Phantoms played three games last week and went 1-1-0-1 which brings them to 26-24-5-3 on the season for 60 points. They have elevated themselves into sixth place, the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. They’ve got one game in hand and one point over Springfield for the last postseason berth.
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Olle Lycksell
Lycksell posted six points (1G, 5A) in two games this weekend. The four assists on Saturday was a team record for a single game. He’s technically on a five-game point streak, even though they occurred over literally two months, with four goals and 13 points; and has seven goals and 17 points in 10 games since the start of 2024. Despite his prolonged call up, he’s still leading the Phantoms in goals with 19 and third in points with 38 in just 36 games.
Tanner Laczynski
After missing nearly two months of action, Laczynski returned to the Phantoms and posted a hat trick on Saturday and five total points in three games. Laczynski was in the middle of a career year before his missed time when he had 26 points in 33 games (which is now 31 points in 36 games), so it’s a welcome sight that he can come back and hit the ground running for a team that’s going to need all hands on deck to make the playoffs.
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Emil Andrae
Andrae has become an assist machine, mainly on the powerplay, which is good because he’s scored just one goal since December 12. He didn’t record a point last week, but did walk away with a +2 rating, seven shots on goal, and 12 penalty minutes. The rookie defenseman has 30 points in 49 games on the season and is serving as the team’s top blue liner. His three-game cold stretch is only the third time all season he went three games without a point, so expect him back on the score sheet soon.
Samu Tuomaala
Tuomaala also went pointless this week. He managed three points in three games last week, but he’s still got just one goal dating back to early February and has just those three points in his last 11 games. The rookie forward has defied all expectations of him during his first full campaign in North America, but has slowed quite a bit since his All-Star game appearance in early February.
Helge Grans
Grans had an assist on Friday. It was his first point since late January. On the whole it’s been a relatively uneventful season for Grans, who hasn’t had the impact that was hoped of him when Briere acquired him from LA last summer, but it’s nice to see a sign of life on the score sheet, and now that he’s back riding shotgun with Andrae, the young Swedish defensive duo are hoping to finally rekindle some magic together.
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J.R. Avon
Avon missed his shootout attempt on Friday. He was five-for-six on the season going into the game, so it was a rare miss for the rookie forward. He hasn’t scored a goal since February 9 and has just two assists in that 14-game span. His play isn’t bad, and he’s getting plenty of elevated ice time, but at some point he has to start converting on the chances he’s being given.
Elliot Desnoyers
Speaking of converting chances- Desnoyers returned to the lineup after a brief absence, which means his goalless drought reached 31 games. Not only that, but he hasn’t registered a point in ten straight. Desnoyers had 23 goals and 44 points in 65 games last season. He has just four goals and 17 points in 50 games this year. A very unexpected fall from grace and apparently has no end in sight.
Adam Ginning
Ginning earned an NHL recall on March 6. He played one NHL game and looked decent against Florida, then was demoted back after the team acquired Erik Johnson at the deadline. It’s not a great sign that Ginning was the most recent prospect to get shitcanned in favor of a washed up veteran. There were already rumors that he might return to Europe at season’s end, and being denied an NHL run will probably solidify that, despite the fact he’s had a pretty decent run for the Phantoms the last two seasons.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
brotherlypuck.com 