By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
With their defensive zone deficiencies growing even more glaringly apparent in recent weeks, the Rochester Americans addressed the issue on Monday, acquiring defenseman Mark Alt from the San Jose Barracuda.
In exchange, the Amerks sent forward Mason Jobst, currently on the injured list, to San Jose.
Alt, 30, is a ninth-year veteran who has played 451 AHL games for the Barracuda, Adirondack and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Colorado Eagles and Ontario Reign. He has produced 33 goals, 92 assists and 125 points in his AHL career, including 3-5-8 in 46 games this season.
A second-round draft pick (53rd overall) of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2010, Alt has played 20 NHL games with the Philadelphia Flyers (nine games, Colorado Avalanche (nine) and Los Angeles Kings (two).
His veteran presence should help a D-corps that has struggled to escape heavy forechecking pressure and a team as a whole that doesn’t always break out cleanly from the defensive zone.
The Amerks give up an average of 3.71 goals-per-game. Only two teams in the AHL allow more (Tucson at 3.89 and San Jose at 4.11). They also rank 28th in the 31-team league in shots allowed per game (32.35).
On Sunday, Bridgeport trailed 5-3 with four minutes to play but won in overtime, scoring the tying goal with 6.2 seconds remaining. The Amerks have been outscored 85-67 in the third period this season.
“We have to play better defense, we have to,” Amerks coach Seth Appert said after Sunday’s game. “We have to defend better as a group, we have to break the puck out better.
“We still have enough hockey left to do what we need to do.”
The Amerks are on the outside looking in at the Calder Cup playoffs. The top five teams in North Division earn a playoff berth and the Amerks sit sixth with a .548 points-earned percentage.
That said, just 0.13 separates third place from sixth, although all teams in the battle ahead of the Amerks have at least one game in hand.
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