Michael Leighton
Goaltender Michael Leighton will rejoin the Checkers as they continue their California road swing tonight.

Leighton, who has been filling in for an injured Eddie Lack in Carolina for the last three weeks, makes the relatively short trip from Los Angeles, where former Checkers Derek Ryan and Brock McGinn led the Hurricanes to a win over the Kings on Thursday, to Bakersfield, where the Checkers are preparing to play the Condors tonight.

The 35-year-old netminder, who still ranks third in the AHL with a 1.66 goals-against average and .937 save percentage, played two games during his recall, most recently on Dec. 3. One of those, a 31-save performance that saw him earn first-star honors against the Florida Panthers on Nov. 27, marked his first NHL victory since 2010.

Leighton, whose two shutouts with Charlotte this season extended his all-time AHL record number to 48, is responsible for six of the Checkers’ nine victories this season. The team, which will tonight try to break an overall five-game losing skid and an eight-game winless streak on the road, is 2-6-0 since Leighton’s recall