Streaking Crunch host Sound Tigers
Syracuse welcomes Bridgeport to the War Memorial Arena tonight in the second and final meeting between the inter-division foes. The Crunch (39-19-3-4) ride a three-game win streak into the matchup; it is the team's fifth run of at least three straight wins this season. The Sound Tigers (31-25-5-3) have dropped the first two games of their current four-game road trip.
 
The Crunch won the previous meeting with the Sound Tigers, rallying with two goals in the third period to win, 3-2, Feb. 11 in Bridgeport.
 
Last time out
Olivier Archambault scored twice and three Crunch players had three-point games as Syracuse took down the Laval Rocket, 5-2, at the War Memorial Saturday.
 
The Crunch struck twice in 27 seconds late in the first period to take a 2-0 lead. Kevin Lynch deflected a Ben Thomas shot at 18:04 to begin the scoring. Archambault followed with his own deflection goal 27 seconds later.
The Rocket cut the deficit to one at 2:01 of the second on Niki Petti's power-play goal. Mat Bodie responded for the Crunch by blasting a slap shot from the high slot during 4-on-4 action at 8:19, making it 3-1 Crunch. 
 
Archambault built the lead to three with his second of the night and 10th of the season, firing a 5-on-3 power-play goal from the left circle 1:24 into the third. Petti would get his second of the game later in the period before Gabriel Dumont put the game away with an empty-net goal at 17:20. Connor Ingram stopped 19 of 21 shots for his 17th win. 
 
Scouting the Crunch
With three wins in three games last week, the Crunch now have more wins (39) than they did last season (38). They are just five points shy of their final points total from last season, sitting at 85 points with 11 games remaining this season. At 39-19-3-4, the Crunch are seven points behind Toronto for the North Division lead. 
 
Olivier Archambault scored a goal in all three games in Week 25, extending his point streak to a career-high five games. He scored a power-play goal Wednesday in Binghamton, netted a highlight-reel overtime game-winning goal Friday in Springfield and then struck twice Saturday vs. Laval for his first AHL multi-goal game. 
 
This week, Archambault—who was nearing the end of his 25-game professional try-out—was rewarded with an AHL contract which runs through the end of next season. He has 13 points (8g, 5a) in 19 games since joining the Crunch Jan. 23. His three-game goal streak is tied for the longest active streak in the AHL.
 
Limiting the shots
The Crunch are once again the stingiest team in the AHL at allowing shots, giving up just 26.42 shots per game. They've been ranked either first or second all season, only trailing Bridgeport, who they passed last week.
 
After giving up a season-high 43 shots in their loss to Providence Sunday, the Sound Tigers are now allowing 26.50 shots per game, dropping to second in the league.   
  
Scouting the Sound Tigers
In the thick of the Atlantic Division playoff race, Bridgeport lost back-to-back games to close out last week. The Sound Tigers are 7-3-0-0 in their last 10 games, but remain seven points behind Charlotte for the final playoff position. Bridgeport does have two games in hand on the Checkers and those teams square off in Bridgeport to close out the regular season April 15.
 
In Bridgeport's last two wins, the team rallied from a pair of 4-0 deficits, beating Springfield, 5-4, March 11 and Rochester, 6-4, March 15. It was the first two times in franchise history that the Sound Tigers won a game when facing a 4-0 deficit.
 
Travis St. Denis leads Bridgeport with 37 points (20g, 17a) in 62 games. He matched this season's AHL-high with five points (3g, 2a) in Bridgeport's comeback victory against Rochester March 15, but has been held scoreless in the two games since. He scored one of the two goals against the Crunch in their previous meeting Feb. 11.
 
Defenseman Sebastian Aho has rejoined the Sound Tigers after a stint with the New York Islanders. A fifth round pick by the Islanders in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Aho has not appeared in a game for Bridgeport since Jan. 10. The rookie has 20 points (9g, 11a) in 30 games for the Sound Tigers and another four points (1g, 3a) in 22 games with the Islanders.
 
Kristers returns
Tonight marks the return of former Crunch goalie Kristers Gudlevskis, who spent four seasons with the Crunch. He was traded July 1 by the Lightning to the New York Islanders in exchange for Carter Verhaeghe.
 
Gudlevskis, 25, ended his tenure in Syracuse as the second-leading goaltender in Crunch history with 74 wins—four shy of the franchise record of 78 held by current Crunch goaltending and video coach Karl Goehring. In 158 career regular season games with the Crunch, Gudlevskis was 74-47-23 with a 2.75 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage. He had 18 wins as a rookie in 2013-14 and then a career-high 25 in 2014-15.
 
In his first season with the Sound Tigers, the Latvian goalie is 11-13-5 in 32 games with a 2.76 goals-against average and an .898 save percentage.
 
Special teams
The Crunch power play scored in its third consecutive game Saturday against Laval, notching one goal in eight opportunities. The Crunch are 45-for-296 (15.2%), ranking 25th in the AHL. In their last six home games since Feb. 24, the Crunch are 7-for-32 (21.9%). They had 11 home power-play goals in their first 24 home games.
 
On the power play, Bridgeport has also cashed in 45 times, despite having 27 fewer opportunities (269) than Syracuse (296). The Sound Tigers 16.7% conversion rate is good for 18th in league. They have scored a power-play goal in six of the last eight games (9-for-31), but went 0-for-5 in their last game.
 
The Crunch have been shorthanded a league-high 320 times, allowing 51 goals. Their 84.1% success rate on the penalty kill is tied for eighth in the AHL. They have allowed a power-play goal in the last five home games, giving up seven goals in 27 total chances. 
 
Bridgeport's penalty kill ranks fourth in the AHL at 85.5%. They are tied with Belleville and Iowa for the fewest number of shorthanded goals with three. The Crunch are second with 13, trailing Milwaukee by one.