Tyler Johnson‘s hat trick, part of a four-point night for the reigning American Hockey League MVP, led Syracuse to a 5-3 victory over Springfield at the Mass Mutual Center on Saturday night and a 2-0 series lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal.
After winning twice on the road, the Crunch head home for Games 3, 4 and (if necessary) 5.
Johnson, who recorded the first playoff hat trick in the Crunch’s 19-year history, has 13 points in five games this postseason and has totaled 11-9-20 in eight games since returning to Syracuse after a month-long NHL stay with Tampa Bay.
Coming off a 5-2 win in Game 1 on Friday night, Syracuse scored on its first two shots of Saturday’s game, in a span of 13 seconds. (Photo/Susan Ferlita)
First, Richard Panik redirected a feed from Ondrej Palat past Curtis McElhinney on a power play just 1:02 into the game to give the Crunch a 1-0 lead.
Read the rest at TheAHL.com.
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