Griffins, Moose series turns on goalies after 123 saves in two games
Michal Postava and Domenic DiVincentiis have stopped 123 of 126 shots, leaving Grand Rapids and Manitoba tied on a razor-thin edge entering Game 3.
Grand Rapids’ series with Manitoba has come down to a handful of saves, rebounds and finishing chances, because Michal Postava and Domenic DiVincentiis turned the first two games into a goaltending duel that barely left room for offense. Through two games, the netminders had combined to stop 123 of 126 shots, a staggering .976 save percentage, after Manitoba opened with a 1-0 win on May 2 at Canada Life Centre and Grand Rapids answered with a 2-0 shutout on May 3 in Winnipeg.
That split sent the matchup back to Van Andel Arena for Game 3 on May 6, where the Griffins finally returned home after a 25-day wait since their last game in Grand Rapids, an April 11 meeting with Rockford. The home crowd had been part of the Griffins’ identity all season, with Grand Rapids averaging 7,949 fans per game in 2025-26 to rank fifth in the AHL, and the building was now being asked to tilt a series that had already been shaped by one-goal margins and near-misses.
Postava’s 30-save shutout in Game 2 evened the series and underscored how fast a playoff script can change. DiVincentiis, who made 39 saves in Manitoba’s Game 1 win and followed that with 32 more in Game 2, kept the Moose alive long enough to make every loose puck matter. Postava had entered Game 3 with three shutouts in his last six starts, and the numbers explained why the series felt so tight: neither team had been able to create much separation, and every rebound battle looked like it might decide the next 60 minutes.
There was postseason weight on the Manitoba side as well. The Moose clinched their playoff berth on Apr. 7 and had already taken a major step by beating Milwaukee in the previous round, their first playoff series victory since 2018. That history made the opening split more than a simple road result, because it showed the Moose could still drag a higher-seeded opponent into the kind of low-scoring knife fight that turns one goalie save into a season-defining play.
The same night brought another reminder that the Western bracket was living on thin margins. Henderson tied Colorado with Tanner Laczynski’s power-play winner 1:51 into the second overtime, after Trent Miner had opened the series by stopping all 18 shots he faced in a 1-0 Eagles win and allowing just one goal on 63 shots across his first three playoff starts. Colorado had also won 10 straight at Blue Arena against Henderson since Nov. 8, 2023, proof that even strong trends can be overturned by one finishing chance. That is where these playoffs were headed, and Grand Rapids and Manitoba had already shown how little space there was left.
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