AHL Rochester Americans

Rochester Americans Game Preview: Saturday, January 4, 2020 at Toronto Marlies

January 4, 2020 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


TODAY'S GAME OVERVIEW

- The Rochester Americans (21-8-2-2) wrap up their four-game road swing today when the Amerks make their first trip back to Coca-Cola Coliseum since Game 3 of the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs for another go-around with the Toronto Marlies (19-11-2-1) at 4:00 p.m. The North Division matchup will be carried live on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV.

LAST TIME OUT

- On the strength of multi-point efforts from Sean Malone and Jean-Sebastien Dea, and Remi Elie's game-winning goal 1:01 into overtime, the Amerks opened the New Year with a 4-3 victory over the Belleville Senators at CAA Arena last night.

- With the win, the Amerks snapped their three-game road losing skid while improving to 16-5-1-1 over their last 23 games dating back to Nov. 1, earning points in 18 games over that span. By way of Rochester's win and a Utica loss Friday, the Amerks regained the top spot in the AHL's North Division standings. Additionally, Rochester has picked up points in 23 of the last 30 contests overall, going 19-7-2-2, while also earning 46 out of a possible 66 points through its first 33 contests of the season.

- Malone and Dea both turned in a goal and assist effort while Casey Mittelstadt scored his first goal with Rochester during the second period and picked up his third point (1+2) over his last four games. Elie, who returned to the lineup Tuesday after missing the previous 19 games due to injury, finished off the scoring in overtime with his third marker of the campaign.

- Goaltender Jonas Johansson, who was one of two Amerks named to the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic, pushed his AHL career-best record to 11-2-2 on the season with 19 saves for his ninth straight win.

ROAD AHEAD FOR ROCHESTER

- The Amerks are back on home ice for a pair of North Division matchups beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 8 as they take on the Binghamton Devils before hosting a return visit from the Belleville Senators on Friday, Jan. 10. Both contests will be carried live on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester as well as AHLTV.

HOW SWEDE IT IS

- On Friday afternoon, the American Hockey League announced that defenseman Lawrence Pilut and goaltender Jonas Johansson have been named to the North Division All-Star roster for the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Ontario International Airport. The annual event will take place Jan. 26-27 at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif., home of the Ontario Reign. The Swedish duo will also be joined by Amerks head coach, Chris Taylor, who clinched the honor of coaching the North Division squad earlier this week.

TEAM AND LEAGUE LEADERS

- Jean-Sebastien Dea leads the team in both goals (11) and points (23) in 31 games this season. Dea has six points (2+4) in his last eight games heading into Rochester's second game of the calendar year.

DYNAMIC DUO IN THE CREASE

- Anchored by the elite goaltending tandem of veteran Andrew Hammond and third-year pro Jonas Johansson, the Amerks own the top defense in the league, having allowed only 77 goals through the first 33 games of the season, the fewest in the AHL coming into the weekend. The duo has also combined for six shutouts and are tied for 13th and eighth among all AHL goaltenders with 10 wins and 11 wins on the season, respectively.

- Hammond (10-6-2) comes into the matchup second among all netminders after notching his fourth shutout of the season on Dec. 14 in a 5-0 win over Laval, a new career-high. In his last 13 games, Hammond boasts a 7-5-1 record with four shutouts, a 1.74 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage. With four shutouts through just 19 games this season, he's on pace to match the franchise record for most shutouts in a season (8) set by Ryan Miller during the 2004-05 campaign.

- Having won nine straight appearances, Johansson shows an AHL career-best 11-2-2 record this season. Coming into the first weekend of the New Year, he has the fourth-best goal-against average in the league (2.07) and is tied for fourth among all netminders with a .930 save percentage in 16 games. Dating back to Nov. 13, the third-year netminder boasts a perfect 9-0-0 record with two shutouts, a 1.88 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage while allowing just two goals or less in six consecutive 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, Lawrence Pilut and Casey Nelson, 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's averaged nearly a point-per-game through his first 30 games of the season. Redmond is currently tied for eighth in scoring among all defensemen with 22 points and ranks ninth with a team-high 17 assists. He's also tied for eighth in the AHL for goals by a defenseman with five.

- Coming off his third three-point outing of the season on Friday, plus another assist on Tuesday, Pilut enters tonight with 15 points (3+12) over his last 20 games dating back to Nov. 15 since returning from the Buffalo Sabres. The former SHL Defenseman of the Year has already matched his goal total from last season in two fewer games and is on pace to set a new career-high in points. His 16 assists are one shy of Redmond for the most on the team.

Nelson shows a team-best plus-16 on-ice rating through 31 games, tied for third among all active blueliners and fifth overall in the AHL.

QUICK HITS

- Rookie defenseman Jacob Bryson is second in the AHL for all first-year players with a plus-15 on-ice rating while being the only Amerk to appear in all 33 games this season.

- In 15 of the last 20 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 come away with the victory in nine of the last 11 meetings in the head-to-head series with the Marlies, while outscoring Toronto 49-30 over that span.

- In 11 of the last 12 meetings dating back to the 2017-18 season, the winning team has scored at least four goals.

- In the previous 16 games against the Marlies, the Amerks' penalty kill has successfully killed off 49 of the 55 penalties.

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