**This Week’s Storylines**
**The Amerks opened the month of March with back-to-back wins, their first since Jan. 5 and 6, and took five out of a possible six points this past week. Additionally, Rochester has notched at least one point in 18 of its last 25 games since the turn of the New Year.
**The Amerks are 16-4-8-3 in 31 games away from The Blue Cross Arena this season. The four regulation losses are the fewest in the American Hockey League while their 43 road points are tied for second-most in the league.
**The Amerks enter the week having appeared in 11 games that went beyond regulation since Jan. 1. Overall on the season, Rochester leads the AHL in games decided after the third period with 24, showing a 7-9 mark in overtime while going 2-6 in shootouts.
** Despite being held out of the lineup since Feb. 16 due to injury, rookie forward C.J. Smith continues to pace the team with 25 assists and 39 points in 50 games thus far this season. The Des, Moines, Iowa native currently ranks sixth in scoring among all AHL rookies while his 25 assists rank fifth-most between all first-year skaters.
**With five points (2+3) over his last four games, forward Kevin Porter jumped into a second-place tie on the team in scoring with 35 points (15+20) in 53 contests this season. Rochester’s team captain scored his 15th goal of the year in Sunday’s 4-2 win over the Laval Rocket to grab a share of the team-lead with Kyle Criscuolo, who was recalled to the Buffalo Sabres along with Brendan Guhle Sunday afternoon. Porter, meanwhile, recorded his 20th assist of the season Saturday in Toronto, giving him 20 or more helpers in each of his seven AHL seasons with 40-plus games.
**Along with Porter, defenseman Zach Redmond has collected 35 points this season as he has 12 goals and 23 assists, all three of which are career-highs, through 51 games this season. Of his 12 markers, seven have come on the power-play, which leads the team and are tied for second among league defensemen. The veteran blueliner is tied for second in the AHL in goals and fifth in points among all AHL rearguards coming into this week.
**Alexander Nylander carries a career-best five-game point streak (1+4) into the week and shows nine points (3+6) over his last nine games, a stretch which began with four points (2+2) in a 12-3 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Feb. 16.
**Rochester embarks on another busy stretch of three games in three nights this weekend. After hosting the Providence Bruins for the only time this season on Friday, the Amerks will take on the Syracuse Crunch on back-to-back nights to close out the weekend.
