Game 55: Syracuse Crunch (32-14-8-0) vs. Albany Devils (23-22-4-5)
7 p.m., War Memorial Arena, Syracuse, N.Y.
 
The Syracuse Crunch look to stay perfect against the Albany Devils in the teams' sixth matchup of the season Friday at the War Memorial. The second time in seven days the teams play, the Crunch defeated the Devils, 3-1, last Friday. With 72 points, Syracuse leads the Eastern Conference and is tied with Oklahoma City for most points in the AHL.

Broadcast Coverage | Countdown to Crunch Time at 6:45 p.m.
TV: Time Warner Cable Sports Channel (Ch.19)
Radio: ESPN Radio | 97.7 FM, 1200 AM Syracuse | 100.1 FM, 1440 AM Oswego | Listen Live | 
Mobile: Free audio on your mobile device via TuneIn App and ESPN Radio App
Streaming Video: AHL LIve.com and mobile devices with the AHL Live App
 

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Crunch hold top spot in AHL
For the second time this season, Syracuse owns the highest point total in the AHL. The Crunch and the Oklahoma City Barons, who won in overtime Tuesday, have 72 points apiece. The Crunch and Barons hold a one-point lead over Manchester and Hershey. 
 
On Feb. 7, Syracuse gained a point with an overtime loss to the Springfield Falcons and moved ahead of the Oklahoma City Barons, 62-61, in the standings. After the Barons defeated Texas the next day, the Crunch were knocked back to second place.
 
Syracuse has held the Northeast Division lead since a Jan. 24 win against Hartford and the top spot in the Eastern Conference since a Jan. 31 win in Hershey. The Crunch have been in the AHL's top five since Dec. 19. 
 
Marchessault's offensive boost
After missing six games due to injury, Jonathan Marchessault returned to the Crunch lineup last weekend and has points in each of the four games he's skated. The forward scored early in the second period of his first game back, which would be the eventual game-winner over Albany. The next night, Marchessault assisted on a Joel Vermin goal in the early minutes of the second period, and finished the weekend with three points after an assist on Vladislav Namestnikov's second goal against Rochester. This Wednesday against the Amerks, Marchessault notched two points (2a).
 
Despite missing six games, Marchessault still leads the Crunch with 43 points (13g, 30a) and is tied for 12th in the league in points, a slight dip after ranking in the top-10 for most of the season. His current four-game point streak is his fourth-longest of the season. His season-long streak was eight games Nov. 1-19.
 
He's also posted two five-game point streaks. The All-Star has at least one point in 31 of his 47 games.
 
Namestnikov continues torrid pace
Vlad Namestnikov had a goal and assist Wednesday at Rochester, the fourth-straight contest the Crunch forward has recorded a point. With three multi-point efforts his last four games, Namestnikov has continued the pace he set last weekend when he was named CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Feb. 22, 2015. Namestnikov notched three goals and three assists for six points along with a plus-5 rating in three games last week, helping the Crunch move into first place in the overall AHL standings. 

With eight points (4g, 4a) his last four contests, Namestnikov matched the best four-game stretch of his AHL career. He had eight points (2g, 6a) Oct. 26, 2013 – Nov. 2, 2013.

A first-round selection (27th overall) by Tampa Bay in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Namestnikov has registered 13 goals and 19 assists for 32 points in 32 games for Syracuse this season, along with three goals and four assists in 26 National Hockey League matches with the Lightning.

The 2015 AHL All Star needs a point Friday to match a season high five-game point streak.
 
Special Teams
The Crunch went 0-for-3 on the power play last time out against Rochester, the second-straight contest Syracuse went scoreless against the Amerks. Syracuse scored on the man advantage its last home contest against Binghamton, a 5-3 Crunch victory. The league's 27th-ranked man-up unit (11.7%), the Crunch are 2-for-22  against the Devils on the man advantage this season.

Syracuse is 17-for-19 in penalty-killing situations against Albany this season and ranks 24th in the AHL (80.9%). The Crunch gave up power-play tallies in its last two games to the Amerks.

Albany ranks 13th in the AHL on the power play, scoring on 17.3% of its opportunities. The Devils went 2-for-9 on the man-up unit last Sunday, a 4-2 loss to the Springfield Falcons. In their last five games, the Devils have four power play tallies.

The Devils penalty kill allowed three goals on seven Springfield power-play chances last game, the first time in four contests Albany surrendered a man-up tally. Ranked 23rd in the AHL in penalty-killing situations (80.9%), the Devils hold the third-worst road kill in the AHL (76.9%).
 
Lightning Flash
With 80 points, Syracuse's parent club the Tampa Bay Lightning (37-19-6) rank second in the Atlantic Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference. Tampa Bay is three points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the Atlantic Division lead.

The Lightning plays its first game in five days hosting the Chicago Blackhawks for the only time this season Friday. Tampa Bay has the second-most home wins in the NHL, 22.

Former Crunch forward Tyler Johnson leads the NHL's highest scoring club (203g), in points (59p). Tenth overall in the NHL, Johnson comes off a three-point game (1g, 2a) last Sunday against the Avalanche.