PREVIEW: 'Blades gun for 4th straight win on Tuesday morning

DULUTH, Ga. — The Florida Everblades (33-11-3-2, 71 pts.) close a grueling stretch of five games in seven days when they visit the Atlanta Gladiators (20-25-1-1, 42 pts.) for a Tuesday morning contest at Infinite Energy Arena. 

VITALS:Game 50: Everblades at Atlanta GladiatorsWhen: 10:35 a.m. ETWhere: Infinite Energy ArenaWatch: ECHL TVListen: MixlrSocial: Twitter | Instagram

Last time outJohn McCarron notched two goals, and Zach Magwood (1g, 2a) and Levko Koper (3a) both had three points to lead the Everblades to a 6-3 win over the Orlando Solar Bears on Sunday afternoon at the Amway Center. Trailing 2-1 at the start of the second period, the 'Blades scored twice in the second period to take the lead back and then had three more strikes in the third to extend their point streak to 12 games. RECAP

Series At A GlanceTuesday is just the third meeting between Florida and Atlanta this season and the second matchup at Infinite Energy Arena. The 'Blades have only six regular season games against the Gladiators this year, the fewest head-to-head meetings since the two teams met just six times in the 2007-08 campaign. Florida owns a convincing 102-53-15 all-time record against the Gladiators and has been even more dominant since Brad Ralph took over as head coach in the 2016-17 season. The 'Blades are a combined 32-3-0-1 in that four-year stretch.

Players to WatchJohn McCarron (FLA) - The 'Blades captain has three goals over his last two games and picked up his first multi-goal game of the season on Sunday in Orlando. With two goals on Sunday, McCarron moved into sole possession of fifth place in franchise history for career goals and now has 91 career tallies. McCarron, a native of Macomb, Michigan, has posted multiple points in six games this season and is the team leader in assists with 28. He is just one game shy of 300 pro contests. 

Eric Neiley (ATL) - The fifth-year pro is in his second separate stint with the Gladiators after previously playing for the team for two seasons at the start of his pro career from 2015-17. Neiley leads all Gladiators players with 27 assists and 41 points and is tied for the team lead with seven multi-point outings this year. The Warminster Township, Pennsylvania, native played his college hockey at Dartmouth College from 2011-15 and recorded 94 career points (45g, 49a) in 129 games.  

Offensive OverloadAfter being shut out by Orlando last Wednesday, the 'Blades have posted 17 goals over their last three games, tying their most productive three-game stretch of the season. Florida racked up 17 goals in three games in only one other stretch this season from Dec. 21-28. The 'Blades posted a 5-2 win over Greenville on Dec. 21 and then 6-2 and 6-1 wins over the Jacksonville Icemen on Dec. 27-28, respectively, as part of that other stretch. Florida now ranks fifth in the league with an average of 3.63 goals per game. 

The Streak ContinuesBy winning on Sunday, Florida passed Newfoundland, which had an 11-game point streak from Dec. 17-Jan. 15, for the ECHL's second-longest point streak this season. Only South Carolina's 16-game point streak, which lasted from Nov. 22-Dec. 28, is longer. Florida has victories in 11 of its 12 games in its point streak and has wins in 17 of its last 21 games. 

Road WarriorsFlorida's victory on Sunday was its 18th road win of the season. The 'Blades rank second in the ECHL in both road wins and road winning percentage (.740). Only South Carolina has more road wins (20) and a better road winning percentage (.846). In fact, the 'Blades are four road wins ahead of the Allen Americans, Idaho Steelheads and Newfoundland Growlers, which are all tied for third in the league in road victories with 14 apiece. 

Next UpFlorida returns home this weekend for a two-game series against the Gladiators on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively. 

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The Florida Everblades are the proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Nashville Predators and AHL's Milwaukee Admirals