Game Day: Aeros vs. Rockford

Tonight, the Aeros have a chance to jump all the way to fifth place in the standings. With the Rockford IceHogs in town, they will  play the first of three games in three days all at home. And they get to do it against three different teams. That in itself is quite rare.

I was going to devote a significant portion of this post to Carter Hutton and the magnificent job he's done in Rockford. For the second year in a row, the IceHogs are coming back from the dead ... and Hutton is a big reason as to why that is. He and Brandon Pirri have been remarkable, and you can read all about that right here. 

But, Hutton got called up by NHL Chicago today, so the Aeros will face either Alexander Salak or Alec Richards. I am going to bet the house on Salak, who came in for Hutton in Tuesday's loss at OKC and played really well.

Here is a look at Rockford's stats. They've still got their top guys in house, but they've rebuilt the roster fairly extensively since the last time they played the Aeros. Technically, the IceHogs are above .500 on the road, and like a lot of other AHL teams, they have not been very good at home.

Unlike most teams, the IceHogs are not dominant when scoring the first goal. They've done that 28 times and have just 15 wins in those games. By comparison, the Aeros have 25 first goals and have 18 wins and points in 21 of those 25 games. Overall, the Aeros have the better power play and penalty kill, but Rockford has shown an uncanny ability to comeback on the road.

On paper, this is the most winnable game of the three in three for the Aeros. On paper means nothing, and the Aeros, led by team captain Jon DiSalvatore, know this. If the Aeros score first and take a lead into the second period, they should be able to get the two points tonight.