Game Preview: Checkers at Oklahoma City (Dec. 31, 2014)

The Checkers hope to finish 2014 on a winning note as they complete a three-game road trip tonight against the Oklahoma City Barons.

Charlotte is still looking for its first victory of the post-holiday trip, having started things off with a 4-2 defeat in Texas on Saturday and a 2-1 overtime loss to the Oklahoma City Barons less than 24 hours later. The Barons, who enter tonight’s game with a seven-point lead in the West Division, have won four of the five meetings between the two clubs this season.

Following tonight’s game, the Checkers return home to face the Texas Stars this Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

Charlotte

The Checkers have made a recent habit of giving up key goals late in games, with Sunday’s prequel against the Barons the most recent example.

Leading by one goal for roughly half of the game, the Checkers surrendered the tying goal with 1:36 remaining in regulation, robbing them and goalie John Muse of their first shutout of the season, before going on to lose on a goal just 1:27 into overtime.

It marked the fifth time since Nov. 21 (17 games) that Charlotte gave up the tying or winning goal in the last three minutes of regulation. Three of those games went to overtime, with the Checkers losing all three.

With Drew MacIntyre on his way home from Switzerland (his Team Canada squad lost in the Spengler Cup seminfinals on Tuesday), John Muse will more than likely get an opportunity to build on his 38-save effort on Sunday, particularly with the club coming off a two-day break and backup Daniel Altshuller yet to make his AHL debut. Despite posting a solid 2.54 goals-against average and .919 save percentage in December, the 26-year-old, fourth-year pro is just 1-2-2 during that time and has just two victories in 11 games played this season.

With ongoing goal-scoring issues, particularly on the power play, costing them the last game, the Checkers will have a few key lineup changes – one that will help and one that may not. Brendan Woods, who is tied for fourth on the team in scoring with 13 points, is expected to return from his first-ever NHL stint and an illness that kept him out of Sunday’s game. However, Ryan Murphy, who is tied with Chad LaRose for first on the team in 17 points, will miss out after joining the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.

Murphy’s 17 assists are at least 10 more than any other Checker and rank third among AHL defensemen. His seven power-play assists and points lead Charlotte, which has the league’s 30th-ranked power play at just 9.2 percent.

Without Murphy and Mike Little, who the Checkers released from his professional tryout contract on Monday, Charlotte currently has just five healthy defensemen on its roster.

Oklahoma City

Sunday’s game was the continuation of an excellent season for the Barons, who have won six of their last seven contests to build breathing room in the West Division race. Their only loss during that span, much of which has come since a coaching change that saw longtime leader Todd Nelson promoted to the Edmonton Oilers and an announcement that the team would cease operations following this season, came at the hands of the Checkers on Dec. 18.

The high-powered Barons, who the Checkers so very nearly shut out on Sunday, have added a little more firepower since that game in the form of veteran defenseman Brad Hunt. The 26-year-old, who has an eye-popping 22 points (7g, 15a) in 17 AHL games this season, returned from Edmonton on Monday. He has four points in two games against Charlotte this season.

Other impact players for Oklahoma City include a pair of centers with significant NHL experience in center Jason Williams, who missed Sunday’s game with an illness, and Anton Lander. The two are tied for the team’s scoring lead with 29 points in 28 outings. Lander has been particularly dangerous of late with 10 points over the course of an active six-game point streak.

Since taking over full-time duties since Richard Bachman went down with an injury in Charlotte on Dec. 16, Laurent Brossoit has been lights out, posting a 4-1-0 record to go along with a 1.52 goals-against average and .948 save percentage.

Checkers Notes

Against Oklahoma City

Tonight marks the sixth of 12 meetings between the Checkers and Texas this season, with the Barons taking four out of the first five. In 33 all-time contests between the two clubs, the Checkers hold an 18-11-4 record, including a 10-6-1 mark at Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City.

Rookie Brock McGinn leads the Checkers in scoring against Oklahoma City this season with five points (2g, 3a) in five games. He is tied with defenseman Danny Biega for the head-to-head lead in the goal-scoring department, with both of Biega's goals on the season coming against the Barons. For Oklahoma City, Anton Lander and Jason Williams pace the team with five points apiece.

In goal, John Muse has a 1-1-1 record with a 1.99 goals-against average and .932 save percentage against the Barons this season, while Daniel Altshuller has yet to make his AHL debut. For Oklahoma City, Laurent Brossoit is 2-1-0 with a 1.27 goals-against average and .960 save percentage against the Checkers.

In terms of organizational ties, Checkers defenseman Keegan Lowe's father, Kevin Lowe, is the president of hockey operations for Oklahoma City's parent club, the Edmonton Oilers. Checkers center Brody Sutter's father, Duane Sutter, is an Edmonton scout. Oklahoma City forward Matthew Ford played 31 games for the ECHL Checkers from 2008-10 before becoming a full-time AHL player.

Getting his Phil

Checkers rookie Phil di Giuseppe has goals in each of his last three games dating back to Dec. 21, marking the first goal streak of his professional career. During that time, he has doubled his goal output for the entire season. His goal streak is tied for the third-longest active streak in the AHL and is one shy of the team's longest of the season, a four-game run by Justin Shugg from Nov. 14-21.

The Hurricanes' top draft choice in 2012 (38th overall), di Giuseppe, 21, is now tied for fourth on the Checkers in points (13) and goals (six). He ranks third on the team with 72 shots on goal.

LaRose Finding His Legs

Veteran forward Chad LaRose has recorded points in each of his last five games (3g, 3a), tying a run by Ryan Murphy from Dec. 16-28 for the team's longest of the season. Over the course of his streak, which is tied for the fourth-longest active point streak in the AHL, LaRose has climbed into a tie with Murphy for the team lead in scoring with 17 points, seven of which have come in his last seven games.

LaRose, who recently played his 700th professional game, including over 500 in the NHL with Carolina, after taking last year away from hockey, currently leads the AHL in shorthanded assists (3) and is tied for second in the league shorthanded points (3).

Back-Breaking Goals

When the Checkers allowed Oklahoma City to tie the game on Dec. 28 with 1:36 remaining in the third period, it marked the fifth time since Nov. 21 (17 games) that Charlotte gave up the tying or winning goal in the last three minutes of regulation time. Three of those games went to overtime, with the Checkers losing all three.

Career Stretch For Staal

Checkers forward Jared Staal has five points (3g, 2a) in his last seven games, allowing him to set new career highs for goals (six) and points (eight) in a single season. During that time, he posted a career-best, four-game point streak (2g, 2a from Dec. 13-19).

Now in his fifth professional season, all with the Checkers, Staal has posted 33 points (16g, 17a) in 193 career AHL contests. Along with Zach Boychuk, Michal Jordan, Rasmus Rissanen and Chris Terry, Staal is one of just five players to play at least one game for the Checkers in all five of their AHL seasons.

Power Outage

Including an active 0-for-15 drought spanning three games since Dec. 19, the Checkers are just 4-for-65 on the power play (6.2 percent) over their last 16 games dating back to Nov. 22. Over the course of that time, they have fallen to 30th in the league with a season-long percentage of 9.2. With Ryan Murphy (seven points, all assists) in the NHL, no active Checker has more than four points on the power play this season (Brock McGinn and Justin Shugg).

In their previous four AHL seasons, the team never finished lower than fifth in the league in terms of power-play percentage. Their lowest-ever percentage to finish a season was 19.8 percent.

Killing Success

The Checkers are a perfect 14-for-14 on the penalty kill over their last four games dating back to Dec. 19, putting them one shy of their longest streak of the season in terms of consecutive games played without allowing a power-play goal. During their current stretch, they have cracked the league's top 10 with an 85.2 percent success rate over the course of the entire season.

Charlotte has also been able to produce offense while shorthanded, with their five shorthanded goals tying them for third in the league and already putting them two ahead of their league-low total from all of last season. Chad LaRose leads the league in shorthanded assists and is tied for second in shorthanded points (3), while Greg Nemisz and Brendan Woods find themselves in a 13-way tie for the league lead in shorthanded goals with two apiece.

The Checkers are one of just four AHL teams that have yet to allow a shorthanded goal.

Quick Hits

• The Checkers have scored one goal or less in 12 games this season.
• The Checkers are one of just three AHL teams (Hamilton, Iowa) that have yet to record a shutout
• Charlotte has lost each of its last three overtime games after starting the season 2-1
• Charlotte is in the midst of a stretch in which it plays 11 consecutive games agains the West Division. The Checkers are 6-9-3 in divisional play this season
• Kyle Hagel leads the league in major penalties (11)
• Defenseman Trevor Carrick is tied for third among AHL rookies in major penalties (5)

Streaks

• Chad LaRose has points in each of his last five games (Dec. 18-28: 3g, 3a)
• Phil Di Giuseppe has goals and points in each of his last three games (Dec. 21-28: 3g, 0a)

Injuries

• Beau Schmitz - missed nine games starting 12/10
• Greg Nemisz - missed 10 games starting 12/8 (out for season)
• Brody Sutter - missed 19 games starting 11/15

Milestones

• Chad LaRose is one shy of 150 pro goals
• A.J. Jenks is one shy of 50 pro assists
• Danny Biega is three shy of 100 AHL/pro games played
• Andrew Rowe is three shy of 100 pro assists
• A.J. Jenks is four shy of 250 pro games played
• Keegan Lowe is four shy of 150 AHL/pro penalty minutes
• Justin Shugg played his 200th pro game on Dec. 28

Transactions

Incoming

• Dec. 28 - (C) Brendan Woods reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)
• Dec. 27 - (LW) Gabriel Desjardins signed to professional tryout contract from Florida (ECHL)
• Dec. 27 - (G) Daniel Altshuller recalled to Charlotte from Florida (ECHL)

Outgoing

• Dec. 30 - (D) Ryan Murphy recalled to Carolina (NHL) from Charlotte
• Dec. 29 - (D) Mike Little released from professional tryout contract to Florida (ECHL)