The St. John’s IceCaps return to action on Tuesday and Wednesday night, when they play host the the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Leigh Valley Phantoms: 40-19-4 | .667 PCT | 2nd in Atlantic Division
St. John’s IceCaps: 31-25-8 | .547 PCT | 4th in North Division
They two sides have met twice so far this season, with both teams winning a game apiece. The more recent ending in the IceCaps favour with a 4-3 win.
The Phantoms (farm team of the Philadelphia Flyers), come into the two-game series as one of the top teams in the AHL. They currently sit in second in the Atlantic Division, and second overall in the Eastern Conference.
Lehigh Valley are a high-scoring team. In fact, nine of their skaters have 10 or more goals on the season. In comparison, the IceCaps have five.
Defenceman TJ Brennan, leads the Phantoms in points with 51, followed closely by Chris Conner, who has 50. Paul Carey leads the team – and the entire league – in goals, with 26.
In net, Alex Lyon has slightly edged out Anthony Stolarz as the teams number one. With 25 wins, Lyon leads the AHL in wins by a rookie netminder.
St. John’s enters Tuesday’s game on a four-game winning streak. The IceCaps are fourth in the North Division and currently in a playoff spot. However, the Utica Comets remain close, sitting just one point behind.
The top line of Chris Terry, Charles Hudon, and Nikita Scherbak continue to lead the team offensively. While in goal, Charlie Lindgren has continued his stellar play. The rookie netminder helped steal four-points this past weekend in back-to-back starts. He recorded his fourth shut-out of the season during Saturday night’s contest with a 25-save shutout in a 2-0 victory over the Rochester Americans.
St. John’s, who have the fourth highest penalty minutes per game, will have to stay out of the box if they hope to have success against the Phantoms. Lehigh Valley’s power play, quarterbacked by Brennan, is the sixth best in the league. While the IceCaps penalty kill sits third worst.
Catch the game at Mile One Centre or on AHL Live at 7:30 NL time.
