Game Preview: Checkers at Grand Rapids (Feb. 19, 2016)

The slumping Checkers begin a rare three-in-three weekend against the Griffins in Grand Rapids tonight.

Here are 10 things to know about the matchup:

1. ON THE SKIDS

The Checkers’ current six-game road swing began with a 3-0 loss in Milwaukee on Tuesday that extended their franchise-record winless streak to 10 games. It is the longest active winless streak in the league and the second-longest posted by any AHL team this season behind Iowa’s 13-game run from Nov. 1-29.

2. GOOD STREAK, BAD STREAK

In hitting the double digit mark of their winless streak, the Checkers became the first AHL team since at least the 2003-04 campaign, when records of both streaks began to be kept, to post a point streak of 10 or more games and a winless streak of 10 or more games in the same season. Charlotte accomplished both feats beginning with their team-record, 12-game point streak that started Dec. 9, with only six games separating the two streaks.

3. IN THE STANDINGS

Despite the Checkers’ current 0-8-2 slide, the team retains its hold on a playoff position thanks to its surge up the standings in December and January. While the winless streak began with a loss in Rockford that prevented the Checkers from taking the top spot in the Central Division, their current position of fifth would get them into the postseason on the crossover rule as they own a better winning percentage than the fourth-place team in the Pacific (San Jose). Charlotte checks in at .550 and San Jose is close behind at .543.

4. OFFENSIVELY CHALLENGED

Though the Checkers have posted a pair of four-goal games over the course of their 10-game slide, the others have been marked by a sharp decrease in goal scoring. Including their fourth time shut out this season on Tuesday, they have scored just 18 total goals in their last 10 games and just 11 at even strength. During the winless streak, Charlotte has fallen from fourth in the AHL with an average of 3.23 goals per game to a tie for 10th with 2.92 per outing.

5. GOALTENDING SHUFFLE

The Checkers’ tandem of Daniel Altshuller and Drew MacIntyre broke up on Monday when the Carolina Hurricanes recalled Altshuller to back up their game against Winnipeg the following day. Instead of returning to the Checkers with Cam Ward healthy enough to play, Altshuller instead joined his old ECHL team in Florida, where he stopped 23 of 27 shots in the Everblades’ Wednesday loss at Norfolk. With Altshuller yet to rejoin the Checkers, Charlotte is left with a tandem of MacIntyre and 25-year-old rookie Anthony Peters, who owns a 2.09 goals-against average and .925 save percentage in the ECHL this season.

Since making his AHL debut on Dec. 17, Altshuller has played in 19 of the Checkers’ last 25 games.

6. GRIFFINS ON THE REBOUND

Like the Checkers, the Griffins also hit some adversity since the teams’ most recent meetings in Charlotte on Jan. 12 and 13 that marked a clash of two of the AHL’s hottest teams. Grand Rapids’ slide was much shorter, however, as the team has won four of six contests since a season-ling, five-game losing streak to close the month of January. In their most recent game, the Griffins dispatched Milwaukee, which had shut out the Checkers the previous night, by a 4-1 score.

7. HEAD-TO-HEAD

The Central Division rivals split the first four games of their eight-game season series, starting with two October games in Grand Rapids and the last set at Bojangles’ Coliseum, which took place in the brief interval between Charlotte’s two record streaks. After ending the 12-game point streak with a 5-3 win on Jan. 12, the Griffins surrendered a 3-0 lead as the Checkers scored three times in the first seven minutes of the third period to take a 4-3 victory.

8. THREE-IN-THREES

Tonight begins the first of two sets of three games in three nights that the Checkers will play this season, with the other also taking place on the road next month. Charlotte, which has played as many as eight sets in a single campaign, has not played a three-in-three since January of last season.

In their five previous AHL seasons, Charlotte owns a 48-32-10 record in games that are part of a three-in-three set, including a 16-10-4 mark in game one, a 16-9-5 record in game two and mark of 16-13-1 in game three.

9. HOME AND ROAD

While the Checkers’ recent 0-5-1 home stand dropped the team under .500 at Bojangles’ Coliseum for the season, the team owns a record of 14-8-2 on the road. However, the team’s recent struggles have not been confined to home ice, as the Checkers have an active four-game winless streak on the road (0-3-1) that immediately followed a run of recording points in nine consecutive road games ending Jan. 9.

9. NO LOVE IN FEBRUARY

The Checkers are now 0-6-1 during a month of February that has proven to be less than successful in recent years. Charlotte owns a combined 8-18-3 record in its last three Februaries, having posted a losing record each time.

10. HERE AND THERE

Checkers defenseman Danny Biega has missed the last 18 games due to injury …  Kyle Hagel is tied for second in the AHL with 11 major penalties … Over the course of the winless streak, Brody Sutter and Brendan Woods lead the Checkers with five points apiece. Their usual linemate, Patrick Brown, and defenseman Ryan Murphy are close behind with four each … Though he has just two points, both assists, in his last eight games, Trevor Carrick still ranks tied for ninth among AHL defensemen in scoring ... The Checkers are 19-7-1 when scoring leader Derek Ryan records a point and are 6-13-4 when he does not.