CRUNCH AND ROCKET SHIFT TO SYRACUSE
 
After squaring off three times in four days at Place Bell last week, the Crunch and Rocket play their fourth straight game, but this time at Upstate Medical University Arena. 
 
The Crunch (17-18-4-1) collected only one point in the three-game set at Laval and slipped back below 0.500 for the first time since Feb. 2 (15-16-3-1).
 
The Rocket (20-13-3-0) are 5-1-1-0 in their last seven games, but they are dealing with several players in Covid protocol. The Rocket's scheduled game in Belleville on Wednesday was postponed.
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
The Rocket completed a three-game sweep of the Crunch during their three-game set at Place Bell last week by scoring a 5-1 win in the finale Saturday afternoon.
 
Laval opened a 4-0 lead by scoring a pair of goals in both the first and second period. Justin Ducharme, Jean-Sebastien Dea, Joel Teasdale and Gabriel Bourque  netted the goals for the Rocket. 
 
Charles Hudon got the Crunch on the board with his 16th goal of the season at 8:21 of the third period to get within three. The Crunch spent nearly seven minutes with an empty net trying to continue the rally, but Laval finally scored an empty-net goal at 18:24 to win, 5-1.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH
 
Syracuse picked up one of a possible six points (0-2-1-0) during last week's series in Laval, falling to 17-18-4-1 on the season. The Crunch are 3-6-1-0 in their last 10 games. A 0.488 points percentage positions the Crunch outside of the five-team playoff bubble in the North Division.
 
On the back end, defenseman Andrej Sustr has had major success offensively against Laval. The Czech blueliner held a three-game point streak before the Crunch's final road tilt on Saturday, the longest multi-game point streak of his AHL career. He tallied two assists during the away series to give him 11 points (2g, 9a) in 21 games played this season. The defenseman also leads the team with a +9 rating.
 
SCOUTING THE ROCKET
 
The Rocket are fourth in the North Division with a 20-13-3-0 record. Laval swept the Crunch in their three-game series last week, extending their record over their past 10 games to 6-3-1-0.
 
Jean-Sebastien Dea has been a Crunch killer all season. The forward has four goals in three games against Syracuse. The Quebec native leads the team in goals (14) and is second on the team in points (19).
 
Kevin Poulin was stellar in net for the Rocket last time out against the Crunch. The goaltender allowed one goal on 39 shots on Saturday, setting a season-high for saves in a game (38). He was added to Laval's Covid protocol list earlier this week, but the Rocket received two goaltenders back from Montreal with Cayden Primeau and Michael McNiven back in the fold. Primeau carries an 8-6-1 record with a 2.77 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage. He took the loss in Syracuse Nov. 6. McNiven has one win against the Crunch and is 4-3-1 with a 3.72 goals-against average and a .876 save percentage.
 
RADDYSH RETURNS
 
On Wednesday, the Lightning reassigned defenseman Darren Raddysh to the Crunch. The Canadian has played in 27 games for Syracuse this season, logging four assists. 
 
Raddysh has collected 22 goals and 99 points across 255 career games in the AHL. He has appeared in four games so far this season for the Lightning. 
 
His most recent recall was the first time he played on the same team as his brother, Taylor, at the pro level. The two spent three seasons as teammates in the OHL with the Erie Otters; Taylor spent three seasons with the Crunch from 2018 to 2021.
 
HEAD-TO-HEAD
 
The Rocket have won four straight games in this season's eight-game regular season series. It also give Laval a slight edge in wins all-time in the series. Syracuse is 11-9-3-1 and Laval is 13-10-0-1 head-to-head. The Rocket finished 4-0-0-0 on home ice against the Crunch this season, but Syracuse (1-3-1-0) can still win the regular season series by winning the final three slated for Upstate Medical University Arena.
 
J-S Dea netted three goals in two games played against the Crunch last week to leap into the top goal-scoring spot in the series with four tallies. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, Dea has 19 points (11g, 8a) in 18 games against the Crunch.
 
Gabriel Dumont, Cole Koepke and Charles Hudon are all tied for the team lead with three points against the Rocket. Dumont paces the team with three goals, including two in last week's series.
 
STARTING ANOTHER BUSY STRETCH
 
Tonight starts a quick two-game homestand for the Crunch before the team goes right back on the road for a two-game trip to Belleville on Monday and Tuesday. It is the club's first stretch of four games in five days and also kicks off a run of seven games in 10 days between tonight and next Sunday, Feb. 27.
 
Syracuse also plays seven games in 10 days from March 11 to March 20.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
 
The Crunch failed to score a goal on seven power-play opportunities against the Rocket last week. Laval's penalty kill has been strong all season though, turning aside 82.0% of opponents' chances with the man advantage—good for first in the North Division.
 
The Rocket also lead the North in shorthanded goals (7). Gabriel Bourque scored the Rocket's latest shorthanded marker on a breakaway in the second period of Saturday's game at Laval.
 
To their credit, the Crunch penalty killers played well last week—allowing just one goal on nine opportunities for the Rocket. Syracuse's penalty kill still ranks last in the North Division (77.0%).