Slavin's third-period goal lifts Wolves past Griffins in Game 1

Josiah Slavin finished the kind of play that swings a playoff series. Joel Nyström slipped a back-door pass through the defense, Ivan Ryabkin joined the setup, and Slavin banged it home from the bottom of the right-wing circle 6:48 into the third period to lift the Chicago Wolves past the Grand Rapids Griffins 2-1 in Game 1 of the Central Division finals at Van Andel Arena.

That goal broke a 1-1 tie and gave Chicago the only lead it would need. Slavin’s winner was his second goal of the playoffs, and both have now stood up as game-winners, the sort of production that turns a useful forward into a postseason difference-maker. Cayden Primeau handled the rest, stopping 23 shots and earning the game’s first star as the Wolves grabbed home-ice edge in the series opener.

Chicago opened the scoring through Justin Robidas, while Grand Rapids answered with Eduards Tralmaks to erase a scoreless game before the second intermission. But once the Wolves moved ahead, they played the rest of the night like a team comfortable in a tight, low-margin game. Primeau did not have much room for error, and he did not need it. Michal Postava kept the Griffins alive with 30 saves and was named the second star, but Chicago’s finishing touch separated the teams.

The numbers matched the scoreboard’s feel. Chicago outshot Grand Rapids 32-24, went 1-for-5 on the power play and kept the Griffins scoreless on three chances with the extra man. Slavin was the third star, a fitting finish for the player who delivered the decisive strike in a game that was defined by one clean sequence and one timely save after another.

The win also sharpened the broader stakes of the matchup. This was the seventh postseason meeting between Chicago and Grand Rapids, and the first since the 2019 Calder Cup division semifinals, which the Wolves won in five games. The Wolves also beat the Griffins in the 2000 Turner Cup Finals, back when both teams were in the International Hockey League. Game 2 was scheduled for Saturday back at Van Andel Arena, with Grand Rapids now needing a response after Chicago stole the opener on the road.

That pressure is real because of what Grand Rapids had looked like earlier in the season. The Griffins stormed out to a 29-1-1-1 start and led Chicago by 24 points by early January, but from Jan. 9 on they had only the Central Division’s third-best record behind Texas and Chicago. In a postseason where three first-place clubs failed to win at least one playoff series for the first time since 2014, Chicago’s Game 1 road win felt less like an upset than a reminder of how quickly a series can turn on one perfectly executed chance.