Quick Hits:
-The Devils begin the week with a 17-8-3-0 mark, good for 37 points and a .661 percentage. They remain in second place in the North Division, tied in points with St. John’s (but with two less games) and 13 points behind first place Toronto (who have 4 games in hand).
-With Binghamton defeating Lehigh Valley in a shootout on Tuesday night at home, Albany is the last AHL team standing that has yet to reach the bonus round this season. And with that I probably just jinxed it.
-Injury report: Blake Coleman (shoulder), Raman Hrabarenka (lower), Seth Helgeson (shoulder), and Max Novak (hand) remain out. Blake Pietila and Ryan Kujawinski are day to day.
-Just in to the newsroom: Mike Sislo was recalled to New Jersey after Jacob Josefson was placed on injured reserve.
Wednesday & Thursday, 12/30 & 12/31 vs. Utica
Where: Times Union Center, Albany, NY (Wednesday); Utica Memorial Auditorium, Utica, NY (Thursday)
When: 7:00 PM (Wednesday); 5:00 PM (Thursday)
Season Series: Albany leads 1-0.
Know Your Opponent:
Record: 16-10-2-2, 36 points, .600 percentage, 4th place in North Division
Leading Scorers/Goaltending: Hunter Shinkaruk, 24 points (12 G, 12 A); Alexandre Grenier, 18 points (6 G, 12 A); Brendan Gaunce, 17 points (9 G, 8 A); Richard Bachman, 6-4-1, 2.19 GAA; Clay Witt, 0-1-0, 6.00 GAA
Notes: Utica returned from the Christmas break with a pair of wins over Rochester and Syracuse; the Comets have 4 regulars, including 3 defensemen, on recall to Vancouver, prompting them to sign AHL vet Danny Syvret to a PTO on December 18th; Utica is 7-0-0-1 in their last 8 road contests; the Comets have sold out every home game so far this season; Albany has yet to lose to Utica since the Comets joined the league prior to the 2013-14 season (7-0).
Listen: AHL Live, WKLL 94.9 FM
Tweet: @trace_1114, @AlbanyDevils, @UticaComets, @CometsInGame, @CometsArmy
Saturday, 1/2 @ Hartford
Where: XL Center, Hartford, CT.
When: 7:00 PM.
Season Series: Albany leads 1-0.
Know Your Opponent:
Record: 14-16-2-0, 30 points, .469 pct, 6th place in Atlantic Division
Leading Scorers/Goaltending: Chad Nehring, 20 points (10 G, 10 A); Jayson Megna, 17 points (7 G, 10 A); Brian Gibbons, 16 points (5 G, 11 A); Magnus Hellberg, 8-9-2, 2.71 GAA; Mackenzie Skapski, 2-6-0, 3.51 GAA; Jeff Malcolm, 4-1-0, 1.86 GAA
Notes: Hartford is on a modest 2 game winning streak after a shutout win in Rochester Sunday and a win over Portland at home Tuesday; the matchup marks the beginning of a 5 game homestand for the Wolfpack, which ends with a second visit from the Devils on January 10th; 31 players have appeared in at least one game for Hartford so far this season; the Wolfpack are last in the league in power play (10.4 percent).
Listen: AHL Live
Tweet: @trace_1114, @AlbanyDevils, @wolfpackahl
Thoughts Inside The Box 