Vancouver Giants playoff preview: Can they limit Spokane scoring star Andrew Cristall?

Yahoo

26-03-2025

A scheduling conflict means the Vancouver Giants get to host the first two games of their opening round playoff series.
Spokane Chiefs star winger Andrew Cristall is still bound to feel right at home with that.
Cristall, 20, is a Vancouver native who was the WHL's leading scorer this regular season, amassing 48 goals and 132 points. It's the second-highest point total in the league in a season in the past decade, trailing only the 143 points Connor Bedard totalled in 2022-23.
Cristall played for Burnaby Winter Club and St. George's Academy growing up. He was part of a Vancouver Vipers spring team that included North Vancouver's Bedard, and a host of other top up-and-comers.
He will undoubtedly have a large contingent of family and friends at the Langley Events Centre stands when the best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal starts on Friday (7 p.m.).
The No. 3-seeded Chiefs (45-20-1-2) have home-ice advantage against the No. 6-seeded Giants (34-26-8-0) and would normally host the first two games. Spokane Arena is the site of an NCAA women's basketball regional tournament this weekend, so the LEC will also have Game 2 on Sunday afternoon (4 p.m.). The Chiefs are slated to host the next three games after that.
'I think their No. 1 line is one of the top-scoring lines in the history of the league,' Giants captain and defenceman Mazden Leslie said of Cristall, 109-point man Berkly Catton, and 49-goal scorer Shea Van Olm. 'That's obviously a focus for us. We want to try to limit them as much as we can.
'Having the puck and making them play defence is a main thing. That's not what they want to be doing. You want to keep it down low in their zone and not turn it over.'
Ryan Lin, who is Leslie's usual defence partner, added, 'If we can get 40 seconds in their zone with that line on the ice, we'll take that any time.'
Cristall, who is a Washington Capitals prospect, was the big-ticket addition at the WHL's January trade deadline, coming to the Chiefs from the Kelowna Rockets in exchange for centre Hayden Paupanekis, 18, and five draft picks, including two first-rounders.
In 29 games with Spokane, Cristall notched 22 goals and 72 points. His Chiefs' total alone would have put Cristall 32nd in league scoring for the season.
Cristall had three goals and 10 points in five games versus the Giants this season. That included two goals and four points in two games with Spokane. The Giants were 0-3-0-1 against the Chiefs this season.
'He's pretty dynamic. He's a passer, but he can be a shooter, too, which makes him a double threat,' Lin said of Cristall. 'He baits guys (into chasing him when he has the puck and opening up one of his teammates for a pass) really well, so you need to be disciplined.'
The Giants have been decidedly better on home ice (21-10-3-0) than on the road (13-16-5-0) so getting the start at the LEC should give them confidence. It also gives Giants coach Manny Viveiros last line change in the first two games, and an opportunity to try to match lines with Spokane's top trio. You would expect the Giants to try to get their No. 1 defensive pairing of Leslie and Lin and the forward unit Jaden Lipinski, Tyler Thorpe and Maxim Muranov out against Cristall, Catton and Van Olm as often as possible.
Lipinski (6-foot-4, 210 pounds), Thorpe (6-foot-4, 215 pounds) and Muranov (6-foot-2, 185 pounds) have shown the ability to wear down opponents with their forechecking and cycle game.
Vancouver does head into the playoffs with six wins in their final 10 games, and rookie goaltender Burke Hood, 17, has been superb. He has won five of his final six starts, has a save percentage of .961 (199-of-207) in that span and was named first star in three of those games.
'He doesn't act 17. With him between the pipes, any game can be ours,' Lin said.
Vancouver does have several younger players in key roles, which isn't always standard operating practice in the WHL. Besides Hood, there is Lin, 16, a rookie who plays as much as anyone on the team. There is also sophomore winger Cameron Schmidt, 18, who was Vancouver's top scorer in the regular season, with 40 goals and 78 points. Schmidt was the No. 8 prospect for this summer's NHL Draft in a list that TSN's Craig Button's put out this week.
'I got to dip my toes in last year, which was nice,' Lin said of playing in three games last year in Vancouver's five-game first-round loss to the Everett Silvertips. 'I kind of know what it's going to be ramped up to. I think it's about staying in the present, just worrying about your next shift.'
Viveiros (in 2019-20) and Giants associate coach Adam Maglio (in 2020-22) are both former Spokane head coaches.
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First Round
Spokane vs. Vancouver
Friday at Langley, 7 p.m.
Sunday at Langley, 4 p.m.
April 2 at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
April 3 at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
*April 5 at Spokane, 6:05 p.m.
*April 7 at Langley, 7 p.m.
*April 9 at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
*If necessary
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