Everything you need to know about this series:
Goal-scoring Leaders:
Providence has a tie with Danton Heinen and Jake DeBrusk, who both have 5 goals in postseason play.
Syracuse has a four way tie with Cory Conacher, Joel Vermin, Matthew Peca, and Erik Condra, all with 4 goals a piece.
Assist Leaders:
Danton Heinen leads Providence with 7 assists in 12 games
Matt Taormina leads Syracuse with 8 assists in 11 games
Series Preview:
So here we are, the AHL Eastern Conference Finals. What a ride it’s been.
After exorcising their postseason demons in 5 games and a heroic pair of Game 6 and 7 efforts in the BEARFIGHT, Providence made history with their 4th straight elimination game win in a single Calder Cup playoffs. McIntyre has remained a solid, currently sitting at .921% after the final game. Another real positive step for Providence is that recently their main strategy has just been “dominate the other team’s entire life in SOG”, having outshot Hershey to the tune of 131-73 in their last four games.
Syracuse meanwhile had a much more even series with the Marlies, having gotten to where they are on the backs of beating the St. John’s IceCaps in 4 games in the first round and going the distance against the Toronto Marlies, finishing their own game 7 just minutes apart from Providence’s.
A big part of why they got here is that the Crunch can score, having four players in the top 10 in playoff scoring, leads the AHL Playoffs in goalscoring as a team, and have had at least two players in the top 10 in regular season scoring all year. And they’ve had to do a lot of it on their road to the Calder Cup final, as their defense has been a bit up and down (if not outright atrocious), and Mike McKenna...has been less than perfect in net for the Crunch, as he’s currently “rocking” a .900 SV% throughout the playoffs.
Another major advantage for Providence is that away goalscoring has been elusive for Syracuse, as they’ve only been able to get around 11 goals in 5 games away from the Oncenter. Atop mounting discipline problems, such as one Jake Dotchin, who has not been endearing himself to the teams Syracuse has faced lately due to some...concerns about how smart some of the things he’s done are. You might remember Dotchin as the dude Brad Marchand harmed.
This series will likely promise you some high-octane action on both sides, and will be a very good test of Providence’s “bend but don’t break” style of defense.
AHL Eastern Conference Final Schedule (All Times EST):
Game 1 – Fri., May 19, Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, RI - 7:05pm
Game 2 – Sun., May 21, Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, RI - 7:05pm
Game 3 – Wed., May 24 – The Oncenter in Syracuse, NY - 7:00pm
Game 4 – Fri., May 26 – The Oncenter in Syracuse, NY - 7:00pm
*Game 5 – Sat., May 27 – The Oncenter in Syracuse, NY - 7:00pm (if necessary)
*Game 6 – Tue., May 30 – Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, RI - 7:05pm (if necessary)
*Game 7 – Wed., May 31 – Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, RI - 7:05pm (if necessary)
Only four more wins until the Calder Cup final! Let’s go P-Bruins!