CRUNCH WRAP SEASON SERIES WITH MONSTERS
 
The Crunch (24-22-3-5) are home to begin a three-in-three weekend and cap off the regular season series with the Cleveland Monsters (23-25-3-2) at Upstate Medical University Arena.
 
Syracuse has claimed wins in each of the first three meetings of the season series, although the clubs have not squared off since Nov. 16, a 4-2 Crunch win.
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
Syracuse fell to first-place Belleville, 5-2, at CAA Arena Monday, snapping its season-high six-game points streak.
 
While both teams were scoreless in the first period, the middle frame featured four goals. The Crunch opened up the scoring 33 seconds into the second thanks to a power-play marker from Ross Colton, but the Senators scored the next three. 
 
The Sens first tied things up with their own man-advantage goal at 7:48. They then scored twice in 36 seconds later in the period to snag a two-goal lead.
 
Josh Norris netted his second of the game just 1:03 into the third to make it a three-goal game, but the Crunch responded two minutes later. Alex Barré-Boulet potted his 20^th goal of the year off of Colton's rebound. The Senators regained their three-goal lead 17 seconds later to secure their third straight win against the Crunch this season.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH 
 
The Crunch's six-game points streak came to an end Monday in Belleville in a 5-2 defeat. Tonight, Syracuse faces its sixth consecutive North Division opponent, and it enters the day tied for fifth in the division with Binghamton at 56 points. Both teams are one point behind Toronto, who occupies the fourth and final playoff spot; the Marlies have played two more games than the Crunch while the Devils have one game in hand on Syracuse.
 
Alex Barré-Boulet tallied a goal and assist versus the Senators on Monday, upping his total to a team-leading 46 points. The 22-year-old is knotted with Gemel Smith for a squad-best 20 goals, though Smith did not play versus Belleville. 
 
Ross Colton also continued the best season of his young career with a helper, his 25th of the year. Those 25 assists are already eight better than his total last season, and the second-year pro has played in 12 fewer games in 2019-20. 
 
Goalie Scott Wedgewood has started five of the last seven games and posted a 2.60 goals-against average while logging a 3-1-1 record.
 
SCOUTING THE MONSTERS 
 
Cleveland returns to Syracuse sitting in last place in the North Division, three points behind seventh-place Laval. The Monsters, who maintain the second-worst points percentage in the Eastern Conference, are winless in their last three outings. No North Division team has won fewer games against divisional opponents than Cleveland (10).
 
Adam Clendening's 36 points (6g, 30a) rank fifth among AHL defensemen and lead all Monsters skaters. The 27-year-old American, who skated in 90 NHL games between 2014 and 2019, has tallied four assists across his last four outings in a Monsters uniform. He has registered one goal and one assist in three tilts against Syracuse this season.
 
Calvin Thurkauf stands third on the Monsters with 25 points (9g, 16a). The 22-year-old Swiss winger, sporting a career-best 12.2 shooting percentage, scored two goals and added two helpers over his last four games. He has two assists in three games against the Crunch this year.
 
Vehni Vehvilainen boasts the AHL's 12th-best goals-against average at 2.55, but the Finnish goaltender has allowed nine goals in his two losses against the Crunch this season. Joonas Korpisalo has been working his way back from a knee injury suffered in late December, and NHL affiliate Columbus assigned him to Cleveland this week on a conditioning loan. Korpisalo has appeared in 32 games for the Blue Jackets this season, and he has not appeared in an AHL regular season game since Feb. 23, 2018.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS 
 
The Crunch come off a 1-for-7 performance on the power play in Monday's loss to the Senators, dropping the team's man-up efficiency to 19.9% this season. That mark ranks third in the North Division and eighth overall. Syracuse has tallied 46 power-play goals, just two off the league-lead. In the three contests against the Monsters, the Crunch have capitalized on two of their 11 man-advantages.
 
Cleveland sits dead last in the North Division with a power-play success rate of 14.1%, 27^th in the AHL. The Monsters have failed to score with the extra man in each of their past five games (0-for-11). Cleveland has also yet to convert on a power play against the Crunch this season (0-for-11).
 
After giving up one power-play goal on five tries against Belleville on Monday, Syracuse's penalty kill has turned aside 82.3% of opponents' man-up opportunities, third in the North Division and 13^th in the AHL. The Crunch have collected ten shorthanded goals, five behind the Senators and Bruins for first in the league.
 
The Monsters pace the North Division in penalty killing at 84.7% and rank eighth in the league. Cleveland has one-upped Syracuse, netting 11 goals while down a man.
 
MOVING PIECES   
 
The Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers exchanged forwards yesterday, with the Lightning trading Danick Martel for Anthony Greco. Martel reported to Springfield while Greco arrived in Syracuse last night in preparation for his Crunch debut tonight.
 
Greco, 26, has spent almost his entire career with the Thunderbirds, and he is their all-time leader in games played (261), goals (85) and points (57). He missed time earlier this season due to injury, but in 37 games Greco has 19 points (10g, 9a). The right wing posted 30 goals last season and was an AHL All-Star, where he set an AHL record with a 13.251 lap in the faster skater competition.
 
After wearing #25 for Springfield, Greco will wear #44, which he also wore at Ohio State, for the Crunch.
 
Martel was in his second season with the Lightning organization and in his first full year with the Crunch. He ranked fifth on the team with 30 points (16g, 14a).
 
LIGHTNING FLASH 
 
The Lightning's franchise-record 11-game win streak came to a halt last night in a 5-3 loss to the Golden Knights. Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos tallied two power-play goals in the defeat. The six-time All Star has now collected 297 career power-play points, tying Vinny Lecavalier for second-most in franchise history.
 
This marks Tampa Bay's first regulation loss since Jan. 16. Since the new year, Jon Cooper's squad has won 19 of its 23 contests. The Lightning remain in second place in the Atlantic Division with 85 points, three behind the first-place Bruins.