Last Time Out
Jeff Tambellini, Matt Taormina and Jonathan Drouin goals lifted the Crunch from a 2-0 hole to a 3-2 advantage Friday in Binghamton, but the Senators struck late to force overtime and defeated Syracuse in the extra frame, 4-3. Syracuse finishes the season series at 7-1-2-0 against Binghamton.

Kyle Flanagan, nephew of Syracuse University women's ice hockey head coach Paul Flanagan, potted the game-winner on a one-on-none breakaway  and assisted on the tying score.  

After falling behind by two scores in the second, Tambellini scored unassisted late in the frame during 4-on-4 action. In the third, Taormina's five-on-five goal, his career-high 12th of the year, tied the score with Blujus assisting. Drouin scored his fifth goal (in his 11th game) at 10:19, his second power-play score, with a left-circle laser, set up by Taormina and Matthew Peca.

Matt O'Connor (7-17-2) turned aside 34 of 37 Crunch shots, including 15 in the third as Syracuse outshot Binghamton 17-1. Adam Wilcox (9-10-6) took the overtime loss with 20 saves, allowing the tying goal and winning goal on the last two shots he saw.

News and Notes
Matt Taormina's sixth multi-point game Friday (1g, 1a) ups his season total to 35 points, 13th among AHL defensemen. The only blueliner with more goals than Taormina's 12 is Toronto's T.J. Brennan with 22. . . . Jeff Tambellini has three goals in his last two games—one shorthanded, one on the power play and one at 4-on-4—improving his season total to 22 markers, most on the Crunch. His 38 points are third on the Crunch behind Tanner Richard (45) and Tye McGinn (39). . . Matthew Peca has six assists in the last five games, lifting the rookie's season total to 25 helpers and 30 points. . . . Jonathan Drouin has four points (3g, 1a) in four games since returning to the Crunch March 11.

Scouting the IceCaps
The IceCaps, in their first season as Montreal's affiliate, have defeated the Crunch in five of six meetings heading into the final two matchups for the new North Division rivals. St. John's has three points more than Syracuse for fifth place. Forty-five players have dressed for the IceCaps this year, compared to 34 for Syracuse.

Bud Holloway's 52 points are best on the team and tied for fourth in the AHL. He's also tied for third in power-play points at 24. Charles Hudon leads the club in goals, 20. Captain Gabriel Dumont leads the IceCaps in points versus Syracuse with eight (3g, 5a) and a plus-5. NHL All-Star Game MVP John Scott has four points (2g, 2a) in 19 games. 

Rookie Zachary Fucale (15-15-4, 2.98) is 3-0-1 vs. Syracuse including a 39-save shutout Feb. 9. Original IceCap Eddie Pasquale (10-7-0, 2.55) is 2-0-0 against the Crunch. 

Andrew Yogan, who scored two goals in four games in a Syracuse uniform this year, has five points (1g, 4a) in seven games with St. John's since signing a PTO March 4.

Special Teams
Syracuse climbed the power-play standings to eighth in the AHL after a 1-for-7 showing Friday in Binghamton. Both the Crunch and the IceCaps are 18.8 percent on the man-advantage, but Syracuse has more scores (48-for-255 vs. 46-for-245) leaving St. John's ranked ninth. At home, Syracuse is fifth at 22.2 percent (28-for-126) while on the road St. John's is 18th at 14.9 percent (18-for-121). 

The IceCaps penalty kill ranks fifth in the AHL at 86.2 percent compared to 28th for Syracuse at 79.5 percent. The Crunch stopped each of three Binghamton power plays Friday while the IceCaps stopped each of four Utica chances.

IceCaps power-play producers include Bud Holloway (10g, 14a), Charles Hudon (9g, 8a) and Morgan Ellis (3g, 15a). For Syracuse, it's DeAngelo (17a), Taormina (4g, 12a) and Richard (1g, 13a).

Lightning Flash
Tampa Bay lost to Dallas Thursday, 4-3, despite two goals from Steven Stamkos, the team leader's 32nd and 33rd of the season. Nikita Kucherov added his 26th goal and an assist. Alex Killorn posted two helpers. Ben Bishop saved 29 of 33, but slipped to 29-19-4.

Mike Blunden appeared in his third consecutive game, logging 9:02 of time on ice, two penalty minutes, two shots and one takeaway. Blunden has two goals, two assists and a plus-4 rating in a dozen Lightning games this season.

The team concludes its four-game road trip tonight in Arizona at 10 p.m. ET. In their only previous meeting, Cedric Paquette's second-period penalty-shot goal was the game-winner in a  2-1 Lightning victory over the Coyotes at Amalie Arena Feb. 23. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 29 saves.

The Bolts are third in the Atlantic Division at 40-26-5, 85 points, one point behind Boston and four points behind Florida. The clubs currently holding the Eastern Conference's two Wild Card spots are Pittsburgh at 84 points and Detroit at 81 points.