The Grand Rapids Griffins are once again making a run for the American Hockey League's Calder Cup as the team prepares for its Western Conference Finals series against the San Jose Barracuda beginning Saturday.
The team has only lost one game and is being powered by many young players who appeared for the Detroit Red Wings in the 2016-17 season.
Tyler Bertuzzi leads the team with five goals and five assists in just eight games for the Griffins. Bertuzzi played in seven games for Detroit this season.
Evgeny Svechnikov is also playing great, scoring three goals and adding eight assists in the team's eight Calder Cup playoff games. The Red Wings' first-round draft pick in 2015 played two games this season for Detroit.
Other players who made appearances for the Red Wings this season include Matt Lorito who has four goals and four assists, Tomas Nosek with four goals and four assists, Mitch Callahan who has three goals and five assists and Robbie Russo who has five assist in eight games.
Goaltender Jared Coreau has played outstanding, going 7-1, giving up 22 goals with a 2.64 goals against average and a .908 save percentage.
The Griffins finished the season 47-23-6 which was good enough for second place in the Central Division. The Barracuda finished 43-16-9.
If the Griffins win the series, they will play in the Calder Cup finals for the first time since 2012-13 when the team, coached by Jeff Blashill, won the Calder Cup
