Game 74: Syracuse Crunch (41-21-6-5) vs. Norfolk Admirals (37-31-4-1)
7:30 p.m. at War Memorial Arena, Syracuse, N.Y.
Friday at the War Memorial, the Crunch face East Division rival the Norfolk Admirals for the eighth and final time this season. Friday's tilt kicks off a three-in-three weekend for the Crunch to close out the regular season. The Crunch have won four of the first seven matches with Norfolk, but the Admirals have won the last three, including a weekend sweep Mar. 29 & 30 in Norfolk. Four of the seven have gone past regulation, with the Crunch collecting points in six of the seven (4-1-1-1), while Norfolk has points in five (3-2-1-1). The Ads won the last match 2-0 on Mar. 30.
Coverage
Where They Stand
Norfolk has wins in seven of its last ten games, to move to 37-31-4-1 and 79 points. That has pushed the Admirals to fourth in the East Division and seventh in the Eastern Conference, tied with Connecticut, and two points clear of Manchester and Hershey for a playoff spot. The Admirals are coming into the week after winning two of three games in a three-in-three weekend. They beat Worcester on Friday and Saturday before losing to Providence on Sunday. After visiting the Crunch on Friday, the Admirals will visit Albany on Saturday and then close out the regular season (and their six-game road trip) in Providence on Sunday.
At 41-21-6-5, Syracuse has 93 points, tops in the East Division and third most in the Eastern Conference. Syracuse trails first-place Providence (99) by six points for the conference's top spot. Both teams have three games remaining, neccessitating three Syracuse wins and three Providence losses for the Crunch to have a chance at the Eastern Conference championship. Meanwhile, second-place Springfield (97), two points behind Providence and four points ahead of Syracuse, has only two games remaining. Having already clinched home ice in the Calder Cup playoffs' first round, the Crunch lead Binghamton (92) by one point for the East Division lead and the third seed. The Senators play three times this weekend including Sunday in Syracuse.
A full breakdown of playoff-clinching scenarios is available at
The AHL Playoff Primer.
Scouting Report
The Ads are led by left wing
Patrick Maroon (24g-24a-48pts), defenseman Sami Vatanen (9g-36a-45pts), and right wing
Devante Smith-Pelly (13g-18a-31pts). In goal, Frederik Anderson has seen the majority of the time in goal down the stretch. He had started 12 straight games before sitting on Sunday. In 44 games this season he is 24-15-1 with a 2.12 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage. He is the AHL active leader in save percentage, behind only behind Senators goalie Robin Lehner (.938), currently in the NHL. Defenseman Jordan Hendry has been added to Norfolk's roster; the defenseman had been with Anaheim the last three days but did not see game action.
For the Crunch,
Vladislav Namestnikov leads the Crunch with five points (2g, 3a) in his six games against the Ads. No current Crunch goalie has a win against Norfolk, as Cederick Desjardins lost both of his starts and
Riku Helenius lost his only start against the Admirals. Syracuse's top two scorers,
Tyler Johnson (33g-27a-60pts) and
Brett Connolly (30g-30a-60pts) combined for five points (4g, 1a) in their return to Syracuse Saturday, a 5-1 win over Rochester. Their 60 points each are tied for 10th in AHL scoring, while Johnson's 33 goals are tops in the league.
Last Meeting: March 30
The Crunch offense was shut out for the second time in three games during a 2-0 loss to the Admirals Saturday, Mar. 30, in Norfolk. The Crunch peppered Norfolk goalie Frederik Andersen with 13 shots in the first period, but couldn't score. The Admirals managed just three shots in the opening frame, but finally cracked
Riku Helenius in the second. After two assists Friday, Sami Vatanen snapped a goal past Helenius' glove to put the Admirals up 1-0 almost halfway through the game. Norfolk doubled its lead early in the third period with a
John Mitchell goal from the slot. Helenius finished with night with 25 saves. He didn't get any help from the Syracuse power play, which went 0-for-8 on the night.
Danick Gauthier dropped the gloves with
John Kurtz in the first period, his fourth fight.
