2024 Calder Cup Playoffs First Round Preview

The Manitoba Moose embark on their quest for the Calder Cup on Tuesday, April 23 in Cedar Park, Texas. The Moose face the Texas Stars in a best-of-three First Round series at H-E-B Center.

Series Schedule
Game 1: Tuesday, April 23, 7 p.m. CT - H-E-B Center
Game 2: Thursday, April 25, 7 p.m. CT - H-E-B-Center
Game 3*: Friday, April 26, 7 p.m. CT - H-E-B Center
*if necessary

Playoff Series Primer:

The Manitoba-Texas Matchup
The Moose and Stars were separated in the standings by a single point during the 2023-24 regular season. Manitoba finished with 34 wins, while Texas had 33 victories. The Moose and Stars met eight times during the 2023-24 regular season with Manitoba amassing a 6-2-0-0 record against Texas. The Moose enter the series with four consecutive wins against the Stars while outscoring their opposition 25-9. Moose forward Jeff Malott led all skaters in the season series with 11 points (4G, 7A) in seven games. Stars forward Matej Blumel paced Texas with 10 points (3G, 7A) in eight games. Manitoba goaltender Thomas Milic won all three of his appearances against Texas with a 2.09 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage. Meanwhile, Stars netminder Remi Poirier posted a 2-2-1 mark with a 4.58 goals-against average and an .871 save percentage.

The organizations' previous Calder Cup Playoffs matchup came in the 2014 Calder Cup Final when the Texas Stars defeated the St. John's IceCaps in five games. Three of the Stars four wins came in overtime.

Storylines
Back In The Mix
The Moose made an improbable run to earn their spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs. On Jan. 24, at the halfway point of the season, the team lost its 11th consecutive game and was at the bottom of the AHL standings. Manitoba proceeded to roll out a 22-12-1-1 record, good for a .639 points percentage over the second half of the season. Kristian Reichel tied for eighth in scoring among AHL'ers over the second half of the season, tallying 33 points (17G, 16A) in 35 games. Meanwhile, Brad Lambert (T-19th), Kyle Capobianco (T-26) and Jeff Malott (T-26) all featured in the top-30 of AHL scorers in the second half. Lambert led all AHL rookies with 30 points (9G, 21 A) in 34 outings.

Home Away From Home
The Moose are well-equipped to play all three games of their series on the road. The club tied for eighth in the AHL for road wins during the regular season with a 20-15-0-1 record. That includes a 13-6-0-1 mark the final 20 road games of the campaign. The Moose scored 117 goals on the road during the regular season, tied with the Hershey Bears for seventh in the AHL. The Moose also found success at H-E-B Center this season where they won all four of their visits. Manitoba outscored Texas by a 20-11 mark in those games. Centre Brad Lambert led the Moose with 24 points (7G, 17A) in 33 road games.

Offensive Barrage
The Moose concluded the regular season having scored 225 goals, good for 13th in the AHL and third in the Central Division. Manitoba powered through April scoring 39 goals in nine games, accounting for 17 percent of the team's goals in 12 percent of the games. The Moose averaged 4.33 goals per game over the final nine outings and only scored less than three tallies once. Manitoba matched a franchise road record, scoring eight goals in Texas on April 19. Kristian Reichel led the Moose, and tied for the league-lead, with 11 points (6G, 5A) through April and captured the team's goal-scoring title with 23 tallies on the season.

Powered Up
This First Round series features two of the best power play units in the AHL. The Stars wrapped the regular season with the top mark in the league at 21.9 percent. Texas scored 52 power play goals on 237 opportunities. The Moose also struck for 52 power play goals, but on 247 chances for a 21.1 percent success rate. Manitoba finished fourth in the AHL on the man-advantage. In the season series, the Moose scored 12 power play goals on 28 chances for a 42.9 percent rate in eight games. Meanwhile, the Stars were 17.9 percent on their power play, striking on five of their 28 opportunities.

Youthful Scorers
The Moose and Stars feature plenty of fire-power from young players throughout the two lineups. The Moose are led by rookie forward Brad Lambert who finished the season second among all AHL rookies with 55 points (21G, 34A), the second-most by a Moose rookie all-time. Lambert is joined by fellow rookies Nikita Chibrikov (47 points) and Parker Ford (41 points) among Manitoba's top six scorers. They all finished in the league's top-20 for rookie scoring. Meanwhile Texas is led by a pair of players in their second AHL season. Dallas Stars 2020 first round pick Mavrik Bourque led the entire AHL with 77 points (26G, 51A) in 71 games. Matej Blumel finished fifth in the AHL with 31 goals this season and ranked second on Texas with 62 points. Stars rookie Logan Stankoven has been skating with Dallas since February, but still led all AHL rookies with 57 points (24G, 33A).

Experience the Calder Cup Playoffs:

Moose on 680 CJOB and AHLTV
Listen to coverage of every Central Division Semifinals game on CJOB.com/sports and the Winnipeg Jets App. You can also watch all the road action live with a subscription or day pass to AHLTV. Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. CT for all three games.

Playoff Packages on Sale Now
Playoff packages for future Moose home games are available at MooseHockey.com/PLAYOFFS. Playoff packages provide multiple payment options including "Pay As We Play" and guarantee your seat as the Moose move through the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Media Information:
For more information on the Calder Cup Playoffs First Round, visit MooseHockey.com and follow along through the Manitoba Moose social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Youtube.

Media information, game notes and previous playoff records can be found at MooseHockey.com/Media.