Scouting the Monsters

Game Notes on Friday, Dec. 22:

The Monsters (17-7-1-0) come into Syracuse atop the North Division with a three-point lead over the second-place Crunch. Cleveland has won three in a row to jump into a tie for the second-best record in the entire A.H.L., locked up with Texas and Hartford, nine points behind the defending champions in Hershey.

No team has been quite as good on the road as Cleveland. With just three road regulation losses, the Monsters total more points away from home than anyone else with an A.H.L.-leading 19. Those three defeats have all come in December with two showing up in back-to-back regulation falls to the Penguins and Bears.

Left winger James Malatesta is also on a run of his own with points in three-straight contests including a pair of goals and assists. Cleveland is 6-2-1-0 in games when the 2021 fifth-rounder records a point.

Cleveland has been great at jumping on the board early, outscoring opponents 27-20 in the first frame, but the late-game play has been dismal. The Monsters have run into a number of roadblocks when trying to pull off the comeback, going just 3-7 when trailing in the third period.