Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
A berth in the Calder Cup Playoffs is up for grabs tonight for the Colorado Eagles when they host Abbotsford in the opener of a two-game set at Blue Arena.
The Eagles, who have gone 21-6-0-1 since Jan. 13, need one point to secure a trip to the postseason. They also could also qualify if San Diego wins beyond regulation or loses in any fashion at Tucson tonight. The Eagles, who have been off since Mar. 20, sit one point out of second place in the Pacific Division.
Colorado goaltender Trent Miner is 5-0-0 with a 1.27 goals-against average and .962 save percentage in his last five games, stopping 71 of 73 shots over a two-game sweep of Milwaukee last week.
For the Canucks, who are seventh in the Pacific but just six points back of Colorado, last Sunday’s 5-2 win at Manitoba featured the return of defenseman Christian Wolanin to the lineup for the first time since Jan. 17. Wolanin, who had a goal and an assist in the game, was voted the 2022-23 Eddie Shore Award winner as the AHL’s outstanding defenseman after leading all AHL blueliners with 55 points (six goals, 49 assists) in 49 games. This season, Wolanin has 24 points (four goals, 20 assists) in 32 games for Abbotsford.
Forward Aatu Raty has heated up down the stretch for the Canucks. After going without a point in seven games, Raty has broken out with three goals and six assists in his past three contests. Raty is three points behind team leading scorer Arshdeep Bains, who was recalled by Vancouver this week.
Logjammed between Colorado and Abbotsford in the Pacific Division are the fifth-place Bakersfield Condors.
Tonight the Condors are in Henderson with a chance to secure a playoff berth by coupling a win with a San Diego loss of any type, or a single point plus a Gulls regulation loss.
After facing the Silver Knights, the Condors head to Ontario for a match-up Saturday night against the Reign. The season series between the rivals is even at 3-3-0.
Bakersfield enters the weekend having won eight of its last 11 games, including a 3-2 decision in San Diego on Wednesday night.
They will be up against Reign forward Akil Thomas, who was selected as the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week for the period after picking up six points (four goals, two assists) and all three game-winning goals in Ontario’s three contests last week.
Thomas scored again in Wednesday’s win over San Jose, helping the Reign clinch a playoff berth.
North Division playoff implications are on the line when the Belleville Senators visit the Laval Rocket in the AHLTV Free Game of the Week tonight (7 ET/6 CT).
It is the opener of a two-game visit to Place Bell for the sixth-place Senators, who sit two points behind the Rocket. Laval won back-to-back games in Belleville last weekend and had won seven of eight overall before dropping a 3-1 decision at Utica on Wednesday.
Tonight’s game starts a four-game homestand for the Rocket.
Belleville lost defenseman Tyler Kleven to NHL recall this week; Kleven skated in Ottawa’s 2-0 win over Chicago last night. His seven points (two goals, five assists) against the Rocket lead all Belleville players in the season series.
An AHLTV account is required to watch the AHLTV Free Games of the Week, but no subscription is needed. Visit AHLTV.com for details.
TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams has been on the American Hockey League beat for nearly two decades for outlets including NHL.com, Sportsnet, TSN, The Hockey News, SiriusXM NHL Network Radio and SLAM! Sports, and was most recently the co-host of The Hockey News On The ‘A’ podcast. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.