Rychel revved up during Monsters’ playoff run

Tonight, the Lake Erie Monsters take a 3-2 series lead into Grand Rapids, aiming to win Game 6 and advance to the Western Conference Final.

And forward Kerby Rychel, who had the lone Monsters goal in Saturday’s fifth game, could be a huge factor.

“He’s been pretty good in the playoffs,” Monsters head coach Jared Bednar told BlueJackets.com. “I like his details. He’s working hard. I loved his goal. He arrives in d-zone coverage, makes a smart play on the breakout and then (it’s like) he was shot out of a cannon straight to their net.”

Saturday’s goal was just Rychel’s first goal of the post season (he also has an assist in this series), but his offensive production was significant in the 37 regular season games he played with the Monsters this year, boding well for his ability to contribute.

Amidst five recalls to the Blue Jackets while with Lake Erie, Rychel scored six goals and 21 assists at the AHL level this season.

Those numbers belie the fact that Rychel, according to ahl.prospect-stats.com, was first among all Monsters players (with 20 games or more) in terms of points per game with .730, and …

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