North Division powers clash in Syracuse
The Crunch (26-14-2-2) play their second straight home game as they host the Toronto Marlies (31-11-0-1) in the final game before the All-Star Break. It's the first time since Dec. 1-2 that the Crunch have home games on back-to-back nights. Tonight marks the seventh of eight matches between the clubs; Toronto has four wins to the Crunch's two. 
 
Last time out
The Crunch won their second consecutive game last night, defeating the Belleville Senators, 5-2, at the War Memorial Arena. 
 
Syracuse wasted no time jumping on the board to open the game. Mathieu Joseph took a wrist shot from the top of the right circle and Anthony Cirelli deflected it in for his eighth goal of the year at 1:56. 
Later in the first, Mat Bodie set up Jonne Tammela in a soft spot in the slot. Tammela connected on his third goal of the season for a 2-0 Crunch lead at 15:28.
 
Syracuse struck even earlier in the second; Olivier Archambault scored for the first time in a Crunch uniform, tapping in a pass from Cirelli just 1:09 into the second period. 
 
Belleville pushed back in the third period with a pair of goals from defenseman Erik Burgdoerfer, but those were matched with tallies by Ben Thomas via a deflection and Mitchell Stephens into an empty net. Connor Ingram stopped 22 of 24 shots between the pipes for the Crunch.
 
Scouting the Crunch
Mitchell Stephens scored an empty-net goal Friday for his 10th goal in the past 12 games. The rookie, who was named a North Division All-Star Thursday, has 15 points (10g, 5a) in his last 12 games. Stephens leads the Crunch with 16 goals this season.
 
Mathieu Joseph had two assists Friday, his seventh multi-point game this season. The 20-year-old also had two helpers in Wednesday's win at Laval. Joseph is second on the team with 30 points (8g, 22a) this season. Only Matthew Peca has more points with 31 (8g, 23a).
 
Anthony Cirelli and Jonne Tammela (1g, 1a) both had two-point efforts Friday, Cirelli's fifth multi-point game of the season and Tammela's first. Cirelli has five points (2g, 3a) during his current four-game point streak, his longest of the season. Tammela has four points (3g, 1a) in his eight games with the Crunch this season. The 20-year-old had played in two hockey games total in the previous 18 months due to a knee injury, both with the Peterborough Petes (OHL).
 
Matt Bodie's three assists Friday marked his first three-point game of the season and his fourth multi-point game. The Manitoba native's last three-point game came as a member of the Hartford Wolf Pack last season, when the defenseman scored and had two assists at home against the Hershey Bears (69-game span). Bodie had nine multi-point games last season, including two separate three-point games.
 
Syracuse owns the best home record (13-5-1-0) in the North Division. The Crunch have lost twice in their last 13 home games dating back to Nov. 11; one loss came against Toronto. During that stretch, Syracuse is outscoring its opponents at home 50-32. Last season, the Crunch held the best home record in the North Division during the regular season (23-9-2-4). Syracuse also won 11 of its 12 home games during last season's Calder Cup Playoffs, outscoring opponents 54-27 in the process.     
 
Scouting the Marlies
Toronto owns the most wins (31) and the best points percentage (.733) in the AHL entering Saturday. The Marlies have won nine of their last ten games, outscoring opponents 35-10 in the process.
 
Ben Smith paces a balanced Marlies attack with 34 points (18g, 16a) this season. Eight different Toronto skaters have at least 20 points on the campaign. Andreas Johnsson, named a North Division All-Star earlier today, is second on the team with 29 points (17g, 12a) and has totaled six points (4g, 2a) in his six games against Syracuse this season. The Swede scored five goals against the Crunch during the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs in May.
 
Both of Toronto's goalies rank in the top four of the AHL in both goals-against average and save percentage. Garret Sparks leads the league in both categories (1.60 GAA, .944 save percentage), while Calvin Pickard is tied for third in goals-against average (1.94) and fourth in save percentage (.930). Sparks has started five times against Syracuse this season, posting a 3-2-0 record with a 2.24 goals against average and a .930 save percentage. The fifth-year pro has made at least 28 saves in each of his starts against the Crunch this season.
 
Special teams
The Crunch didn't capitalize on any of their six power-play chances in their 5-2 win over the Senators Friday, snapping an eight-game streak with a man-up goal for Syracuse. The Crunch's conversion rate sits at 16.1% (34-for-211), the 16th-best mark in the AHL.
 
Syracuse killed off 3-of-4 Belleville power plays Friday. The Crunch's penalty kill ranks seventh in the league at 85.3% (198-for-232) and has buried an AHL-leading nine shorthanded goals.
 
The top penalty kill in the AHL belongs to Toronto (89.1%), which is on track to post the best man-down performance the league has seen since 2006-07, when the Manitoba Moose killed off 89.7% of penalties.
 
The Marlies' power play (15.6%) checks in at 18th in the league one year after pacing the AHL with a 22.3% conversion rate in 2016-17. When Toronto visited the War Memorial last Friday, it converted on 3-of-5 man-up opportunities; it marked the only time the Marlies have scored three power-play goals in a game this season and the second time the Crunch have allowed as many.
 
Crunch, Lightning Swap Goalies
The Tampa Bay Lightning loaned goaltender Louis Domingue to the Crunch and recalled Connor Ingram Saturday. Domingue, 25, was acquired in a mid-November trade by the Lightning from the Arizona Coyotes. In 15 games with the Crunch he has posted an 11-4-0 record with a 2.07 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage. He has also appeared in two games for the Lightning and has two wins, including a 4-3 overtime win in Nashville Tuesday.
 
In his most recent stint with the Crunch, Domingue posted back-to-back shutouts over Binghamton and Rochester, making 44 total saves Jan. 13-15.