Seems like Santa Claus didn't miss the Hershey Bears.

The gift was a Saturday night home date with the Syracuse Crunch, the worst team in the American Hockey League.

What more could the league's best team have asked for?

Backstopped by goalie Bradon Holtby's 33 saves and powered by Mathieu Perreault's two goals, the Bears took advantage of the Crunch and earned a 4-1 win in front of 9,005 fans in Giant Center.

It was the Bears' fifth straight win, tying a season high, and it boosted their lead in the American Hockey League's Eastern Division to seven points over Albany, which lost in Wilkes-Barre last night.

The win wasn't as easy as one would expect, however. Syracuse outshot the Bears 10-1 over the first eight minutes and dominated a first period that was scoreless only because of Holtby.

"He made every stop that he should've and probably a lot that you don't expect your goalie to make," said Bears coach Mark French.

"He was ready from the start of the game — one of the few players who was ready to go. We needed him."

Both teams were coming off a five-day Christmas break, and the Crunch came in by bus Saturday afternoon, arriving at 4:30 p.m. That led to the rugged start.

"We knew it wasn't going to be a pretty game," French said.

Hershey got life at 4:20 of the second period when Kyle Wilson deflected Zach Miskovic's point shot past Syracuse goalie Dan LaCosta (30 saves).

The Bears made it 2-0 at 17:21 of the second on a pretty passing play: Chris Bourque to Francois Bouchard to Perreault, who tipped the puck past LaCosta.

Another pretty passing play early in the third period from the same three players, this time Bourque to Perreault to Bouchard, made it 3-0.

Perreault made it 4-0 with a power-play goal at 15:55 of the third period when he put in the rebound of Patrick McNeill's point shot.

A goal from Trevor Frischmon with 3:06 to play ruined Holtby's shutout.

Holtby's best save came early in the third period when he stopped David Liffiton on a breakaway, the puck eventually going through the crease.

"It went off the post," Holtby said. "I think I almost put it in because it went off the blade of my skate.

"I don't know what exactly happened, but it stayed out of the goal."

"He continues to turn heads, and he's earned another start [tonight]," French said. "He plays with a lot of poise, but the true test will be over the long haul."

Holtby, a 20-year-old rookie, is only in Hershey because the Capitals' Seymeon Varlamov is hurt. Bears goalie Michal Neuvirth is up in Washington, and Holtby is up from the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays.

Holtby has gone 6-1-1 in eight games in Hershey, with a 1.24 goals against average and a .955 saves percentage.

"I think I've played fairly well up here," Holtby said. "But it's not just a credit to me. It'd be a different situation if I'd be coming to a team on the bottom. It's a lot harder to get noticed.

"I got a lucky break in the type of team that's here. A lot of the personal stuff comes out of that."

Asked how long Holtby will stay, French said, "It's probably out of his control, and to a degree out of my control. The one thing in his control is to play well, and he's done that.

"He was exceptional tonight."

NOTES: It was the fifth straight loss for the Crunch (10-18-2-2, 24 points), who are seventh in the AHL East. ... Hershey (22-8-0-2, 46 points) has won 14 of its last 19 games. ... Center Boyd Gordon, down on a conditioning assignment from the Capitals, assisted on Wilson's goal. ... Former Bears forward Jared Aulin, a teammate of Gordon's on the Bears' 2005-06 Calder Cup championship team, played for Syracuse but went pointless. ... Hershey played without defenseman John Carlson, who is in Saskatchewan playing for the U.S. World Junior team, and winger Darren Reid, who was snowed in at a Chicago airport. ... Hershey hosts Norfolk today at 5 p.m. and plays in Norfolk Tuesday night.