve coached in 13 years,” Graham said. “I think early in the season, especially some of our newer guys, they were really looking at the grind of our road schedule, how we travel, how we go through it, and I think our guys learned. They found ways to have fun on the road together, some team-building. They found ways to recognize how we prepare, how we start, how we finish, and frankly we had to earn that.
“We’re going to have to be at our best, but it’s something we prepared for all year.”
― with files from Patrick Williams
