Grand Rapids Griffins Central Logo

Home
Roster
Depth
The System
Transactions
Message Board
History
Contact Us
Archive
Training Camp
RSS Feed
Weekly Plus - Minus 12/09/08
Best and worst performances of the week...
By Jason Kasiorek
www.griffinscentral.com

NHL veteran Chris Chelios made his AHL debut for the Griffins this weekend, down from Detroit on a conditioning stint. Unfortunately the wily warrior's presence was not enough as Grand Rapids dropped both games this week, first losing a squeaker at home home in overtime behind Daniel Larsson's 38 save performance, and then suffering a 5-2 blowout at the hands of the visiting Hamilton bulldogs. Grinding winger Jamie Tardif takes the award as player of the week, topping strong performances from Cory Emmerton and Garrett Stafford. Tardif took advantage of regular icetime for the first real stretch this season to re-establish himself, providing scoring and energy.

This weeks top three plus and minus performances:

Plus
Jamie Tardif
In the Griffins two games, he netted a goal and an assist, posted a team high 6 shots on goal and a team best +2 defensive rating. The agitating forward also brought his high-tempo physical game to the table, with several opposition forwards chasing him around.
Cory Emmerton
Rookie Emmerton continued his strong play at both ends of the ice, and finally broke the goose-egg, scoring his first goal of the season.
Garrett Stafford
Stafford scored two assists this week to add to his point total, already tops among blueliners on the team. The steady rearguard has done a good job working with raw rookie Sergei Kolosov as his partner, and has been instrumental in Kindl's emergence with the man advantage.
Minus
Ville Leino
Leino had another tough week, going scoreless and posting a -2 defensive rating. The slick forward showed a little more grit over the weekend, but has a long way to go to regain his earlier level of play.
Tom Galvin
Normally a steady defensive defenseman, Galvin has tried to add an offensive component to his game and his play has fallen off noticeably. A defense low -2 in the two games over the weekend, Tom needs to go back to the basics and take care of things in his own end.
Jimmy Howard
Howard has not gotten much traction this season in his quest for a job in the NHL. This week he gave up five goals in his only start and has not looked sharp since returning from an injury earlier in the season.