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Rochester Americans Game Preview: Friday, March 6, 2020 at Belleville Senators

March 6, 2020 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


TONIGHT'S GAME OVERVIEW

- The Rochester Americans (31-19-4-5) head north of the border tonight to open a two-game set against the first-place Belleville Senators (38-17-4-1) at CAA Arena. The 7:00 p.m. contest will be the fifth of the six scheduled meetings between the North Division rivals this season 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 came back from a one-goal deficit 5:43 into the second period, but the Utica Comets scored twice in the third period, including an empty-netter with 60 seconds remaining, to take a 3-1 victory Wednesday at The Blue Cross Arena.

- Forward Taylor Leier notched his ninth goal of the campaign from Jean-Sebastien Dea and Jacob Bryson while on the power-play in the middle frame for Rochester.

- Goaltender Andrew Hammond (15-12-3) stopped 24 of the 26 shots he faced but suffered the defeat.

AMERKS AT A GLANCE

- Rochester enters the contest 10 points back of the Senators for the top spot in the AHL's North Division standings with a game in hand. The Amerks, who have earned 11 out of a possible 18 points in their last nine games, hold a two-point lead over the Comets for second place in the Division, but the Comets do have a game in hand on Rochester coming into this weekend's slate of games.

ROAD AHEAD FOR ROCHESTER

- Following tonight's matchup, the Amerks close out their two-game set against the Senators on Saturday, Mar. 7. The contest is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. puck drop from CAA Arena 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 16-6-3-5 home record, Rochester has the third-fewest regulation losses in the AHL and have the fifth-most points on home ice (40). Only the Hartford Wolf Pack and Milwaukee Admirals have fewer regulation losses at home this season.

MITTELSTADT QUICKLY MAKING HIS MARK

- Casey Mittelstadt has quickly evolved into one of Rochester's most consistent point-getters with 23 points (9+14) in 33 games for Rochester since being reassigned to the Amerks in December from the Buffalo Sabres. Mittelstadt has totaled 21 points (9+12) since the turn of the New Year and led all Amerks with 12 points (3+9) in 14 games during the month of February. Over his last 10 games, the second-year pro has eight points on one goal and seven assists.

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 (38) through 54 games. Dea, who is also second among all Amerks forwards with 106 shots on goal, has 17 points (5+12) in his last 24 games since the turn of the New Year, including six points (1+5) over his last eight 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 170 goals through 59 games this season, the 10-fewest in the AHL coming into the week. The duo has also combined for six shutouts and rank among the AHL's leaders with 15 and 13 wins this season, respectively.

- Hammond, who is 15-11-2 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 32 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 Buffalo's 2-1 victory over Winnipeg on Feb. 23, owns a career-best 13-3-3 record with two shutouts this season. Despite being on recall, he's tied for the fifth-best goal-against average in the league (2.19) and ranks fifth among all netminders with a .925 save percentage in 20 games. Dating back to Nov. 13, he boasts an impressive 11-1-1 record with two shutouts, a 2.11 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage while allowing just two goals or less in eight starts 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 six 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 13th 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 11th among all blueliners with a team-best plus-18 on-ice rating through 45 games this season.

SERIES NOTABLES

- Jacob Bryson is tied for seventh among all first-year defensemen with a plus-10 on-ice rating. Bryson, whose first two professional goals came in back-to-back games on Feb. 19 and 21, is also ninth among all rookie blueliners with 22 points (2+20) in 58 games while his 20 assists are ninth-most.

- The Amerks have claimed at least one point in 11 of the first 16 meetings with the Senators dating back to the 2017-18 season. Rochester holds a record of 6-0-2-0 in the all-time road portion of the head-to-head series.

- Belleville is fueled by first-year forward Josh Norris, who currently leads all rookies and ranks fourth overall in the AHL in scoring with 60 points in (31+29) in 53 games. Currently on NHL recall with Ottawa, Norris also leads all first-year players with a team-high 31 goals.

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