With the parent Winnipeg Jets eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs last Thursday, the Manitoba Moose have mainstays Arvid Holm and Oskari Salminen back on their roster.
Both goaltenders had been pulled into reserve duty with Winnipeg, leaving Evan Cormier, who played two games with the Moose during the regular season, as Manitoba’s Game 1 starter against Milwaukee on Friday night. After seven shots and with a 3-0 Admirals lead, Moose head coach Mark Morrison brought Holm into the game in relief in an eventual 6-2 loss.
Morrison turned to Salminen in Game 2 yesterday, when a loss would have sent the Moose to Milwaukee down 2-0 in the series and needing to sweep three games on the road. The move paid off, as Salminen made 30 saves against an Admirals attack that had tied for sixth in the AHL at 3.31 goals per game in the regular season. The Moose won the game, 3-2, tying it on Cole Maier’s goal with 52.2 seconds left in regulation and taking the victory 1:32 into overtime on a Jansen Harkins tally.
The start was Salminen’s first game action since a start at Texas on April 11, in which he made 33 saves. Signed by the Jets in the offseason from Finnish club Jukurit Mikkeli, the 23-year-old Salminen went 18-13-6 with a 3.06 goals-against average and an .896 save percentage in 39 games with Manitoba.
While he was on recall, Salminen had a chance to practice with the Jets.
“You get more confidence being up,” Salminen told the Winnipeg media after yesterday’s game. “You get more situations, better shots. I think it really benefited me. It felt nice to go up there.”
Of Milwaukee, Salminen said, “They have a lot of skill guys. I knew that there were going to be at least a couple of really tough situations. I think that we did an excellent job, especially in front of our own net.”
All season long Texas Stars head coach Neil Graham has cited his team’s experience as a major reason that he believed it was poised for sustainable success.
To start, there is captain Curtis McKenzie, who won the Calder Cup in 2014 as a rookie with Texas and returned to the Finals with the Stars in 2018 and again with Chicago in 2019. Throw in Riley Barber, Will Butcher, Tanner Kero and Alex Petrovic, and Texas possesses one of the AHL’s best veteran groups.
Texas went through a late-season battle for first place in a struggle with Milwaukee, coming away with the Central Division title and earning a match-up with Rockford in the division semifinals.
“We know in that locker room we’ve got a lot of older guys and it’s just the beginning,” Barber told the team website after his two goals helped the Stars to take Game 2 of the series against Rockford yesterday.
Barber, who signed with the parent Dallas Stars as a free agent last summer, ranked fourth in the AHL with 32 goals this season and set career highs in goals, assists (32) and points (64). The eighth-year pro reached the Calder Cup Finals as a rookie with Hershey in 2016.
“I love it,” Barber said of being back in the playoffs for the first time since 2019. “I got lucky my first year, and I thought that I’d be back every year. This is why you play. You don’t want to be at home watching.”
Graham and his coaching staff have tapped into their reserve of veteran leadership since October.
“It’s kind of been a testament to our group throughout the season,” Graham told the team website. “I think our veterans did an excellent job at the start of the year really helping us through and teaching the young guys what it’s like to be pros. Then through the dog days, I thought you saw a lot of our young players and first-year pros really elevate their game as well. They helped us through a stretch where fatigue could be in the lineup. They’ve really picked each other up throughout the year, and I think you see it now.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a veteran or a first-year guy or a second-year guy, you’re helping each other out and our identity has been formed.”
― Patrick Williams
