PREVIEW: Gulls, Silver Knights Clash In Battle For Playoff Positioning
Apr 19, 2022By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
The chase is on.
One game after punching their ticket to the postseason, the San Diego Gulls head to Dollar Loan Center to face a Henderson Silver Knights team sitting ahead of them in the Pacific Division standings (7 p.m. PT; TV: AHL TV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).
The teams hold the final two spots in the division, separated by nine points. San Diego holds two games in hand and earned points in each of the previous seven matchups with Henderson this season (6-0-0-1). The Gulls outscored Henderson 30-11 (excluding shootout goals) in those seven matchups.
"We know the playoffs are coming around, and I know from experience you can't just turn the switch on and off," Gulls assistant coach Max Talbot said. "So for us, it's just continue building. I know we lost five in a row, but it's not like we should feel down on ourselves so much, because it's a process and we've still done some good things during those five games.
"So keep building, keep working, keep learning, especially getting that playoff mindset and intensity right now, and building that for what's to come."
The five losses included three against the rival Ontario Reign, a series which saw the Gulls score three goals in three games.
"We just need to clean up our offense a little bit; our execution," Gulls forward Greg Printz said. "Work on scoring some more goals because we had a good run there. I think we were getting almost three-and-a-half goals a game, so if we can start to pick that back up again - our defense is pretty good - I think we'll start to turn it around and win some games here."
To kickstart the offense, the Gulls will look to Alex Limoges, who paces his team in production against Henderson with 5-4=9 points. Lucas Elvenes recorded points in five of six games (1-4=5) played against the Silver Knights since being claimed on waivers by Anaheim on Jan. 11. In addition, 13 different Gulls found the back of the net in the previous seven games,
Key to their success against Henderson is San Diego’s power play, which is 9-for-30 (30%) in the three-game series.
"The power play has been good against them," Talbot said. "We've kept it very simple; that is when we have our most success. Keeping it simpler and crashing the net. We also know that they have some good young players that came from the NCAA. That late in the season, it's about us, our game. It's not so much about them - of course we scout them, we know what they're doing and we make small adjustments, but it's really to play the Gulls game, the game that brought us success this year."
Part of those new additions included the highly-touted Brendan Brisson, who recently made his American Hockey League debut following a stellar career at The University of Michigan. On top of his 21-21=42 points with the Wolverines, Brisson also scored twice for Team USA at the Olympic Games Beijing 2022.
The rookie scored his first professional goal in his debut on Apr. 13 against Stockton and continues to find success. He has points in all three games, including a career-high 1-2=3 point performance on Saturday against the Heat.
He’s helped Henderson to a five-game point streak (4-0-0-1) and points in all three of their matchups with the division-leading Heat.
"It will be nice to see a different team," Talbot said. "Getting some wins, as a player you feel good when you get some wins. We've been playing a little frustrated, especially in the last game. It all works in the same direction. You're playing the right way, you're getting ready for the playoffs, focused on Henderson, you play better, you get a win, and then it's all part of the process."