Game Preview: Checkers at Stockton (Dec. 7, 2016)

The Checkers make their way through the California circuit one more time this week, returning to Stockton looking to avenge a 4-2 loss a week ago.

Here are 9 things to watch for in tonight’s game.

1. OFFENSE STARVED

This West Coast swing hasn’t produced much of anything from the Checkers’ offense, as they continue to be starved for goals as of late.

Charlotte’s stretch of scoring two or fewer goals has reached four straight games and nine of the last 11, none of which resulted in a win. In fact, the Checkers are now 1-11-1 in games where they failed to score more than two goals. On the flip side, they are a perfect 8-0-0 when breaking past that threshold.

While much of the lack of scoring can be attributed to the loss of several of the team’s high-end scorers being pulled to the NHL, the offensive talent remaining on the roster has hit a cold streak.

After ranking third on the team in scoring as a rookie last season, Sergey Tolchinsky has just seven points through the first 21 games, including one goal and no assists in his last 11 contests. The silver lining for the forward is that he sat at the same seven-point total through the first 21 games of last season before pouring it on to finish with 36, though the Checkers will need him to find that second gear quickly to help spur the offense overall. Similarly, Andrew Miller, who is a near point-per-game player in the AHL over his career, has had a slow start with seven points through 16 games played.

Production from the back end has been a point of emphasis from the coaching staff since day one, and one that continues to search for a spark. A year removed from ranking second on the team overall with 42 points, Trevor Carrick has recorded just four this season with no goals, while Jake Chelios has the same four-point total after a career year offensively a season ago. While their defensive play has been strong for stretches this season, the Checkers would benefit greatly from getting some of that firepower going once again.

2. RAVAGED ROSTER

As the Checkers search for answers on offense, the pieces that they are missing throughout the roster have not made life easy.

Thus far, the Checkers have seen Derek Ryan and Brock McGinn, who still rank as the second and fifth leading scorers on the team despite only playing nine games, head to the NHL, with Matt Tennyson, who still holds a share of the team’s scoring lead among defensemen, Michael Leighton, who has earned six of the team’s nine wins this season, and Phil Di Giuseppe joining them.

Aside from recalls, the Checkers have had terrible luck with regards to injuries this season. On top of Brendan Woods, who was lost six games in and continues to have a longer term recovery timeframe, Charlotte has seen Connor Brickley, Patrick Dwyer, Haydn Fleury and Trevor Carrick sidelined over the last few weeks. While their recovery times are varying, none of the four made the current trip to California.

All in all, nine of the 20 players who suited up for the Checkers on opening night in Texas on Oct. 14 were absent from the team’s lineup this past Saturday in Ontario.

3. SURGING SWEDES

Despite the team’s overall offensive struggles, two players who have seen a bit of an uptick as of late are Lucas Wallmark and his fellow countryman Erik Karlsson.

In his first year as a pro in North America, Wallmark has pushed his way into a tie for second in scoring among the Checkers active roster, netting four points over the last seven games.

Karlsson has been the hottest scorer on the Checkers during the tumultuous last few weeks, recording three points over the last four games. That brings the 22-year-old’s season total to four, nearly halfway to his rookie total from a year ago, just 15 games in.

4. FRESH FACES PITCH IN

With the aforementioned hits to their lineup, the Checkers have turned to both their own ECHL affiliate as well as PTOs to fill in, and those new additions have shown promise.

Levko Koper, a first-year pro who signed a two-way deal with the Checkers over the summer, was called up from the Florida Everblades two weeks ago and has brought a solid spark to the lineup. The forward has mostly appeared on the third and fourth lines, which have fairly consistently been some of the team’s best over the last chunk of games. In the five games that Koper has played for Charlotte, he has recorded three points, one in every other game.

From the PTO side, veteran Kris Newbury has appeared in all three games since joining the club, dropping the gloves in Bakersfield lighting the lamp in Ontario, while Cason Hohmann recorded his first AHL point with a helper in one of his two games with Charlotte this season.

5. HOMESICK

With last Saturday’s 3-2 loss in Ontario, the Checkers are now winless in each of their last seven road contests, including five consecutive losses. Both of those marks are one shy of matching franchise records, which were each set over the same stretch of the 2014-15 season.

The Checkers’ current road winless streak stands as both the longest active and the longest overall this season in the AHL.

As previously mentioned, the Checkers’ offense has had its fair share of struggles this season, sitting sixth from the bottom of the AHL with a goals per game average of 2.52. Even so, they have been slightly worse on the road, where they are averaging 2.3 goals per game as compared to 2.88 at home.

Charlotte’s nine losses on the road are the most in the AHL and its 0.269 winning percentage is the second-worst in the league, only ahead of Central Division foe Rockford.

6. WEST COAST WOES

This year’s California road trip has produced significantly different results than a year ago.

Last season, the Checkers rolled through California, taking 11 of a possible 12 points on the trip, whereas this season the Checkers have dropped each of their first three contests in the state.

Including sweeps at the hands of the Stars and Rampage, the Checkers are now 0-7-0 against the Pacific Division this season, a year after going 10-7-3 against the league’s newest division.

7. POWER OUTAGE

With no luck on either of their two man advantages Saturday in Ontario, the Checkers are now 0-for-their last 24 power plays. Their last power-play goal came on Nov. 22.

Furthermore, the Checkers have scored a power-play goal in just two of their last 11 games, a 2-for-40 stretch. That skid has dipped the team’s overall power-play percentage to 10.3%, worst in the AHL.

On the other side, the penalty kill looked to be turning things around with back-to-back games without allowing a power-play goal before Ontario was able to cash in on their lone opportunity Saturday. The Checkers have now allowed nine power-play goals on their last 27 shorthanded situations over the past seven games.

8. AGAINST STOCKTON

After a two-season break, Charlotte took on a Calgary affiliate last week when it visited the Stockton Heat for the first time ever. It didn’t go well for the Checkers, who fell into a hole early and couldn’t climb out, losing 4-2.

In net for Stockton, who boast the third-lowest goals-against per game average in the AHL, was rookie Jon Gillies, who has started four of the last five for the Heat and earned them a point in the standings in three of them. Gillies is hardly Stockton’s only option between the pipes. Fellow rookie David Rittich, who started five straight immediately prior to Gillies’ most recent stretch, has three shutouts in his last five appearances.

The Heat have been equally dominant on the offensive side of the puck. They rank third in the league in goals per game, making them one of just two teams to rank in the top five in both categories. While no one on their roster is putting up gaudy numbers, the Heat have shown an impressive vast of scoring depth. Stockton has eight skaters with at least 10 points so far this season, the fourth-highest total in the AHL, all of whom are on the active roster. By comparison, Charlotte has four, with only three on the active roster.

9. TUNE IN!

It's going to be another late one tonight, so throw on some coffee and follow along! Follow @CheckersInGame on Twitter for updates and head here to listen to Jason Shaya's call of the game! You can also tweet at him to let him know you're listening!

You can also download the new Checkers App, available for both iPhones and Androids, for score updates and to play the new Top Line game!