Game 25: Syracuse Crunch (14-7-3-0) vs. Hershey Bears (13-9-1-1)
7 p.m., War Memorial Arena, Syracuse, N.Y.

The Syracuse Crunch host the Hershey Bears tonight at the War Memorial as Stanley Steemer presents the fourth-annual Tired Teddy Toss. All the stuffed animals tossed on the ice after Syracuse's first goal will be collected and cleaned by Stanley Steemer. The refurbished stuffed animals will be donated to the Salvation Army and given to families in need at a special Dec. 22 event at the Oncenter.

The Crunch have tossed the Hershey Bears in two previous meetings, winning 5-1 Nov. 14 in Syracuse and 4-1 Nov. 29 in Hershey. Syracuse is three points ahead of Hershey in the Eastern Conference standings. The Crunch are 7-3-0-0 in their last ten while the Bears are 6-3-0-1.

Broadcast Coverage
Radio: ESPN Radio 97.7 FM  & 1200 AM Syracuse; 100.1 FM & 1440 AM Oswego | Listen Live | 
Mobile: Free audio on your mobile device with the TuneIn App 
Streaming: Pay-to-watch video on AHL LIve.com and on your mobile device with the AHL Live App

Vasilevskiy taking the reins
Andrei Vasilevskiy has been lights out on opponents in his last three starts, allowing one goal on 88 shots (.989). After a 4-1 win Nov. 14 in Hershey (28 saves), he earned consecutive shutouts, his first two in North America: Saturday vs. Rochester 2-0 (a season-high 34 saves) and Wednesday in Springfield (26 saves) ending the Falcons' 11-game win streak. 

The rookie's goals-against average has shrunk from 3.06 to 2.44 in the last two weeks as his save percentge has ballooned to .914. He's won six of his last seven games and the Crunch have recorded points in eight of his last nine decisions, and 10 of his 13 games this year.

In 36 career KHL regular season games he notched four shutouts while averaging 23 saves per game with a .923 save percentage and 2.21 goals-against average. 

Namestnikov continues to mash
Vladislav Namestnikov has made a triumphant return to Syracuse with points in each of three games (two multi-point performances) since being reassinged by Tampa Bay Dec. 3. The third-year center has six points (2g, 4a) with a plus-4 in that span, including a goal in his first minute of action last Friday.  

He has 19 career AHL multi-point games—four of which are three-point performances—plus one in the postseason. He has yet to record a hat trick as a pro, but recorded one during his 131-game OHL career with the London Knights, Feb. 19, 2011.

Namestnikov's AHL production stands at 75 points (28g, 47a) in 103 regular season games. Tampa Bay's first-round pick in 2011 also had seven points (2g, 5a) during the 2013 Calder Cup playoffs when the Crunch made it to the Calder Cup Finals. 

Last time out
Andrei Vasilevskiy recorded his second consecutive shutout, 2-0, over Springfield, stopping 26 shots and extending his streak to 143:16 without allowing a goal.

Nikita Nesterov scored the opening goal for Syracuse, a slap shot from the left circle. Mike Angeldis and Vladislav Namestnikov assisted on the game's first marker.

Namestnikov has six points in his first three games back with Syracuse, Angelidis tallied his 12th point of the season, and Nesterov scored his third goal and 12th point.

Mike Blunden, who had a game-high five shots, scored an unassisted empty netter in the final minute in his first game since Nov. 12 when suffered an injury in Albany. He has six points (3g, 3a) in 13 games.

Scouting the Bears
Hershey (13-9-1-1, 28pts) ranks second in the East Division and seventh in the Eastern Conference. After winning six of eight October games, the Bears cooled off in November, posting a 5-6-1-1 mark that included two losses to Syracuse. On Nov. 14, the Crunch topped the Bears 5-1 utilizing five goals from five different players. On Nov. 29, Cody Kunyk's two-goal performance propelled the Crunch to a 4-1 win in Hershey.

Center Kris Newbury leads the Bears with 21 points (10g, 11a) and ranks 14th in AHL scoring. Newbury led the AHL in scoring when he netted Hershey's lone tally against the Crunch on Nov. 14, but he has not recorded a point since Nov. 19 (five games). The 12-year veteran spent the majority of the 2013-14 campaign with Adirondack (46 games), before concluding the year in Hershey (17 games). 

Special Teams
The Crunch have killed off seven straight opposing power plays and rank 27th in the league (79.6%). In that stretch, the Crunch haven't scored a power-play goal either, going 0-for-8 in the past two games, falling to 28th in the league (12.4%). Yanni Gourde, Jonathan Marchessault and Nikita Nesterov share the Crunch lead in power-play goals, two each.

Hershey leads the league in penalty killing (89.4%), allowing 11 goals on the man-advantage this season. The Bears power play ranks near the top of the AHL, sixth in the league (19.6%). Casey Wellman and Stanislav Galiev lead the Bears with five power-play goals each, tied for third in the AHL.

Lightning Flash
Crunch alum Nikita Kucherov scored two goals Thursday night for the Lightning in a 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. The win ended a two-game slide by Tampa Bay. Evgeni Nabakov started in goal, giving Ben Bishop a night off, and stopped 29 shots in the Lightning victory. Tampa Bay improved to  41 points for the season, best in the Eastern Conference.

Former Crunch center Tyler Johnson has six points (2g, 4a) in his last six games, including a three-point night against the Rangers, Dec. 1.  The Lightning face the Washington Capitals Saturday night.