GAME PREVIEW: SEASON-LONG HOMESTAND WRAPS UP AGAINST SPRINGFIELD
Five things to know as Amerks get reinforcements from Sabres as NHL enters Olympic break
Feb 6, 2026By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans’ (21-16-4-2) season-long six-game homestand ends Friday night at Blue Cross Arena as the Springfield Thunderbirds (16-22-4-2) make their lone flight into the Flower City this season.
Here are five things to know entering play this weekend.
LATE GOAL STINGER FROM SENS
On Wednesday night, the Amerks and Sens went back-and-forth in a 1-1 tie before Belleville broke through with the go-ahead goal with under six minutes remaining in regulation. The Sens would add an empty netter for the 3-1 final as outside of Carson Meyer, nobody was able to solve goaltender Leevi Meriläinen, who put up 21 saves on the night.
Devon Levi was one better than his counterpart with a 22-save performance, but came out with the loss in his 31st start of the season. As a result, the Amerks enter play Friday yielding the final playoff spot in the North Division, though Belleville is tied with them at fifth, but on the outside looking in due to a tiebreaker.
Springfield has its work cut out for them as they’ll fight upward to try and make it back to the playoffs. The Thunderbirds are four points back of a spot, sitting second from the bottom of the Atlantic Division. The team didn’t help its case Wednesday as they dropped a 4-3 tilt in Syracuse.
While the Amerks are wrapping up a six-game homestand, the Thunderbirds are in the midst of playing half a dozen games on the road, with this being game three of six on a trip that still takes them through Toronto and Iowa before heading home.
REINFORCEMENTS FROM BUFFALO
With the NHL hitting the pause button on its schedule due to the Winter Olympics, the Amerks benefit with a trio of players set to return to the Flower City. Following the Sabres’ game Thursday night, Buffalo reassigned forwards Isak Rosén and Konsta Helenius to Rochester, along with defenseman and team captain, Zach Metsa.
The Amerks get their top two scoring forwards back, as Rosén and Helenius have combined for 62 points this season, with Rosén already up to 20 goals with the Amerks this season, while Helenius leads his team’s forward group in helpers with 21 assists.
Metsa has been gone the longest of the three, having last played for Rochester during the team’s trip to Charlotte in early December. The third-year defenseman is operating at nearly a point-per-game pace in the AHL this season, logging 13 points (2+11) over 14 games.
Each player has found success at the NHL level this season. Rosén has gone back and forth between Buffalo and Rochester, scoring three goals and seven points over 16 games in a Sabres jersey. Helenius burst onto the scene by posting a goal and two assists in the team’s win over Nashville Jan. 20 in what was the 19-year-old’s second career game. Metsa has been a steady force on the blueline, appearing in 26 games with the blue and gold, scoring a goal and an assist, along with showing a +13 rating.
GREAT SCOTT!
Devon Levi has started 11 of Rochester’s first 13 games of 2026, but Friday night will see 20-year-old Scott Ratzlaff get tabbed as the starter. This marks the first home start for the rookie goaltender and just the third home game the Amerks have not sent Levi to the crease for this season.
Ratzlaff last saw action in Utica Jan. 17, making 21 saves in his first loss at the AHL level. Through four appearances, Ratzlaff is 2-1-0 with a 3.30 goals-against average and an .874 save percentage. This will be the first game for the Irma, Alberta, native that comes against a team outside the North Division. Ratzlaff was plucked in the fifth round of the NHL Draft in 2023 by Buffalo.
PERFECT KILL
The Amerks have gone six straight games without allowing a power-play goal against, killing off 22 straight penalties since Jan. 19 at Syracuse. At the start of the calendar year, Rochester’s penalty kill ranked 24th in the AHL. It has since climbed to 14th in the league, with their 82.1% efficiency ranking second in the North Division and seventh in the Eastern Conference. The Amerks are also one of seven teams in the league to allow fewer than three shorthanded goals against.
Since the start of January, the Amerks’ kill has gone 33-for-38 (86.8%). Springfield skates in with the 11th ranked power-play and have scored five on the man-advantage over its last seven games.
SOMETHING SEEMS A BIT OTT
After struggling through the first half of the season, the St. Louis Blues, parent club of the Springfield Thunderbirds, decided to make a coaching change by naming former NHLer Steve Ott the team’s new bench boss on Jan. 19.
Ott, who played two seasons with the Sabres in the early 2010s, was known for his nastiness on the ice, accruing 1,555 penalty minutes over his 848-game NHL career. Since inheriting the reigns, Ott’s club has gone 2-3-1-0.
Despite their struggles, the T-Birds still have some weapons, including their leading scorer and veteran Matt Luff, who’s up to 33 points (13+20) in 35 games.
Team captain Matthew Peca continues to put up points, albeit at a slightly slower pace now in his 11th AHL season. The 32-year-old has 28 (8+20) through 40 games and is 15 points from 400 for his AHL career.