Game Preview: Checkers at Hartford (Jan. 10, 2020)

The Checkers’ road trip rolls on as they visit the Eastern Conference-leading Hartford Wolf Pack. Here's everything you need to know before tonight’s puck drop.

1. ON A ROLL

After winning more than two games in a row for the first time this season, the Checkers have kept things rolling and are now in the midst of a six-game winning streak. That not only marks the longest active such streak in the AHL, it puts Charlotte one shy of matching the franchise record that has been hit twice before, most recently in the 2017-18 season.

2. ROAD WARRIORS

Much of this hot streak for Charlotte has come on the road, with the team having won six consecutive games away from home. That is also one shy of tying the franchise record, most recently hit early last season. The Checkers’ 11 road wins are the third-highest total in the AHL and the second-most in the Atlantic Division. They’ll face a tough test in a Hartford squad that has a staggering 15-1-2 record on home ice this season.

3. CLIMBING UP

With an 8-2-0 record over their last 10 games, the Checkers have pushed their way back into the Atlantic Division playoff race. They currently sit in fifth place with 41 points, just one point behind Springfield for the final playoff spot and just two points behind Providence for third place. The Checkers also have the benefit of games in hand, having played two or three fewer games than the teams ahead of them, which gives them the third-best points percentage in the division.

4. HARTFORD LEADS THE WAY

The Wolf Pack have enjoyed a stellar start to the season, leading the Eastern Conference and sitting third in the entire league. They enter tonight’s contest on a similar hot streak to Charlotte, winning each of their last five games and taking seven straight victories on home ice.

5. PREVIOUSLY ON

The Checkers and Wolf Pack have faced each other three times already this season. They kicked off the season in Hartford, with the home side surviving a late push by the Checkers to escape with a 5-3 win, but the tide turned in the next two contests in Charlotte. The Checkers throttled the Wolf Pack in back-to-back games midway through December by a combined 13-4 score.

6. DEFENSIVE BATTLE

Friday’s contest pits two of the league’s top defenses against each other – the Checkers boast the sixth-best goals-against average while Hartford clocks in at number three. Both sides have been extra stingy as of late. Charlotte has allowed eight goals over its six-game winning streak, with three of those coming against the Penguins on Wednesday alone. On the other side, since the Checkers were able to hang 13 goals over their two-game sweep of Hartford in December, the Wolf Pack have allowed 11 total goals over their next seven contests, including just six over their last five.

7. BETWEEN THE PIPES

Hartford’s lockdown defense has been led by netminder Igor Shesterkin, who leads the AHL in goals-against average and ranks second in save percentage and wins. The Wolf Pack will presumably be without their star goalie Friday, however, as he is currently on recall with the Rangers. They’ll turn the keys over to rookie Adam Huska, who has a 7-4-4 record in 16 appearances this season with a 2.58 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage. Huska is coming off back-to-back wins in which he allowed just one goal each, which follows a stretch where he surrendered at least four goals in four of seven games. Joining him in the tandem is former Checker Tom McCollum, who has yet to log an AHL game this season.

Charlotte’s goaltending has been just as strong as of late. Anton Forsberg has allowed a single goal in five of his last seven games while claiming wins in four straight appearances and six of his last seven, while Alex Nedeljkovic has moved into the AHL’s top 10 for goals-against average.

8. UP FRONT

The biggest discrepancy between Charlotte and Hartford is on the offensive side of things, where the Checkers rank 12th in goals-for average and the Wolf Pack rank 25th. The Checkers have had the hot hand as of late, notching at least four goals in eight of their last 10 games and in each of their last three. On the other side Hartford has reached the three-goal mark in four of their last five games.

Hartford has been paced offensively by the likes of Vinni Lettieri and longtime Checker Phil Di Giuseppe, while the experienced duo of Boo Nieves and Matt Beleskey have been heating up lately with eight and seven points in the last eight games, respectively.

9. GOAT'S GOT GOALS

Julien Gauthier set a career high with 27 goals in 75 games last season, but he seems dead-set on topping that mark this year. The forward currently leads the team and ranks sixth in the AHL with 17 goals through 29 games. Gauthier, who is currently in the midst of the longest point streak by a Checker this season at eight games, has racked up 10 goals in his last 10 games. The 22-year-old is looking to become the fifth Checker in franchise history to reach the 30-goal mark, while Zach Boychuk holds the franchise record with 36 in 2013-14.

10. LORENTZ BREAKS OUT

Steven Lorentz has found his offense in a big way this season, already more than doubling his output from a year ago with 23 points in 35 games. The third-year forward has 11 points in his last six games and has notched multi-point efforts in four of his last six contests, including his second three-point outing three games Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

11. TUNE IN

You can tune in to every broadcast this season with a subscription to the league’s streaming platform AHLTV.

As always, the radio broadcast will be available via the Checkers app or this link, so tune in and tweet Jason Shaya to let him know you’re listening!