On Friday night, the Grand Rapids Griffins lost to the Chicago Wolves and their playoff hopes officially ended. They were mathematically eliminated with two games remaining in the AHL season. And while that sucks, it also means that a handful of reinforcements will be arriving in Detroit to serve as Black Aces for the remainder of the NHL Playoffs.
Recalled for the duration of the playoffs are:
Joakim Andersson, F
Louis-Marc Aubry, F
Fabian Brunnstrom, F
Francis Pare, F
Tomas Tatar, F
Travis Ehrhardt, D
Garnet Exelby, D
Doug Janik, D
Brian Lashoff, D
Brendan Smith, D
Thomas McCollum, G
Notably omitted from the recalls are Jordan Pearce (G), Logan Pyett (D), Jamie Johnson (F), Chris Minard (F), Landon Ferraro (F)
I’m officially for scratching Stuart for Smith in the next game. Smith may be untested, but Stuart was directly responsible for 2 (and arguably 3) of our 6 goals against in our two losses. He’s playing like he’s already thinking about California.
I completely agree with you! I really liked what Brendan did for the Wings’ defense, and think he’s earned a spot as a top 6 defenseman. I don’t think Stuart has looked very good for the majority of the season, but I could say the same thing for Kronwall too.
I thought Stuart played well the beginning of the season, but his play has noticeably declined as the season progressed. I’ve been thinking the same that as RedPanda…he’s already thinking about Cali.
We’ve actually been on board that train for a few months, as well. I’m pretty sure he’s already checked out and can’t get to California soon enough. There’s no way he comes out of the lineup, unless things get much worse or he gets banged up, but Smith MAY find his way into the lineup at Kyle Quincey’s expense.
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