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Rochester Americans Game Preview: Saturday, February 8, 2020 at Toronto Marlies

February 8, 2020 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


TODAY'S GAME OVERVIEW

- The Rochester Americans (27-14-2-4) conclude the weekend north of the border this afternoon with a 4:00 p.m. matchup against the Toronto Marlies (22-20-3-2) at Coca-Cola Coliseum. The North Division contest will be carried live on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV.

LAST TIME OUT

- Despite a pair of power-play points from Casey Mittelstadt (1+1) and Jacob Bryson (0+2), the Amerks dropped a 5-2 decision to the North Division rival Syracuse Crunch Friday at The Blue Cross Arena.

- With the loss, the Amerks were unable to extend their season-long win streak to seven games, but remain in second place in the AHL's North Division standings behind only the Belleville Senators.

- Mittelstadt tallied his seventh goal of the season to go with an assist while Bryson added his 16 and 17th helpers of the campaign for Rochester, which owns an 11-6-1-1 record in its last 19 contests against the Crunch dating back to the 2017-18 campaign. Forward Jean-Sebastien Dea notched his team-leading 14th marker in the third frame while rookie netminder Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (1-2-1) made 25 saves but suffered the loss.

ROAD AHEAD FOR ROCHESTER

- The Amerks continue their four-game road swing on Tuesday, Feb. 11 with the first of back-to-back meetings against the defending Calder Cup champion Charlotte Checkers at Bojangles' Coliseum. Game time is slated for a 7:00 p.m. start and will be carried live on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV.

A FULL FEBRUARY

- The month of February is by far the busiest for the Amerks, who in all, will play a total of 14 games. The highlight of the month is a season-long six-game homestand over a 13-day span that follows a four-game road swing. Of Rochester's 14 games this month, 11 will be played against North Division opponents with the only exceptions being a two-game road set in Charlotte against the Checkers and one final meeting against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in Rochester.

AMERKS STREAKING INTO FEBRUARY

- Prior to last night's 5-2 setback to the Crunch, the Amerks posted a season-long six-game win streak that began with their 3-2 overtime win against Cleveland back on Jan. 22. Rochester allowed just two goals in each of the six games while outscoring the opposition 22-12 over that span. More impressively, the Amerks had six game-winning goal-scorers and relied on three different goaltenders during the stretch, which was the team's longest win streak since winning six straight from Jan. 17 to Feb. 1 during the 2013-14 season.

TEAM AND LEAGUE LEADERS

- Jean-Sebastien Dea, who remains the only Amerk this season to reach the 30-point plateau, continues to pace the team in goals (14) and points (31) through 42 games. Coming into weekend, Dea, who is also second among all Amerks forwards with 85 shots on goal, has 13 points (4+9) in his last 17 games dating back to Dec. 20, including goals in each of his last two outings.

SHARING THE CREASE

- Anchored by the goaltending tandem of veteran Andrew Hammond and third-year pro Jonas Johansson, who's currently on recall with the parent Buffalo Sabres, the Amerks own one of the top defenses in AHL having allowed only 125 goals through the 47 games of the season, the fifth-fewest in the AHL coming into this weekend. The duo has also combined for six shutouts and rank among the AHL's goaltending leaders as they both have 13 wins on the season.

- Hammond, who is 13-9-2 on the season, continues to rank second among all netminders after notching his fourth shutout of the year back on Dec. 14 in a 5-0 win over Laval, a new career-high. With four shutouts through 26 games this season, he's 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 made his NHL debut with the Sabres on Feb. 4 against Colorado and made his first career start two nights later against Detroit, owns a career-best 13-3-3 record with two shutouts this season. Despite being on recall, he has the third-best goal-against average in the league (2.19) and ranks third among all netminders with a .925 save percentage in 20 games. Dating back to Nov. 13, the 2020 AHL All-Star selection 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 five games without a point all season. The two-time AHL All-Star and reigning Eddie Shore Award winner is presently 13th in scoring amongst all defensemen with 27 points and ranks 11th with a team-high 22 assists, nine of which have come on the power-play.

- Pilut, who was reassigned by the Sabres on Saturday, has 17 points (5+12) over his last 22 AHL games dating back to Nov. 15, including goals in four of his last eight outings. Having already established 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 sixth among all blueliners with a team-best plus-20 on-ice rating through 43 games this season.

SERIES NOTABLES

- Rookie Jacob Bryson is tied for 10th among all first-year players with a plus-10 on-ice rating while being tied for 12th with 17 assists in 46 games.

- In 16 of the last 21 meetings dating back to the 2016-17 season, the team that scored first has gone on to come away with the victory.

- The Amerks have earned the win in nine of the last 12 meetings in the head-to-head series with the Marlies, while outscoring Toronto 51-35 over that span.

- In 12 of the last 13 meetings dating back to the 2017-18 season, the winning team has scored at least four goals.

- In the previous 17 games against the Marlies, the Amerks' penalty kill has successfully killed off 50 of the 56 penalties.

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