7 p.m., War Memorial Arena, Syracuse, N.Y.

The Bulldogs beat Syracuse 4-1 Friday at Bell Centre in Montreal, extending Syracuse's losing streak to three games. The Crunch host the Bulldogs at the War Memorial Arena tonight, the second of four battles between Tampa Bay and Montreal affiliates. 

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Brett Connolly back in Syracuse
Right wing Brett Connolly was reassigned from Tampa Bay to Syracuse last night and is expected to be available for tonight's game vs. Hamilton at the War Memorial Arena. Connolly last played for Syracuse Oct. 30 in Albany, missing the last eight Crunch games while in the NHL with the Lightning.

During two recalls with Tampa Bay this season, Connolly has skated in 11 NHL games with one point, a game-winning goal Nov. 2 vs. St. Louis. Three of Connolly's six career NHL goals have been game winners (83 games).

The third-year pro led Syracuse with eight game-winning markers in 2012-13 while totaling 63 regular season points (31g, 32a), second only to Tyler Johnson's 65. Connolly has one assist (on the power play) in six games for Syracuse this season. He's plus-2 with three minor penalties.

Last time out
Syracuse suffered its second regulation road loss Friday at Bell Centre in Montreal, falling to the Hamilton Bulldogs, 4-1. Dustin Tokarski kept Syracuse off the board until the last five minutes of the contest when J.P. Cote scored, but the Hamilton offense had already built a 3-0 edge.

Allowing an opening-period goal to former Crunch winger Mike Blunden at 15:55, the Crunch fell into a deeper hole in the second, allowing goals at 11:00 and 13:06 when Morgan Ellis and Gabriel Dumont each potted their first of the season. Martin St. Pierre assisted on Ellis's eventual game winner to seize the team scoring lead at 12 points.

After Cote extended his scoring streak to six games with his second goal of the season (assisted by Tanner Richard and Phil Paradis), Blunden added an empty netter for a game-high three points (2g, 1a). Dumont and Ellis had two-point (1g, 1a) nights. Cedrick Desjardins suffered the loss against his former team, stopping 23 of 26 shots.

Consistent cote
Crunch defenseman and former Hamilton Bulldog J.P. Cote is currently on a six-game point streak. With points in each game since Nov. 6 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (1g, 5a), Cote's season total stands at eight points (2g, 6a) in 12 games this season, or 0.67 points per game.

His current scoring pace is nearly three times ahead of his first season with the Crunch. The Syracuse alternate captain totaled 17 points (3g, 14a) in 74 games in 2012-13, a career high, and a mark of 0.23 points per game.

Before his current streak Cote's longest stretch of points was Feb. 11-15, 2012 when he recorded an assist in three consecutive games while playing for the Norfolk Admirals. 

Scouting the bulldogs
The Bulldogs have won three straight games after snapping a six-game losing streak.  With 19 points, Hamilton is eighth in the Western Conference and third in the North Division.

The Bulldogs are led by center Martin St. Pierre's 12 points (3g, 9a), and 11 points each from right wings Sven Andrighetto (7g, 4a) and Louis Leblanc (6g, 5a). Andrighetto and Nick Tarnasky are tied for the team lead with seven goals.  St. Pierre has assists in three straight games.

In net former Crunch goalie Dustin Tokarski has played in 13 games, posting a 7-3-1 record with a 2.07 GAA and a .927 save percentage.  His 2.07 goals-against average is the fourth best among active goalies in the AHL. He made 25 saves on 26 shots to beat the Crunch last night, and has stopped 65 of 66 shots in two starts against the Crunch since being traded to the Bulldogs from Syracuse last season.

Special teams
Syracuse was 0-for-3 on the power play Friday in Montreal and scoreless during the team's three-game losing skid. Prior to the slump, Syracuse had at least one power-play goal in 11 of its first 13 games.

The Crunch are 1-for-20 on the power play over the last five games. From Oct. 12 to Nov. 6, the power play produced in 10 consecutive games. Their power play success rate has slipped to 21.8%, sixth in the AHL, down from 28.6%, second in the AHL, three weeks ago following a 2-for-6 effort Nov. 1 vs. Rochester.

Nikita Kucherov has scored six of Syracuse's 17 power-play goals this season and though he hasn't scored on the power play this month, he's still second in the AHL.

The Crunch penalty kill returned to form Friday, stopping each of Hamilton's three power plays. The PK had surrendered a goal in each of the two losses last week, but, before that, was perfect in six of seven games. Now at 83.6%, the Syracuse penalty kill is now 13th in the league.

Hamilton's power play ranks 25th in the AHL at 14.5% and the team's penalty kill operates at 84.4%, eighth in the league. Nick Tarnasky leads Hamilton with four power-play goals.

Somebodies we used to know
Syracuse goaltender Cedrick Desjardins and Hamilton's Dustin Tokarski swapped places last season when Montreal and Tampa Bay completed a trade exchanging the two on February 14. 

In 33 games for the Crunch last season Tokarski posted a 18-8-4 record with a 2.46 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage. He was 6-8 after the trade, posting a 2.22 goals-against average and .927 save percentage.

Desjardins played 22 games for Hamilton last year with a 7-13-2 record, a 2.94 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage. He then won eight of 14 games for Syracuse with two shutouts and a 2.12 goals-against average. In the Calder Cup playoffs Desjardins set Crunch postseason records with 13 wins and three shutouts in 18 games.

Cedrick played in 114 regular season games for the Bulldogs between 2006 and 2010, plus 2012-13.  He also appeared in ten playoff games for the Bulldogs in the 2010 Calder Cup Playoffs.

Hamilton forwards Mike Blunden and Maxime Macenauer also spent time in Syracuse.  Blunden played for the Crunch from 2008 to 2010 appearing in 64 games and totaling 37 points (16g, 21a).  Macenauer suited up for the Crunch in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.  He appeared in 92 games scoring 38 points (17g, 21a).  Macenauer also appeared in 29 games for Anaheim in the 2011-12 season when the Ducks were the Crunch's NHL affiliate.