Crunch strap in for a match with the Rocket
The Crunch (14-10-1-2) begin a two-game road trip with their third visit to Place Bell in Laval to clash against the Rocket (10-13-4-2). Laval won the first two games—including one in a shootout—on its home ice before the Crunch snagged a win in Syracuse Dec. 1. 

Last time out
The Crunch gave up three second-period goals as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms defeated the Crunch, 4-2, ending Syracuse's 10-game winning streak Saturday at PPL Center.

Despite a slow start, the Crunch grabbed a 1-0 lead late in the first period. Matthew Peca received a drop pass at the left circle and ripped home a one-timer just inside the elbow of the post and crossbar at 17:53 to stake the Crunch to a lead.

The Phantoms controlled play throughout the second and took advantage three times to open a lead on the Crunch. Chris Connor tied the game with a chip in off a centering pass from Phil Varone at 11:44. Three minutes later, Corbin Knight deflected a shot that was heading wide past Connor Ingram to give Lehigh Valley its first lead, 2-1, at 14:48. Greg Carey finished the run with a backhand shot near the crease on a broken play at 16:32, sending the game into the second intermission with the Phantoms ahead, 3-1.

Kevin Lynch pulled Syracuse back within one on a rebound goal at 12:55 of the third period. The Crunch came a few inches away from tying it a few minutes later, but the missed shot turned into a Phantoms 2-on-1 rush and Danick Martel capitalized to re-establish the two-goal margin at 14:17. The Crunch played nearly the final five minutes without a goalie, but neither team scored during that span and the final remained 4-2. 
   
Scouting the Crunch
Syracuse's 10-game winning streak (Nov. 22-Dec. 15) has moved the Crunch (14-10-1-2) from last in the North Division up to third, moving from a 0.344 points percentage to their current 0.574 points percentage. Prior to Saturday, the Crunch's last loss was Nov. 19 vs. Toronto, which was the final game of a three-game losing streak.

The Crunch scored just two goals in Saturday's loss to the Phantoms which was only the second time in the last 11 games they scored two goals or fewer. Syracuse is 1-10-1-0 when scoring two goals or fewer, with its only win coming against Laval, 2-1, Dec. 1. Conversely the Crunch are 13-0-0-1 when scoring more than two goals.

Three Crunch players enter the week with points in at least three straight games. Carter Verhaeghe leads the way with a career-high six-game point streak, matching Adam Erne for the longest by a Crunch player this season. His seven points (4g, 3a) in the run leave him with 13 points (7g, 6a) in 14 games in his first year with the Crunch.

Matthew Peca scored his fourth goal of the campaign Saturday to push his scoring streak to three games (1g, 4a), tied for his longest of the season. In the last match with the Rocket, Peca scored the game-winning goal.

Kevin Lynch has goals in back-to-back games for the first time in his career, extending his scoring streak to three games, tying his career-high set earlier this season. His seven goals in 25 games have set a new AHL career high and his 15 points are four more than he had in 97 career AHL games entering this season.

Scouting the Rocket
Laval enters the week with just one win in its last 13 games (1-8-2-2) and on a four-game losing streak (0-4-1-0). The Rocket (10-13-4-2) have fallen to fifth place in the North Division with a 0.448 points percentage.

The Rocket put up five goals Sunday in Charlotte, the eighth time they've hit the five-goal mark this season, but the first since Nov. 15, a 13-game span. The dip in offensive production has coincided, in part, with the losses of captain Byron Froese (11 points in 13 games) and Daniel Carr (19 points in 20 games) to recall with the Montreal Canadiens.

Chris Terry leads the Rocket offensively with 27 points (13g, 14a) in 26 games, with most of his damage—15 points (8g, 7a)—coming on the power play. He is eighth overall in AHL scoring and is tied with teammate Matt Taormina and Hershey's Chris Bourque for the most power-play points.

Taormina is second on the Rocket with 25 points (2g, 23a), most among AHL defensemen. He is second in the league with 23 points while his only two goals of the season have been scored on the power play.

Forward Nikita Scherbak returned from a six-week absence following knee surgery and potted three points in Charlotte over the weekend. The former first round pick has 12 points (3g, 9a) in just eight games played for the Rocket this season, recording at least one point in each game.

Head-to-head
Tonight is the fourth of eight matches between the Crunch and Rocket; Laval won the first two at Place Bell and the Crunch won the last one in Syracuse Dec. 1.

Five of Laval's 11 goals (45.5%) in the series with the Crunch have been scored on the power play. Among active player, Matt Taormina and Niki Petti lead the Rocket with three points in three games in the season series. Mathieu Joseph and Ben Thomas lead all active scorers with four points in the series.

In their most recent match up, Charlie Lindgren and Louis Domingue squared off between the pipes.Domingue stopped 24 of 25 shots for the win while Lindgren allowed two goals on 30 shots in the loss. 

Special teams
The Crunch were held scoreless on the power play in both games last week, going a combined 0-for-8. That comes on the heels of going 5-for-17 (29.4%) in the previous four games. Overall the Crunch are 19-for-136 (14.0%) with the man advantage, but are 14-for-73 (19.2%) on the road. 

Laval snapped out of an 0-for-16 funk with three power-play goals in eight chances during a two-game set with Charlotte last week. After getting off to a blazing start, Laval's power play has just seven goals in 13 games since Nov. 17; the Rocket scored 17 in their first 16 games. The Rocket rank 10th in the AHL at 18.7%.

The Crunch penalty kill allowed their first goal in five games and are 25-for-26 (96.2%) in that time. This recent success has bumped the Crunch to 9th in the AHL at 84.2%, while their eight shorthanded goals remains the most in the AHL, one ahead of Charlotte's seven.

The Rocket have given up power-play goals in four straight games, including four in their last game Sunday in Charlotte. That tied an AHL high for most allowed in a game this season. The Rocket have given up nine power-play goals over 23 chances (60.9% penalty kill rate) to drop to 29th in the league at 75.5%, only ahead of San Diego.