Game Preview: Checkers at Lake Erie (Feb. 10, 2015)

The Checkers look to break out of their longest losing streak of the season as they begin a trip to Lake Erie with the first meeting of the season between the two teams tonight.

Charlotte has lost all four of its games since the All-Star break in regulation, marking their longest such losing streak since infamously dropping seven in a row in November of last season. During that time, opponents have out-scored them by a combined 17-4 margin. Meanwhile, Lake Erie, which has not faced the Checkers since March 16, has won five of its last seven.

The Checkers' quick trip concludes with a rematch against the Monsters this Thursday. After that, they return home to play three games in four nights at Time Warner Cable Arena starting Monday.

Charlotte

As they travel to Lake Erie for the first time this season, the key for the Checkers will be to create some offense against a struggling Monsters’ defense.In order to break through on the scoreboard, the team’s top-end talent will have to find a way to crack their slump. During the losing streak, the Checkers’ top-three available scorers, Chad LaRose, Justin Shugg and Phil Di Giuseppe, have combined for just two points, both coming off the stick of LaRose. As their total offense sinks back to the bottom of the AHL rankings, getting those players to produce could help ignite a spark among the rest of the team as well.

The Checkers also hope to get some contributions from arguably their biggest weapon, Zach Boychuk. After a disappointing assignment to Charlotte from the NHL, the Checkers’ all-time goals leader has just two points in his last six games. His play, coupled with the subpar play of the team in general, led to head coach Jeff Daniels making Boychuk a healthy scratch for Saturday’s tilt with Chicago. The move seemed to resonate with both Boychuk and the rest of the team, with the results yet to be seen.

The ailing forward corps may have taken another hit yesterday morning as Carter Sandlak left the ice with an apparent injury. Whether he will be available tonight is unknown, but if he can’t go, the Checkers could be without any extra forwards, as Brendan Woods is still working his way back but will make the trip to Lake Erie. After exiting the game against OKC on Jan. 23, Woods has recently begun skating with the team again, and participated in yesterday morning’s practice with a yellow no-contact jersey. If neither player is able to play, the Checkers would have just enough forwards to dress, with the addition of PTO-signee Jason Bast.

In goal, Drew MacIntyre has handled the majority of the workload as of late, starting the last five games for the Checkers. The veteran has struggled during that stretch, losing his last four games and allowing at least three goals in each. While his play hasn’t been stellar during the losing streak, MacIntyre hasn’t gotten much help from the defensemen in front of him and has gotten virtually no goal support.

John Muse, whose last start came on Jan. 22, entered the tilt against Chicago on Feb. 6 in relief, stopping all 11 shots he faced. With the workload that MacIntyre has seen over the last couple of weeks, it would not be surprising if Muse was tapped for at least one of the starts against the Monsters.

Lake Erie

The Monsters enter today locked in a tight battle for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Despite finding themselves last in the stacked Midwest Division, Lake Erie is just three points out of the eighth seed and seem to be trending in the right direction, having won three of their last four and five of their last seven contests.

Lake Erie boasts a potent offensive attack that ranks in the top half of the league in terms of goals per game led by the combination of blue liner Maxim Noreau and forward Colin Smith. The Monsters have also enjoyed a boost from the recent addition of Ben Street, who recently returned from his stint with the parent Colorado Avalanche. Street has notched eight points in the 10 games he has been back, including a five-game point streak that came to an end in their most recent game.

Between the pipes, Calvin Pickard has been the man for Lake Erie. He has played in more than double the games than any other Monsters goalie and has turned in an 11-7-4 record. Like MacIntyre, Pickard has started each of the last five games for his team, earning a point in four of them. The 22-year-old’s play has helped carry a Lake Erie team that finds itself in the bottom three in the AHL in terms of goals allowed per game.

Checkers Notes

Against Lake Erie

Tonight's game begins the four-game season series between the Checkers and Lake Erie, with the teams not having met since March 16 of last season. After tonight, Charlotte will have faced every team on its schedule at least once. Including an even 2-2-0 split in last season's series, the Checkers have an all-time record of 5-4-3 against the Monsters.

Zach Boychuk led all Checkers skaters with five points (3g, 2a) in four games against the Monsters last season, while Mike Sgarbossa led all currently active Monsters with three points, all assists, last season. In goal, John Muse faced Lake Erie one time, stopping 35 of 37 shots to record a victory on March 15. The Monsters' Calvin Pickard faced the Checkers three times, going 1-2-0 with a 3.36 goals-against average and .881 save percentage, while Sami Aittokallio did not face Charlotte last season.

We Meet Again

This week’s series against Lake Erie will mark the 19th time the Checkers face the same opponent in two consecutive games this season. They are a combined 3-11-4 in the first halves of those series and 10-7-1 in the second.

In those two-game series, the Checkers have won both games once (against Milwaukee on Nov. 29 and 30) and have suffered four sweeps (vs. Grand Rapids on Oct. 17-18, at San Antonio on Nov. 14-15, at Oklahoma City on Nov. 21-22 and vs. Chicago on Feb. 6-7).

Tough Break

The Checkers' 4-1 loss to Chicago on Feb. 7 marked their fourth consecutive regulation loss since returning from the AHL's All-Star break, marking their longest losing streak of the season and giving them the longest active losing streak in the AHL. Over the course of their current streak, opponents have out-scored them by a cumulative 17-4 score, marking the largest differential, positive or negative, of any four-game stretch this season. Prior to the All-Star break, the Checkers had earned points in seven of their last 10 games (5-3-2).

Coming off the similary long holiday break from Dec. 22-26, the Checkers posted a four-game winless streak at 0-3-1. They had earned points in four of their previous five games (3-1-1).

The last time that the Checkers suffered four consecutive regulation losses since a franchise-record, seven-game skid from Nov. 2-19 of last season.

MacIntyre's Workload

Checkers goalie Drew MacIntyre has started each of the team's last five games, putting him one shy of his own six-game stretch from Oct. 31-Nov. 15 for the longest such streak by a Checkers goalie this season. Over the course of his current run, during which he has started on consecutive nights twice, he has risen to third in the AHL with in minutes played (1,877) and saves (910). His most recent start on Feb. 7 marked his 450th game played as a professional.

MacIntyre, a 31-year-old veteran now playing his 12th professional season with his eighth AHL club, ranks 10th on the league's all-time wins list with 205 and is just 27 wins away from tying Frederic Cassivi for fifth. He has a 205-133-25 record, 2.45 goals-against average, .936 save percentage and 16 shutouts in 386 career AHL games dating back to the 2004-05 season.

LaRose Takes Over

During a current stretch that has seen him score 15 points (9g, 6a) in his last 20 games, Chad LaRose has taken sole possession of the team's scoring lead with 26 points (13g, 13a). In addition to being the team's overall points leader, he also leads the team in shorthanded points (three - t-4th AHL) and is tied with Ryan Murphy for first in power-play points (seven). He also leads the team in shots on goal (125), having topped the seven-shot mark twice in his last four outings.

LaRose's six-game point streak from Jan. 15-30 marked the Checkers' longest of the season, eclipsing his own previous five-game run and another by Murphy, both of which occurred in December. It also tied the longest of his professional career set during his previous AHL season (4g, 7a for Lowell between Nov. 18-26, 2005).

LaRose, a 32-year-old veteran of 508 NHL games with Carolina, is playing in the AHL for the first time since 2005-06 after taking last season away from hockey. He now has 110 points (54g, 56a) in 173 career AHL games with Lowell and Charlotte.

Lack Of Firepower

After totaling just four goals in their last four games, the Checkers have fallen back to the AHL cellar in terms of total goals (99) and goals per game (2.11). The Checkers are the only team in the AHL with two or fewer 20-point scorers on their roster (Chad LaRose and Justin Shugg). LaRose's 26 points are the third lowest for a team leader in the AHL. The Checkers haven't been getting any help from their top-end scorers during this losing streak, as their three highest-scoring available skaters (LaRose, Shugg and Di Giuseppe) have combined for two points in their last four games.

The Checkers also rank last in the league on the power play with a season-long percentage of 9.7, including a 1-for-16 slide in three games since returning from the All-Star break.The lowest recorded power-play percentage for a season in AHL history is 10.4, set by the Rochester Americans in 2001-02.

Quick Hits

• Kyle Hagel is tied for second in the AHL in major penalties (15)
• Chad LaRose is tied for the AHL lead in shorthanded assists (3) and is tied for fourth in shorthanded points (3)
• The Checkers are the only AHL team that has yet to record a shutout.
• Charlotte ranks last in the AHL in terms of victories (five) and points earned (14) on the road.

Streaks

• Drew MacIntyre has started five straight games dating back to Jan. 23.

Injuries

• Brendan Woods - missed four games starting 1/30
• Gabriel Desjardins - missed 14 game starting 1/4
• Greg Nemisz - missed 26 games starting 12/8 (out for season)

Milestones

• Brock McGinn is one shy of 50 AHL/professional games
• Zach Boychuk is one shy of 150 AHL assists
• Rasmus Rissanen is five shy of 300 AHL/professional penalty minutes
• Drew MacIntyre played his 450th pro game on 2/7
• Phil Di Giuseppe played his 50th pro/AHL game on 2/7
• Jason Bast recorded his first AHL point with an assist on 2/7
• Ben Holmstrom played his 300th pro game on 2/6

Transactions

Incoming

• Feb. 6 - (C) Jason Bast signed to PTO from Idaho (ECHL)

Outgoing

• None