The AHL's Central Division Finals kicks off tonight with the Milwaukee Admirals heading to Cedar Park to take on the Texas Stars.
The Stars swept the Grand Rapids Griffins in three games and the Admirals knocked out the Rockford IceHogs in overtime of game five to advance to the Division Finals.
Milwaukee finished atop the Central Division just two points ahead of Texas, both teams had a first round bye.
This is the third straight season the two teams are meeting in the Calder Cup Playoffs, the Admirals eliminated the Stars in five games in the 2023 Central Division Finals and the 2024 Central Division Semifinals.
The Admirals have been led by their top line of Kieffer Bellows, Fedor Svechkov, and Ozzy Wiesblatt who combined for seven goals and 16 points in five games against Rockford.
Defenseman Marc Del Gaizo added a goal and five points while anchoring the team's power play.
Del Gaizo and Mark Friedman will play big minutes for the Admirals while Spencer Stastney will need to continue his strong defensive play to keep Texas' offense in check.
After starting the series slow Admirals goaltender Matt Murray rebounded to win three straight games, finishing the series with a .884 SP. He will need to stay consistent in order for Milwaukee to shutdown the Stars.
Milwaukee will also need to stay out of the penalty box, Texas leads the playoffs in power play percentage after going 3/8 in round two. Milwaukee went 3/16 against Rockford.
Texas got a dominant showing from their top line in the second round with AHL Rookie of the Year Justin Hryckowian and Cameron Hughes both posting six points in three games.
AHL goal scoring leader Matej Blumel had one goal and four points in round two and Milwaukee will need to keep him off the scoresheet to have a chance in the series.
The Stars' back-end is anchored by 2024 AHL Defenseman of the Year Kyle Capobianco who had another fantastic two-way season and recorded five points in the sweep of Grand Rapids.
Texas' goaltending will be interesting to watch, Remi Poirier stopped 64 of 70 shots against and won two games against Grand Rapids before Magnus Hellberg entered in injury relief in the third period of game three and stopped all 18 shots against. There has been no update on who will start game one.
Hellberg was originally drafted by the Nashville Predators and played for the Admirals from 2012-15. Murray played for the Stars from 2022-2024.
Checkout The Hockey News' Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators team sites for more updates on each team.
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