Game 21: Syracuse Crunch vs. Hamilton Bulldogs
7:30 p.m. at War Memorial Arena, Syracuse, N.Y. 

Syracuse (13-5-1-1) hosts the Hamilton Bulldogs (7-9-1-1) for the first time this season, having defeated the Canadiens' AHL affiliate on the road twice in November: 3-0 in Hamilton and 4-1 in Montreal. The Bulldogs are last in the Western Conference's North Division and their 16 points are second fewest in the AHL. Hamilton has just three wins in its last ten games, but pulled off a 3-0 victory against the AHL's winningest team, the Abbotsford Heat, Saturday. Cedrick Desjardins made 24 saves in the shutout, his third victory in four appearances for Hamilton this season. Brendan Gallagher leads the Bulldogs with 11 points (6g, 5a) while Steve Quailer scored the lone goal in two meetings with Syracuse on Nov. 9.

Coverage
Listen to live play-by-play on The Score 1260 with pregame coverage starting at 7:15 p.m. For in-game updates on Twitter, follow @SyracuseCrunch and broadcaster @Dan_Duva. Check SyracuseCrunch.com for post-game recap. Pay-to-watch video is available on AHL Live. 

Palat-Panik-Johnson
Since beginning to play as a trio Oct. 20, the line of LW Ondrej Palat, RW Richard Panik and C Tyler Johnson has been among the most productive in the AHL. Tyler Johnson leads the AHL with 15 goals--two more than any other player--and leads Syracuse with 23 points, tied for third most in the AHL. Averaging a goal in three of every four games, Johnson is on pace to score 57 goals. Though Richard Panik had his league-best 12-game scoring streak ended Sunday, he's produced 17 points (10g, 7a) since Nov. 2 and is now in the AHL's top 15 scorers with 20 on the season (second most on the Crunch). Ondrej Palat has the highest plus-minus in the AHL (+15) and leads the Crunch in assists (15).

Injury Update
Defenseman Keith Aulie is expected to return to the lineup Friday for the first time since Oct. 27 when he sustained an ankle injury. Defenseman Dmitry Korobov and right wing Brett Connolly missed time last weekend because of injury but will likely appear this weekend. Center Vlad Namestnikov and defenseman Evan Oberg are still out.

Matchup
Hamilton has the second-worst power play in the league at 8.8% (7-for-80) while the Crunch boast the AHL's third best penalty kill at 88.6% (111-for-114). While the Bulldogs penalty kill has been an impressive 95% at home (38-for-40), their PK on the road is second worst in the league at 75.5% (40-for-53). The Crunch are 19.5% on the power play at home, the sixth-best mark in the AHL (8-for-41).  

Syracuse leads the AHL in goals, 74, and goals per game, 3.70, while Hamilton manages a league-worst 2.11 goals per game. The Bulldogs are the only AHL team with fewer than 40 goals scored (38). The Bulldogs have also struggled collecting shots on goal, managing only 14 against Syracuse Nov. 9, the smallest total in the AHL this season. The Crunch held the Bulldogs to just two shots in the first period in that game, the smallest total in an AHL first period this year.

Shots
No team allows fewer shots on goal than Syracuse, as Crunch opponents have averaged just 25.30 shots per game.
Syracuse had not allowed an opponent get 30 or more shots on goal through its first 17 games, then surrendering 36 and 38 shots to the Penguins and Senators, respectively, last weeked. Syracuse and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton are the only two AHL teams's who've been outshot in only five games. 

Three-In-Threes
The Week 9 schedule has the Crunch playing their fifth three-in-three of the season, (three games in three days). Syracuse will not play another three-in-three until Week 18 (Feb. 8-10). The team's seventh and final three-in-three of the regular season is Week 21 (Mar. 1-3).