Kulich extends goal-scoring streak as Amerks complete sweep of Marlies

ROCHESTER -When the Buffalo Sabres drafted Jiri Kulich with the 28th-overall pick in last summer's NHL Draft, they anticipated getting a skilled forward with speed to burn and an elite shot.

The 19-year-old scored for the sixth straight game and added a pair of assists to lead the Rochester Americans to an 8-4 win over the Toronto Marlies on Wednedsay night at Blue Cross Arena, the Amerks' first series sweep since 2005.

"You're not surprised anymore," said teammate Isak Rosen. "It's just been like that the second half of the season. He's got an amazing shot, so I'm not surprised at all."

Kulich has made a similar splash on the the Calder Cup Playoff scene as he did during the regular season. His sixth marker tied the longest streak in AHL postseason history, matching Peter Holland's six-game goal streak for Toronto in 2014.

"I don't think you anticipate anyone scoring a goal per game in the playoffs," Amerks coach Seth Appert said. "That's hard to do at any level. Did I anticipate him being good? Yes. Look at his second half of the season, look at the numbers he put up."

The Czech forward got off to a slow start in his AHL career with two goals in his first 16 games. He's now scored six goals and nine points in his first six playoff games. The AHL's youngest skater this season has played every part of the savvy veteran.

"The bright lights don't scare him. Not at all," Appert said. "His game usually rises the more the temperature rises."

Indeed, as the temperatures get more spring-like in Rochester, Kulich's game continues to heat up. The same can be said of his running mate Rosen, who scored a pair of goals to put the finishing touches on the Marlies.

"They're really good friends to each other," Appert said. "They're competitive with each other. But they're really supportive and great friends with each other."

Kulich missed the first two games of the Amerk's semifinal matchup against Syracuse with an injury, but he studiously watched from the press box and took note of the physicality of the series.

"I think he learned lessons by watching his fellow rookie and good friend Isak struggle in Games 1 and 2 with the increased physicality and pace that playoff hockey is," Appert said. "I think he was able to process that while just viewing it and then be able to hit the ground running in Game 3."

If Rosen offered any advice from his postseason experience about what to expect from playoff hockey, he's not so sure Kulich heard it.

"I try to (give advice), sometimes he wants to listen and sometimes not," Rosen said with a laugh. "He came (in) fresh and did a really good job from the beginning.

"He has so much confidence, nothing can rob him of that. He maybe half listened to me because he has so much confidence it doesn't matter what I say."

Rosen didn't register a point as the Amerks fell into a 2-0 series deficit in the North Division Semifinals but responded with four points over the next three games as Rochester roared back to win the series. He added three more goals, two of which came in the Game 3 clincher, and an assist to help the Amerks advance to their to their first Conference Final appearance in 19 years.

"What Rosen had to go through (in Games 1 and 2 in Syracuse)… and then be able to go out and attack in Game 3 and keep attacking since, it's incredibly impressive at his age," Appert said. "He was poor in those first two games. Probably playing on his heels instead of on his toes."

Like Rosen, Kulich's offensive numbers are a byproduct of the work that he's put in during the second half of the season. He and Rosen have matured quickly during this six-game win streak, their longest postseason winning streak since 2004.

"His habits, maturity in his game, competing for the puck those things started to take off at a high level in the second half of the year," Appert said. "His offensive numbers went with it because the better you play defense, the harder you are on the puck, the more you have the puck, a player of his caliber, when you have the puck good things can happen."

The Amerks were never on their heels in this series, even after allowing the opening goal a mere 15 seconds into Game 3. As they've done all postseason, they shook off Toronto's first punch and scored the next four goals to claim a 4-1 lead. The Marlies chipped away making it a two-goal game three times, but never got within striking distance.

"I think February 20 we were in sixth place and we were sitting outside the playoffs," Appert said. "Our backs have been against the wall for two and a half months, and our guys have been playing like that and growing this confidence in big moments that you have to live through."

Rochester now gets a date with the Hershey Bears in the Eastern Conference Finals, which begins Tuesday, May 23. The last Amerks team to advance that far had names like Jason Pominville, Paul Gaustad and Ryan Miller, who later advanced to consecutive Eastern Conference Finals with the Sabres in 2006 and 2007.

It's not hard to imagine this Amerks group replicating their success.

"You look at Tampa Bay, they've been the best team in the NHL for most of the last decade," Appert said. "A lot of those guys won in Norfolk, or had deep runs in Syracuse. These are important experiences."