Game Preview: Checkers at Abbotsford (Feb. 5, 2014)

With the first game never really in contention, the Checkers will hope for a much better result as they play a rematch against the Heat in Abbotsford.

In the first meeting between the West Division rivals this season, Abbotsford scored four goals in the first 13 minutes and kept rolling to a 7-1 victory on Tuesday. That dropped Charlotte to 1-2-0 on its current four-game road trip that concludes tonight, with the Checkers having split a pair of games in Lake Erie over the weekend.

Tonight is the second of four meetings between the teams in less than two weeks, with the Checkers hosting the Heat at Raleigh’s PNC Arena on Feb. 14 and 16.

Charlotte

Having earned a six-goal victory (9-3 over the Oklahoma City Barons) on Jan. 24, it was the Checkers’ turn to end up on a wrong side of a blowout on Tuesday. It marked the third time that Charlotte has lost by six or more goals this season, a league high, but just its third loss of any kind in its last 11 games.

Tuesday's game was also the largest road defeat in team history, eclipsing a five-goal loss at Milwaukee on the final day of the 2011-12 season. It tied two previous occasions for the most goals the Checkers have ever given up in a road game.

Like in the other two lopsided losses this season, 8-1 to Hershey on Nov. 14 and  a 7-1 to Texas just over two weeks ago on Jan. 17, the team suffered from a disastrous single period. Tuesday’s first period marked the third time Charlotte has allowed four goals in the same frame this season. It was also the second time the team had allowed three power-play goals in a single game, with the Heat going 3-for-8 on Tuesday and the Stars going 3-for-6 on Jan. 17.

Philippe Cornet earned a consolation goal for the Checkers, making it 6-1 with 7:17 play and preventing his team from being shutout for the second time in this season and second time in their last three games. The line of Cornet, Victor Rask and Justin Shugg finished with a plus-1 rating as they were the only three Checkers to not be on the ice for a goal against in any situation.

Charlotte’s goaltending was probably as good as it could be in a 7-1 loss, with John Muse not given much of an opportunity in saving eight of 12 shots before giving way to Mike Murphy. Murphy held the Heat off the score sheet for the next 35 minutes before giving up three goals in the third period.

The Checkers will now draw on the experience of last month’s loss to the Stars, which they followed up with a 6-1 win the next day. They have not lost consecutive games Toronto beat them on Dec. 20 and 21.

Should coach Jeff Daniels feel inclined to make a lineup change, forward Matthew Pistilli and defenseman Keegan Lowe are available after sitting out Tuesday’s game as healthy extras. Nicolas Blanchard and Jared Staal remain out due to injury.

Abbotsford

The Checkers waited a long time to play against the Heat this season. They now have a good idea of how their opponents rose to the top of their division.

Abbotsford’s win over Charlotte, coupled with a Texas loss to Oklahoma City earlier Tuesday night, put the Heat back in the driver’s seat in the West Division and into second place in the Western Conference. It extended their point streak to six games (4-0-2), with the Heat having out-scored their opponents by a 17-2 margin in three straight victories.

Having already built a reputation for balanced offense, the Heat got seven different goal scorers on Tuesday, with rookie Corban Knight leading the way with three points. Knight and Markus Granlund (1g, 1a on Tuesday) rank in the top six in AHL rookie scoring. Granlund’s active four-game goal streak (he also posted an assist in each game) is the longest in the AHL. Blair Jones and Ben Street, who recently returned from the parent Calgary Flames, further bolstered an already deep offensive team with a goal apiece.

Having recently passed the Checkers for second in the league in terms of power-play percentage, the Heat’s 3-for-8 performance on Tuesday continued that trend and pushed them to 23.7 percent for the season.

It seemed as though goaltending could be a weak spot for the Heat with Joni Ortio, who ranks in the AHL’s top four in terms of wins, goals-against average and save percentage, joining the Flames on Monday. With veteran goalie Joey MacDonald not dressing for the previous two games, that left third-stringer Olivier Roy and PTO signing Thomas Heemskerk, who had played a combined zero games for Abbotsford, as the team’s only options, though Roy came close to earning a shutout in his debut on Tuesday.

Checkers Notes

Tough Game

Tuesday's loss 7-1 loss to Abbotsford marked the largest road defeat in Checkers history and the most goals they have given up on the road since a 7-3 loss to Oklahoma City on Feb. 1 of last season. It was the third time they have allowed a franchise-record seven goals on the road.

The Checkers' four first-period goals and three power-play goals allowed on Tuesday both tied season highs.

Lopsided Games

The Checkers' three losses by six or more goals are the most of any AHL team this season. In addition to Tuesday's game, the team also suffered home losses of 8-1 to Hershey on Nov. 14 and 7-1 loss to Texas on Jan. 17. Charlotte also lost 7-2 to Iowa on Oct. 20, which, when coupled with the above losses, ties them with Oklahoma City for the most losses by five or more goals this season.

Charlotte has also won four games by five or more goals this season, tying it for second in the AHL behind Texas (seven).

Extreme Special Teams

The Checkers have allowed eight power-play opportunities in two of their last three games, killing 16 of 19 during that time (84.2 percent). Prior to that, they had not allowed eight in a single game since Feb. 11, 2012.

Since going 5-for-7 on the power play in a 9-3 win over Oklahoma City on Jan. 24, the Checkers are 0-for-14 over their last three games.

Hats off to Boychuk

Checkers forward Zach Boychuk scored three goals against Lake Erie on Feb. 1 to record his second hat trick in three games. Prior to his first hat trick of the season against Oklahoma City on Jan. 24, Boychuk had one other AHL hat trick that came almost exactly three years earlier at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Jan. 23, 2011.

Boychuk, who recorded his 100th career AHL goal with the first of his three on Feb. 1, needed just three shots to score his latest hat trick. He now owns three of the five hat tricks recorded in the Checkers' AHL history (Jacob Micflikier, Brett Sutter).

Boychuk leads the Checkers and ranks tied for fourth in the AHL with 21 goals, marking his fourth consecutive season with 20 or more. After just 37 games played, he is only two goals shy of tying his career high set in 49 games last season. He is tied for the AHL lead with 12 power-play goals, which also ties the Checkers' franchise record for most in a single season.

Floodgates Open

Defenseman Mark Flood scored his 10th goal of the season against Lake Erie on Saturday, giving him sole possession of second-most among AHL defensemen. Six of his goals have come on the power play, tying him for third among league blueliners in that category.

In just 44 games, Flood, a 29-year-old veteran who scored just one goal in 52 games in the Russian KHL last season, has already tied Bobby Sanguinetti (2011-12) for the most goals scored by a Checkers defenseman in a single season. The veteran of 501 professional games is just one away from his AHL career high of 11 set with Manitoba during the 2010-11 campaign.

Fitting In

Since the Carolina Hurricanes acquired him from Calgary in a Dec. 30 trade and assigned him to Charlotte, forward Greg Nemisz has nine points (3g, 6a) and a plus-4 rating in nine games as a Checker. That equals his total from 32 games with Abbotsford prior to the trade.

Nemisz, a 2008 first-round draft pick who scored 248 points (115g, 133a) in 246 career junior hockey games with the Windsor Spitfires, had just 19 points in his previous 87 AHL games over the last two seasons with Abbotsford.

Against the Heat

In nine all-time meetings since the Checkers joined the Western Conference prior to the 2011-12 season, Charlotte has a record of 4-5-0 against the Heat, including a 3-2-0 record in Abbotsford.

Abbotsford's 7-1 win on Tuesday halted Charlotte's three-game winning streak in the season series. The teams will play each other three more times between tonight and Feb. 16.

Quick Hits

• The Checkers are 10-4-0 against fellow West Division opponents this season, making it the only division they have a winning record against. Each of their next five games will be against divisional opponents.
• Charlotte's 1-0 loss to Lake Erie on Friday marked the first time the team has been shut out since a 3-0 loss to Milwaukee on April 6 of last season. However, the team has scored one goal in 10 other occasions, including Tuesday.
• The Checkers have scored three or more goals in 11 of their last 15 games. They are 20-6-0 when scoring three or more and 2-15-1 when scoring fewer than three.
• The Checkers have won 10 of their last 12 one-goal games.
• Charlotte's current four-game road trip is its longest since playing six consecutive games on the road from Oct. 25-Nov. 2. Charlotte's 19 road games played are tied for the the fewest in the AHL.
• In terms of winning percentage, February is historically the Checkers' best month with an all-time record of 19-9-5, including 1-1-0 this season.
• Charlotte's four overtime games and two shootouts are the fewest in the league.

Player Streaks

• None

Milestones

• A.J. Jenks is one game shy of 150 AHL games
• Ryan Murphy played his 50th professional game at Abbotford on Feb. 4
• Zach Boychuk scored his 100th AHL goal against Lake Erie on Feb. 1
• Mark Flood played his 500th professional game against Lake Erie on Jan. 31
• Aaron Palushaj played his 300th professional game against Lake Erie on Jan. 31
• Brody Sutter played his 100th professional game against Lake Erie on Jan. 31

Injuries

• Jared Staal - missed 11 games starting Jan. 3
• Nicolas Blanchard - missed eight games starting Jan. 17

Transactions

Incoming

• Jan. 29 - (RW) Aaron Palushaj reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• Feb. 2 - (G) Cam Ward recalled to Carolina (NHL) from Charlotte