Fast Facts: Moose at Texas – First Round Game 2

The Manitoba Moose face elimination for the first time in these playoffs tonight (7 p.m. CT) when they take on the Texas Stars. The host Stars claimed the first game of the best-of-three series with a 6-3 win on Tuesday. A three-goal second period powered the win for Texas. The AHL's leading scorer from the regular season, Mavrik Bourque, led the way with four points (2G, 2A). Meanwhile, defenders Kyle Capobianco and Ville Heinola each recorded two assists in the loss. Coverage of tonight's Game 2 begins at 6:45 p.m. CT on CJOB.com/sports, the Winnipeg Jets App and AHLTV. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. CT as the Moose try to force a deciding game.

Valuable Experience

A total of seven Moose player made their Calder Cup Playoffs debuts in Game 1 on Tuesday against Texas. Brad Lambert, Nikita Chibrikov, Kristian Reichel, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, Dylan Anhorn and Thomas Milic all appeared in their first AHL playoff games. The six skaters combined for eight shots on goal in Game 1.  Lambert and Liwiski posted assists, while Chibrikov found the goal column. Milic ended his first professional playoff start with 30 saves. Over the past two playoff runs, 15 total Moose skaters have made their AHL post-season debuts.

Outstanding Defenceman

Kyle Capobianco was voted the 2023-24 Eddie Shore Award winner as the AHL’s outstanding defenceman. Capobianco led all AHL defencemen, and finished second on the Moose, with 54 points (12G, 42A) in 69 games. He was the only AHL defenceman to record at least 50 points during the 2023-24 campaign. The Mississauga, Ont. product also posted a plus-29 rating which tied him for fourth in the AHL and matched the Moose franchise record. Capobianco, who was also  named a 2023-24 First Team AHL All-Star, is the second Moose defenceman to win the Eddie Shore Award after Sami Niku claimed the honour in 2017-18 while also recording 54 points.

Rookie Production

In Manitoba’s loss on Tuesday, two of the three Moose goals and four of the nine points recorded belonged to rookie skaters. Nikita Chibrikov and Parker Ford lit the lamp, with the former’s tally coming on the power play.  Chibrikov finished second in Moose rookie scoring with 47 points (17G, 30A) and co-led the Moose with seven power play goals. Ford wrapped the campaign third in first-year scoring and posted 41 points (18G 23A). Brad Lambert and Mark Liwiski each tallied an assist. Lambert finished the season with 55 points (21G, 34A), while Liwiski had two points (1G, 1A) and scored his first AHL goal on April 13.

Working For a Split

When the Moose dropped a contest in the second half of the campaign, the club was able to rebound successful. The team marked down a record of 7-3-0-0 after falling in a game from January 27 onward. Looking back at Manitoba’s playoff history, the Moose have 10 wins and 12 losses in Game 2 when losing the first game of the series. The Moose advanced to the next round in six of those 10 series they rebounded in Game 2. Overall, Manitoba has won seven of 22 series when falling in the opening game of the set.

Who's Trending?

Ville Heinola produced a pair of assists in Game 1 against Texas. In addition to the pair of points, the defenceman finished third on the team with three shots in the contest. Heinola’s two assists represents the defenders second multi-point playoff outing of his career. The Honkajoki, Finland product has tallied eight points (1G, 7A) in 10 postseason contests.