Game Preview: Checkers at Hershey (Dec. 5, 2018)

After stumbling a bit in their return from the holidays, the Checkers head into Hershey fresh off a decisive win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Here are some things to know before tonight's puck drop.

1. LAST TIME OUT

The Checkers and Bears should be familiar with one another as their first two meetings this season came just two weeks ago. Squaring off in Charlotte, the visiting Bears exploded out of the gates for a staggering 5-0 lead in the first period of the first contest. The Checkers would take over from there, tilting the ice in their favor and pulling within one goal but ultimately falling short. The next night’s rematch saw the Checkers keep that momentum rolling, as they ran the total to 10 unanswered goals en route to a 6-0 blowout victory.

Charlotte was powered during that series by the recently returned Saarela, who came away with a hat trick in the second contest and notched five points across the two games, while rookie Nicolas Roy racked up five helpers and Julien Gauthier marked two goals and three points. Hershey’s short burst of scoring was evenly spread, coming from five different goal scorers, and no Bear notched more than two points over the series.

2. SCOUTING THE BEARS

The Bears, who sit sixth in the stacked Atlantic Division, have seen a bit of a rise since last facing the Checkers, going 2-1-1 over those four games. Hershey’s offense, which ranks 26th in the AHL, continues to sputter as of late, however. The Bears have scored two or fewer goals in six of their last nine contests and four of their last five on home ice. But despite those overall struggles, Hershey possesses no shortage of top-tier offensive talent. AHL star and future Olympian Chris Bourque leads the entire league in scoring with 39 points through 35 games, while young talent Travis Boyd and Riley Barber continue to pitch in as well. The team has also been boosted by the strong play as of late from blue liner Aaron Ness, who has eight assists in his last seven games, and Tyler Graovac, who has haunted the Checkers in the past as a member of the Iowa Wild.

Between the pipes for Hershey is the formidable duo of Vitek Vanecek and Pheonix Copley. Neither netminder fared great when facing the Checkers last month, but Vanecek has gone 2-1-1 in his last four appearances and boasts a 2.40 goals against average, while Copley has won in regulation just twice over his last 10 appearances, allowing at least four goals in five of those games.

3. OFFENSIVE REINFORCEMENTS

The Checkers’ corps of forwards will have some more firepower heading into this weekend’s matchup. The AHL’s leading goal scorer Valentin Zykov, who missed the last two games due to illness, returned to practice this week and is expected to make his return to the lineup in Hershey. Additionally, Janne Kuokkanen is back with the team after missing the last five games while representing Finland at the World Junior Championship in Buffalo and Aleksi Saarela has been reassigned to Charlotte after a quick one-game stint in Carolina that saw him serve as a healthy extra in Pittsburgh Thursday night.

While that trio is prepared to fold back into the lineup, the Checkers will be without Sergey Tolchinsky for some time, as the forward underwent surgery and is out for at least six weeks after taking a shot to the leg.

4. HEY NOW, Z'S AN ALL STAR

Earlier this week, Valentin Zykov, who is expected to make his return to the lineup this weekend after missing the last two games due to injury, was selected to the 2018 AHL All-Star Classic, the lone Checker to earn the honor. The Russian forward currently leads the league in both goals and power-play goals, as well as sitting tied for second on Charlotte in scoring. Zykov is the sixth forward in franchise history to be named to the AHL All-Star Classic and just the second since 2012.

Zykov enters the weekend series in Hershey on an eight-game point streak, which is tied for the longest by a Checker this season, and has nine goals in his last eight contests.

5. POWERING UP

After a brief two-game slump, the Checkers struck on the man advantage in their second contest against the Phantoms to bring up their third-ranked power play to a 22.2 percentage. Over the last nine games, Charlotte has scored a power-play in seven of them, boasting a 30 percent clip over that stretch.

The Checkers’ man advantage has been a key part of their success so far this season, and they’ve been able to find the back of the net more often than not. The team has only been held without a power-play goal 11 times all season thus far, and has struggled in those instances with a 4-6-1 record.

The highest power-play percentage that Charlotte has ever finished a season with is 22.6 in 2013-14.

6. GET THE APP

The Checkers app got a fresh new set of paint during the offseason but functions just the same. Follow along with scoring updates as well as play the Top Line interactive game.

You will also be able to listen to the radio broadcast via the app or this link. Jason Shaya’s pregame show starts 15 minutes prior to puck drop, tune in and tweet Jason to let him know you’re listening.