Game Preview: Checkers at Iowa (March 25, 2014)

The Checkers renew acquaintances with the Iowa Wild, a team they have not seen since October, by beginning a two-game road trip tonight.

Iowa out-scored the Checkers 10-3 to win the first two games of the season series, including a 3-1 victory in the home opener at Time Warner Cable Arena on Oct. 19 and a 7-2 romp the next day. Since then, Charlotte’s season has been the more successful of the two, with the Checkers knocking on the door of playoff positioning despite losing three of their last four and the Wild occupying the 15th and final spot in the Western Conference.

Following the back-to-back road games, the Checkers return home for a crucial set of contests against the Oklahoma City Barons, who have an identical 67 points through 65 games, on Saturday and Sunday.

Charlotte

After winning seven of eight games to resurrect their fading playoff hopes and get within striking distance of the top eight, the Checkers’ momentum has slowed in recent weeks. They’ve come up empty in three of their last four games, all of which were extremely close battles that could have gone either until the final minutes of regulation time.

“This time of year they all sting when you lose a game just based on where we’re at,” said coach Jeff Daniels following Sunday’s 4-2 loss to the San Antonio Rampage. “We’re trying to catch teams, and when you lose games you’re not catching them.”

In that Sunday defeat, the Checkers had a series of close calls that would have tied the game with around five minutes remaining, including Michal Jordan’s shot that rang off the crossbar on another good-looking power play.

“If you look at the second half of the game I think we had four or five hit posts and a few shot tips that just missed,” said Brett Sutter. “We had our chances. They just didn’t go our way.”

Over the course of their recent slide, the Checkers, who occupy the Western Conference’s ninth seed, missed an opportunity to use games in hand to catch up on Rockford, which is now four points ahead of them in seventh place, and move well ahead of another slumping team in Oklahoma City. However, a new team to beat has emerged in Rochester, a club that has gone 0-4-2 in its last six to drop to eighth, just three points ahead of Charlotte.

With the schedule not getting any easier as the Checkers prepare for a slate of head-to-head games against other teams in the race, taking care of business against the Wild will be of the utmost importance.

“We need to make sure we get our heads right and get some big points on the road,” said Sutter. “We’re right there. It’s going to be a dogfight and these next few games really matter.”

Goalie John Muse, who has earned each of the Checkers’ last six victories since March 7, should be available after missing Sunday’s game due to injury. In addition to Greg Nemisz and Brendan Woods, more than likely to remain out of the lineup this week, the Checkers may have another forward or two battling through injuries as suggested by the continued presence of professional tryout signing Matthew Pistilli.

On defense, the Checkers should receive a boost in the form of Ryan Murphy, who the Carolina Hurricanes assigned to Charlotte earlier in the day. Murphy’s active 11-game assist streak is the longest by an AHL player this season and longest by an AHL defenseman since 2008-09, while his 11-game point streak ties the club record set by Bobby Sanguinetti two seasons ago.

Iowa

A team already needing a special finish to have a hope of making the playoffs, the Wild have followed up a three-game win streak with three consecutive losses heading into tonight’s game. Those losses, however, were against the conference’s top two seeds in Texas and Grand Rapids (twice). This week’s games conclude a six-game home stand and mark the Checkers’ first-ever visit to Des Moines.

The Wild franchise, which played in the Checkers’ division as the Houston Aeros last season, retain a handful of Minnesota prospects from that old rivalry, including a former-first round draft pick in forward Zack Phillips. However, many of the top offensive players from last season have since graduated to the NHL, most notably forward Mikael Granlund and Jason Zucker and defenseman Jonas Brodin. Veteran AHL defenseman Brian Connelly, who ranks second on the team in scoring behind Brad Winchester, is currently on NHL recall.

As a group, the Wild average just 2.33 goals per game, the fewest in the AHL.

Rookie Johan Gustafsson has seen the majority of Iowa’s starts this season, going 11-15-3 with a 2.98 goals-against average and .906 save percentage. He has started five of the last six games, with 30-year-old veteran John Curry taking the loss in the most recent game against Grand Rapids.

Checkers Notes

Playoff Picture

A win over San Antonio on March 21 allowed the Checkers to climb to ninth place, their highest position since Nov. 7. They are currently level with Oklahoma City with 67 points but hold the tiebreaker for more regulation/overtime wins.

Of the Checkers' 11 remaining games, five will be played against teams in direct competition for a playoff spot (one against Rockford and four against Oklahoma City). Three more will be played against teams below them in the Western Conference standings (one against 14-seed San Antonio and two against 15-seed Iowa).

Terry Streaks

Chris Terry points in seven straight games (6g, 4a) marking his longest streak since opening the season with points in each of his first nine. His five-game goal streak that ended March 23 was the longest of his career and the longest by a Checker since Drayson Bowman set the franchise record with eight from Oct. 19-Nov. 4 of last season.

During his streak, Terry has taken over the team's scoring lead with 61 points (t-5th AHL). His 26 goals rank second on the team behind Zach Boychuk (28) and are tied for the eighth-most in the league.

All He Does Is Win

Checkers goalie John Muse has won 19 of his last 26 decisions dating back to Nov. 23. His most recent victory on March 21, his 22nd of the season, tied the franchise record held by Justin Pogge (2010-11) and Justin Peters (2012-13). He is tied for fourth in the AHL in victories.

A winner of two NCAA National Championships with Boston College and an ECHL Kelly Cup with the Florida Everblades, Muse, who rejoined the Checkers on a PTO in November before upgrading to an AHL deal, has an all-time AHL record of 40-22-3. He ranks second in the Checkers' AHL history with 39 wins, three more than Peters and four fewer than Murphy.

Murphy's Law

Mike Murphy lost for the seventh time in his last eight decisions by way of a 4-2 defeat against San Antonio on March 23. Murphy has received five total goals of support in his last four starts, all losses, while partner John Muse has gone 6-1-0 while receiving three or more goals of support in each of his last seven starts.

The Big Three

Along with Texas (four), the Checkers are one of two teams to feature three or more players among the AHL's top 20 scorers. Chris Terry leads the Checkers and ranks tied for fifth in the AHL with 61 points, while Zach Boychuk and Aaron Palushaj are tied for ninth in the league with 57.

All three players have held sole possesion of the Checkers' scoring lead at one point this season and are on pace for their best scoring seasons at the AHL level. At their current pace, all three players would break Boychuk's team record of 65 points set in 2010-11, with Terry on pace for 72, Boychuk on pace for 67 and Palushaj headed for 66.

Sutter Moving Up

While scoring 25 points (10g, 15a) in his last 26 games dating back to Jan. 23, Checkers captain Brett Sutter passed Zac Dalpe for the third-most points in the Checkers' AHL history (137 in 243 games). Only Chris Terry (242) and Zach Boychuk (209) have more.

Sutter, who played his 500th professional game on March 2, has averaged 0.73 points per game in his last two seasons with the Checkers compared to 0.33 points per game in his first five AHL campaigns with Quad City, Abbotsford and Charlotte. Despite missing 14 games while on NHL duty with Carolina this season, he ranks fourth on the Checkers in scoring with 39 points (12g, 27a) in 50 games.

Sutter scored points in six consecutive games (4g, 5a) ending March 23, tying the longest streak of his career. He scored eight points (5g, 3a) over a six-game stretch last season.

Power Players

Both Zach Boychuk (t-2nd AHL with 14) and Chris Terry (t-4th AHL with 13) have broken the franchise record for most power play goals in a single season previously held by Jacob Micflikier (12 goals in 2010-11). Meanwhile, Mark Flood's seven power-play goals are tied for third among AHL defensemen and tied for the most by a Checkers blueliner in a single season (Bobby Sanguinetti in 2011-12).

The Checkers currently rank second in the AHL with a 22 percent success rate on the power play.

Quick Hits

• The Checkers are 4-0-0 when surrendering a three-goal lead this season.
• The Checkers' 21 shots on goal in the second period on March 21 were their most in a single period since Jan. 19 (23).
• Aaron Palushaj's 22 goals, 35 assists and 57 points tie career highs set with Hamilton in the 2010-11 season, when he posted identical totals in four more games played.
• Zach Boychuk's 28 goals are the fourth-most in the AHL and the third-highest total in the Checkers' AHL history (Jacob Mikflikier had 29 and Chris Terry had 34 in 2010-11).
• The Checkers have killed 26 of 27 penalties since March 12.
• Aaron Palushaj's 20th goal of the season on March 9 was also his sixth-game winner. He is in a six-way tie for the most game-winning goals in the AHL.
• Mark Flood ranks tied for second among AHL defensemen with 12 goals. That sets a career high and is the most ever by a Charlotte defenseman in a single season.
• The Checkers' eight overtime games (5-3) and four shootouts (2-2) are the fewest in the league.
• The Checkers' three shorthanded goals are the fewest in the AHL. They have never scored fewer than six in a single season.

Player Streaks

• Chris Terry has points in each of his last seven games (March 9-23: 6g, 4a)
• Michal Jordan has points in each of his last three games (March 19-23: 1g, 3a)
• Justin Shugg has assists and points in each of his last three games (March 19-23: 0g, 3a)

Milestones

• Philippe Cornet is one shy of 250 professional games
• Zach Boychuk is four shy of 250 AHL points
• Nicolas Blanchard is seven shy of 800 AHL penalty minutes
• Justin Shugg recorded his 100th professional point on March 21

Injuries

• Greg Nemisz - missed nine games starting March 8
• Brendan Woods - missed 15 games starting Feb. 22

Transactions

Incoming

• March 25 - (D) Ryan Murphy reassigned from Carolina (NHL) to Charlotte
• March 23 - (RW) Matthew Pistilli signed to PTO from Florida (ECHL)
• March 20 - (D) Dennis Robertson (Brown University) signed with Carolina (NHL) and assigned to Charlotte
• March 19 - (LW) Chris Terry reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• March 23 - (G) Trevor Cann released from PTO and returned to Florida (ECHL)