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Rochester Americans Game Preview: Friday, February 28, 2020

February 28, 2020 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW

- The Rochester Americans (30-17-4-5) look to extend their point streak to seven straight games tonight as they wrap up their season-long six-game homestand with a North Division showdown against the Laval Rocket (26-23-5-3) at The Blue Cross Arena. Rochester has come out on top in all three previous matchups, outscoring the Rocket 13-4, including a 5-2 win back on Jan. 24. Game time is slated for a 7:05 p.m. start and will be carried live on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV.

LAST TIME OUT

- The Amerks forced overtime yet again with a goal in the final minute of regulation to push their point streak to six games, but the Utica Comets survived the comeback and stole the extra point with a 3-2 shootout win Wednesday at The Blue Cross Arena.

- C.J. Smith notched his sixth multi-point outing of the slate as he registered an assist on goals from both Casey Mittelstadt and Scott Wilson, whose 10th of the season with 28 seconds remaining in the third period sent the contest into overtime. Goaltender Andrew Hammond (14-11-3) stopped 25 of the 27 shots he faced, including four saves in the shootout, but suffered the defeat.

AMERKS AT A GLANCE

- Despite Wednesday's shootout loss, the Amerks have points in six straight games and remain just six points back of the Belleville Senators for the North Division lead with a game in hand. Rochester also has a four-point lead on third-place Utica coming into weekend.

ROAD AHEAD FOR ROCHESTER

- The Amerks conclude the month of February on Saturday, Feb. 29 against the Syracuse Crunch at Upstate Medical University Arena. Game time is slated for a 7:05 p.m. start and will be carried live on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV.

HOME COOKING

- On the strength of a 15-5-3-5 home record, Rochester is tied with Milwaukee for the second-fewest regulation losses in the AHL and have the fifth-most points on home ice (38) coming into tonight.

MITTELSTADT QUICKLY MAKING HIS MARK

- After producing just one point through his first five games with the Amerks following a midseason reassignment from the Buffalo Sabres back in December, Casey Mittelstadt has quickly evolved into one of Rochester's most consistent point-getters. The second-year pro has piled up 20 points (8+12) in 30 games for Rochester, including 18 points (8+10) since the turn of the New Year. The former first-round selection has nine points (2+7) through the first 12 games of February and has six points (1+5) over his last eight appearances.

TEAM AND LEAGUE LEADERS

- Jean-Sebastien Dea, who remains the only Amerk forward this season to reach the 30-point plateau, continues to pace the team in goals (15) and points (36) through 51 games. Dea, who is also second among all Amerks forwards with 102 shots on goal, has 15 points (5+10) in his last 21 games since the turn of the New Year, including four points (1+3) over his last five games. He's now reached the 15-goal mark in each of the last five seasons dating back to the 2015-16 campaign when he scored a career-high 20 for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

SHARING THE CREASE

- Anchored by the goaltending tandem of veteran Andrew Hammond and third-year pro Jonas Johansson, who is currently on recall with the parent Buffalo Sabres, the Amerks own one of the top defenses in AHL having allowed only 154 goals through 56 games this season, the ninth-fewest in the AHL coming into the weekend. The duo has also combined for six shutouts and rank among the AHL's leaders with 14 and 13 wins this season, respectively.

- Hammond, who is 14-11-3 on the season, is tied for third among all netminders in shutouts after notching his fourth of the year back on Dec. 14 in a 5-0 win over Laval, a new career-high. With four shutouts through 30 games this season, he remains on pace to tie the franchise record for most shutouts in a season (8) set by Ryan Miller during the 2004-05 campaign.

- Johansson, who earned his first NHL win in just his third career start this past Sunday in Buffalo's 2-1 victory over Winnipeg, owns a career-best 13-3-3 record with two shutouts this season. Despite being on recall, he has the fifth-best goal-against average in the league (2.19) and ranks fourth among all netminders with a .925 save percentage in 20 games. Dating back to Nov. 13, the 2020 AHL All-Star boasts an impressive 11-1-1 record with two shutouts, a 2.11 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage over that span.

THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE

- Rochester owns three of the AHL's top point-producing defensemen in Zach Redmond, Casey Nelson and Lawrence Pilut, all of whom have been mainstays on Rochester's blueline this season.

- The 2019-20 season is just a different chapter in the same story for the 31-year-old Redmond, who hasn't gone more than five games without a point all season. The two-time AHL All-Star and reigning Eddie Shore Award winner is presently tied for 15th in scoring amongst all defensemen with 30 points and is also tied for 10th with a team-high 25 assists, 10 of which have come on the power-play.

- Pilut, who's back with big club on his fifth recall of the season, has 17 points (5+12) over his last 27 AHL games dating back to Nov. 15. Having already set a new AHL career-high in goals (6), the former SHL Defenseman of the Year is also on pace to set a new mark in points.

- Nelson is tied for ninth among all blueliners with a team-best plus-19 on-ice rating through 44 games this season.

SERIES NOTABLES

- Jacob Bryson is tied for fifth among all first-year defensemen with a plus-12 on-ice rating. Bryson, whose first two professional goals came in back-to-back games last week, is also tied for ninth among all rookie blueliners with 21 points (2+19) in 55 games while his 19 assists are ninth-most.

- Rochester enters tonight showing a 12-3-0 all-time record against Laval and winners in eight of the last nine games dating back to the 2017-18 campaign.

- The Rocket have used three different goaltenders this season with rookie Cayden Primeau handling much of the workload in the blue paint. The first-year netminder boasts a 15-10-3 record in 30 games while the other two goaltenders show a combined record of 11-13-5 in 30 appearances.

- Cayden Primeau is the nephew of former Amerk Wayne Primeau, who was a member of the 1996 Calder Cup-winning team. Cayden is also the cousin of current Rochester forward Dalton Smith.

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