THE RETURN OF THE MONSTERS
 
The Crunch (21-11-2-0) welcome the Cleveland Monsters (17-14-4-1) to the War Memorial Arena tonight for the first time since 2013. The Crunch are 1-0-1-0 against the Monsters this year, earning three of four possible points during a weekend series in Cleveland earlier this season.   
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
The Crunch were blanked 4-0 by the Binghamton Devils Wednesday on the road. It was the seventh meeting of the season between the North Division foes and the first win for the Devils. It's just the second time that Syracuse has been shutout this season.
 
Binghamton opened the scoring at the 15:29 mark of the first period. Brandon Gignac beat Crunch goaltender Eddie Pasquale on a breakaway. That was all the scoring needed for the Devils with Evan Cormier stopping all 35 Syracuse shots.
 
Binghamton doubled the advantage in the middle frame. Brandon Baddock scored on a wrist shot from the left circle for his second goal of the season.
 
The Devils extended the lead with just under 10 minutes to play in the game. During a 4-on-4, Binghamton created a 2-on-1 rush, and rookie Egor Sharangovich capitalized. Nick Lappin added an empty-net tally to secure the Devils' 4-0 victory.
Syracuse held Binghamton to 10 shots on goal, setting a new Crunch franchise record for fewest shots allowed in a game.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH 
 
For just the fifth time this season, the Crunch have dropped back-to-back games. Despite the losses to Toronto and Binghamton, Syracuse (44 points) boasts the best points percentage (0.647) in the North Division and sits two points behind Rochester (46) with two games in hand.
 
The Crunch are averaging a league-best 3.76 goals per game and stand as the only Eastern Conference team with three top-20 players on the AHL scoring leaderboard. Carter Verhaeghe (15g, 25a) leads the way as one of three skaters in the league with at least 40 points; the 23-year-old center has collected 88 points (32g, 56a) in 92 games over his one and a half seasons with Syracuse after scoring 45 (22g, 23a) over 77 games in his first three partial seasons in the AHL.
 
"I think I'm in the best shape I've ever been in," Verhaeghe says. "It's just working at it in practice, trying to push yourself to extra gears in practice. I think I'm just coming into my body. I kind of feel like I'm getting fully developed."
 
Cory Conacher (14g, 24a) and Alex Barré-Boulet (16g, 17a) have also cracked 30 points this year. Both players strung together 12-game point streaks between November and December, tied for the longest run the league has seen this season. Conacher, a former AHL MVP, is on pace to surpass 60 points for the third time in his career, while Barré-Boulet ranks second among rookies in scoring.
 
The Crunch are also the only team in the league with two goalies who rank top-15 in goals-against average: AHL All-Star Connor Ingram (2.44, 7th) and Eddie Pasquale (2.70, 15th). The 21-year-old Ingram is top-five in the league in both save percentage (.920, 5th) and shutouts (4, 2nd). Pasquale—who picked up a win in his NHL debut in December—has started eight straight games for Syracuse.
 
SCOUTING THE MONSTERS 
 
Since the calendar flipped to 2019, Cleveland is 0-3-0-0. The Monsters secured a point to end 2018 with a 2-1 shootout loss against Grand Rapids. One day earlier on Dec. 28 the Monsters topped the Griffins 3-2, their most recent victory. Cleveland's current four-game winless streak-their longest of the season-has dropped them to fifth place in the North Division. The Monsters, in their first year in the AHL's Eastern Conference, are one year removed from a last place finish in the Western Conference.
 
Offensively, the Monsters are paced by veteran forward Nathan Gerbe's 29 points (9g, 20a). The 31-year-old forward is in his second season with Cleveland, finishing 2017-18 with 18 points (4g, 14a) in 24 games played. Gerbe's most recent goal came Wednesday night, a 3-2 loss against the Belleville Senators. Gerbe saw two games in Columbus last season and has logged 396 NHL games with Buffalo, Carolina and Columbus. Gerbe was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the fifth round of the 2005 NHL Draft.
 
Center Zac Dalpe leads the Monsters in goals scored (15). An AHL veteran, Dalpe is in his 11th season and with his fifth team since joining the league. Like Gerbe, Dalpe has also spent considerable time in the NHL: 141 total appearances with Carolina, Vancouver, Buffalo, Minnesota and Columbus. In the first month of the season, Daple registered nine points in the span of three games (6g, 3a). The Ontario native hasn't put together a multi-point game since Nov. 30 against Syracuse, gathering a goal and an assist.
 
In goal, the Monsters are missing Jean-Francois Berube, who was recalled by the Columbus Blue Jackets yesterday. Berube, 27, leads the Monsters with 24 games played. He owns a 2.94 goals-against average with a .899 save percentage. In two games against Syracuse this season, Berube let up four total goals. In his absence, Cleveland will look to Brad Thiessen and Matiss Kivlenieks. The two goalies have combined to make 17 appearances this year and both have 3-2-1 records.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
 
The Syracuse power play is operating at an even 25.0%, good for third in the American Hockey League. Despite the success, the Crunch failed to capitalize on seven man advantages in Wednesday's loss to the Devils. Tonight, Syracuse is at home where it owns the best power-play percentage in the league at 26.9% (25-for-93); they've scored a power-play goal in 14 of their 16 home games.
 
Cleveland's power play ranks 20th in the AHL at 17.1% (24-for-140). They drop to 13.4% (9-for-67) on the road, ranking 27th in the league. The Monsters couldn't convert with the man-up, going 0-for-4 during Wednesday's loss to Belleville.
 
Meanwhile, the penalty kill has fared better for Cleveland with an 82.3% success rate (12th). Like the Crunch, the Monsters were perfect down a man in Wednesday's contests (3-for-3).
 
The Syracuse penalty kill has been strong all season sitting at ninth best in the AHL (82.6%). The Crunch's nine shorthanded goals lead the entire league; the Monsters have only notched three.
 
LIGHTNING FLASH
 
The Lightning won their ninth consecutive home game with a 3-1 victory over the Hurricanes last night. Brayden Point (28g, 32a) scored twice, including a tie-breaking, game-winning power-play goal in the third. With the win, Tampa Bay (34-8-2) has posted a league-leading 70 points through 44 games, 10 points ahead of the next-closest team in the NHL.
 
The team visits Buffalo tomorrow at 7 p.m. in the third of five meetings between the two Atlantic Division foes.