Fast Facts: Moose at Texas – First Round Game 1

The Manitoba Moose and Texas Stars lead off the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs tonight (7 p.m. CT) when they clash in Game 1 of their First Round series. All three games of the best-of-three set will be held at H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, Texas. The Moose picked up a pair of wins against Texas to close the regular season, claiming a 4-1 victory on Saturday. The teams were separated by just one win and one point at the conclusion of the campaign. Coverage of tonight's playoff-opener gets going at 6:45 p.m. CT on CJOB.com/sports, the Winnipeg Jets App and AHLTV. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.

Playoff Experience

Manitoba’s focus shifts over to the playoffs, where the Moose face the Texas Stars in a best-of-three series. In terms of AHL playoff experience across their roster, the Moose boast 118 total games, which is 44 more than the 2023 edition of the team. Leading the way is defenceman Ashton Sautner, who has appeared in 14 games between Manitoba, Abbotsford and Utica. Ranking second on the squad is Jimmy Oligny, who has skated in 12 games and has notched three assists.  The squad is rounded out by Nicholas Jones, Jeff Malott and Kyle Capobianco, who all have 10 games of experience under their belts.

Offensive Output

Manitoba scored six or more goals in nine games this season. Four of those came against the Texas Stars, with the most recent occurrence an 8-3 victory on April 19. That game also allowed the Moose to match a franchise road record for goals in a single away contest. Against the Stars this season, Manitoba was led in scoring by Jeff Malott, who notched 11 points (4G, 7A) in seven games. Nine Moose skaters tallied six or more points against the Stars this season, while six, Jeffrey Viel, Brad Lambert, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, Nikita Chibrikov, Kyle Capobianco and Malott, all registered better than a point-per-game over the season series.

50-Somethings

The Moose lineup features three 50-point scorers for the first time since the 2017-18 season when the squad produced four. Brad Lambert led the way with 55 points (21G, 34A) in 64 games. Kyle Capobianco placed second with 54 points (12G, 42A) over 69 contests and Jeff Malott rounded out the trio with 52 points (22G, 30A) through 70 games. All three skaters recorded new career-high point totals and finished the season top-five in both Moose power play goals and total points on the man-advantage.

Dust off Your History Books

The Moose and Stars have only met one time in franchise history in the Calder Cup Playoffs. The matchup came in the 2014 Calder Cup Final when the Texas Stars defeated the then St. John’s IceCaps in five games. Four of the five contests in that series were decided by a single goal, with three of the four Stars wins were decided in overtime. Kael Mouillierat paced the IceCaps with five points (4G, 1A) in the series, while the Stars countered with Travis Morin, who notched seven points (5G, 2A) over the stretch. Curtis McKenzie is sole player from the Texas side of 2014 series who will be skating against Manitoba in the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs. The IceCaps roster for the matchup featured  current Winnipeg Jets Josh Morrissey and Adam Lowry.

Who's Trending?

Brad Lambert ended the season with a third period goal in Manitoba’s regular season finale in Texas. The Lahti, Finland product ended the campaign as Manitoba’s leading scorer with 55 points (21G, 34A) in  64 contests. In addition, the centreman co-led the club with seven power play goals and paced the Moose with 22 points coming on the man-advantage.