Griffins Bring Central Division's Top Seed to Allstate Arena Sunday

Grand Rapids arrived at Allstate Arena on Sunday carrying the Central Division's top seed, a 43-10-3-1 record, and a storyline that no AHL franchise had written this early in a season since 1993. The Griffins had already clinched their playoff berth on Feb. 27, when the Hershey Bears beat the Rockford IceHogs 4-1, making Grand Rapids' postseason mathematically certain with the earliest clinch date in franchise history. The previous franchise record was March 6. The last AHL team to clinch earlier was the 1993 Binghamton Rangers, who punched their ticket on Feb. 24 with 24 games still remaining.

Two more points Sunday would clinch a first-round bye, and the Griffins carried a magic number of 13 to lock up the division title outright, something the organization had not done since the 2014-15 season. Their Central Division lead entering the day stood at 22 points over second-place Chicago. They had held that top spot every day of the season.

The only wrinkle in the larger picture was the league-wide standings race. Grand Rapids had slipped to second in the AHL overall for the first time all season, trailing the Providence Bruins by a single point in the race for the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy.

Offensively, the Griffins ranked second in the AHL at 3.47 goals per game and had outscored opponents 198-116 on the season, including a 100-62 edge at home and a 98-54 margin on the road. Their third-period dominance was particularly sharp, with a 78-36 scoring advantage across all games. When Grand Rapids scored first, the team was 31-1. John Leonard led the club with 27 goals, tied for third in the AHL. Dominik Shine sat second on the roster at 21, with Sheldon Dries third at 20.

The caveat heading into Allstate Arena was the building itself. Grand Rapids held a 10-12-0-1 record there all-time against the Wolves, with a minus-17 scoring margin of 83-66. That losing record stood in contrast to a team that had dominated nearly every other measure of the season. The Griffins had also been held under four goals in five of their previous seven games since Feb. 25, and had dressed only 12 forwards twice in their last 12 games due to roster limitations.

Chicago entered as a team trying to stay relevant in a division Grand Rapids had effectively run wire to wire. The Wolves ranked 13th in the AHL at 3.18 goals per game, but also sat 23rd in goals allowed at the same 3.18 figure, suggesting a roster capable of trading chances but not shutting games down. Justin Robidas led Chicago's attack with a 22-30-52 line, tied for ninth in AHL scoring. Bradly Nadeau posted 25-26-51 numbers, ranking 13th in points and tied for eighth in goals. Yanick Turcotte contributed in a different way, accumulating 121 penalty minutes, ninth in the league.

In goal, Cayden Primeau carried a 2.61 GAA and a .909 save percentage, placing him 12th and tied for 10th in those respective categories. Chicago's power play came in tied for 18th at 18.8 percent, while the penalty kill ranked 11th at 82.5 percent.

Coaching the Wolves was Spiros Anastas, who had been named interim head coach on Dec. 12. Anastas served as a Grand Rapids assistant from 2012 to 2014, adding a quiet subplot to a matchup that needed none.