Griffins Closer to First Round Bye; ASP, MBN May Play Friday

Truth be told, Detroit Red Wings fans’ interest in the Grand Rapids Griffins playoff fate centers on being able to see for themselves how close Axel Sandin Pellikka is to being NHL-ready.

He and Skelleftea teammate Michael Brandsegg-Nygard have joined the Griffins, but after their lengthy flight from Sweden, they didn’t play in Grand Rapids’ 2-1 road win against the Rockford IceHogs Wednesday

The Griffins haven’t said officially when the newcomers will play, but it seems likely they would play Friday when Grand Rapids plays a second road game against Rockford.

Ondrej Becher's power play goal was smooth like butter 😍#GoGRG #LGRW @GracedByRainPod pic.twitter.com/lCqHzQN3OA

— Elaine Shircliff (@imaraindancer) April 17, 2025

Ondrej Becher and Sheldon Dries scored the Griffins’ goals and Sebastian Cossa made 28 saves to spearhead the triumph. The Griffins limited the IceHogs to five shots on goal in the third period while holding their one-goal lead.

Playoff Implications

The win against Rockford was important for the Griffins because it allowed them to preserve their two-point lead over the Chicago Wolves for third place in the Central Division.

The top three places in the division earn first-round byes and go directly to the best-of-five division semifinals. The fourth place finisher will face the IceHogs in a best-of-three series to qualify for the semifinals.

The Wolves beat the Iowa Wild 3-1 Wednesday to keep pace with the Griffins. Both the Wolves and Grand Rapids have two games left, meaning the Griffins Magic Number is 3. If Grand Rapids earns three points in the next two games, they finish third. Any combination of Grand Rapids points earned, and Chicago points lost, adding up to three also gives coach Dan Watson’s team the bye.

Detroit Emmitt Finnie has been productive since joining the Griffins after his Western Hockey League season ended. He has a goal and four assists in his past six games. He assisted on Becher’s goal. With 10 goals, Becher has quietly had a solid first pro season.

Meanwhile, Amadeus Lombardi, a Red Wings’ fourth round pick, stayed hot, assisting on the Dries goal to give him 11 points (five goals, six assists) in his past seven games. Defenseman Shai Buium also picked up his an assist on the Dries to give him 25 points on the season.