Game Preview: Checkers at Texas (Dec. 11, 2015)

Fresh off yet another win in which late heroics were involved, the Checkers will look to make it a successful two-game trip to the Lone Star State as they take on the Texas Stars tonight.

Here are nine things to know heading into the team’s second match-up of the season:

1. CARDIAC CHECKERS

Derek Ryan’s goal with 7.5 seconds remaining on Wednesday marked the sixth time this season that the Checkers have scored the game-winning or game-tying goal in the final two minutes of regulation. Charlotte had enjoyed a 2-0 lead heading into the third period, when San Antonio’s Mikko Rantanen scored twice to erase the deficit.

2. RYAN ON TIME

Ryan himself is responsible for two of those late goals, as he also netted the winner in Grand Rapids with 1:38 remaining on Oct. 23. Thanks to that goal and an earlier assist on Brock McGinn’s opener, Ryan has yet to be held off the score sheet for consecutive games this season. The 28-year-old playing his first professional season in North America leads the Checkers with nine goals and 19 points and ranks second behind Zach Boychuk with 10 assists.

3. BROCK IS BACK

Checkers forward Brock McGinn only needed 12:57 to light the lamp in his latest return from the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. Despite playing just 11 of the team’s 23 games this season, McGinn ranks second on the Checkers with seven goals, five of which have come in his last five outings. The Checkers are 4-0-0 when McGinn scores a goal this season.

4. GETTING HEALTHY

Defenseman Rasmus Rissanen returned from injury on Wednesday, marking his first game since Nov. 13. Tonight could very well be center T.J. Hensick’s turn, as the veteran pivot who celebrated his 30th birthday on Thursday has been practicing fully with the team and is on the trip. A four-time AHL All Star who has seven points (1g, 6a) in his first 12 games as a Checker, Hensick has not played since posting two assists in the team’s 3-2 win over Manitoba on Nov. 8.

Should Hensick return, forward Brendan Woods, who has missed the last two games, would be the only player remaining on the injured list entering tonight’s contest.

5. KNOW THY FOE

The Stars enter tonight’s match-up two points ahead of the Checkers with one more game played. They are winless in their last three overall (0-2-1) dating back to Nov. 29 and also winless in their last three at home since defeating the Checkers by a 6-2 score in the only previous meeting of the season between the two clubs on Nov. 20.
Including three straight losses, Charlotte has an all-time record of 4-8-3 in Texas.

6. FIRST-YEAR PHENOM

Texas boasts the AHL’s top-scoring rookie in Devin Shore, Dallas’ second-round pick in 2012. The 21-year-old ranks tied for second in league scoring with 26 points and is tied for first among all skaters with 15 goals. The AHL Player of the Month for October enters tonight’s match-up with at least one point in each of his last 10 games (7g, 8a), which is the longest active streak in the league.

7. MUSE FINDS A NEW HOME

Former Checkers goalie John Muse has played in 10 of the Stars’ 24 games this season, first splitting time with Maxime Lagace and now with Jack Campbell since the latter returned from injury. Of the three Texas netminders, Muse owns the best goals-against average (2.75) and save percentage (.913) and is the only one to currently hold a winning record (5-2-1).

Muse, who stopped 27 of 29 shots to defeat the Checkers in this season’s previous meeting, is Charlotte’s all-time wins leader with 54.

8. CARRICK HITS CENTURY MARK

Tonight’s game will be defenseman Trevor Carrick’s 100th as both a member of the Checkers and a professional. The 21-year-old, who has yet to miss a game since his debut at the beginning of last season, has amassed 47 points (13g, 34a) and 120 penalty minutes thus far.

Carrick is currently tied for second among all AHL defensemen with six goals. He has an assist in each of his last three games, marking the longest active point streak on the team.

9. RANDOM STATS

Zach Boychuk is tied for third in the AHL with 77 shots on goal … Drew MacIntyre ranks fourth in the league with 1,009 minutes played … The Checkers have killed 29 of their last 32 penalties (90.1 percent) … Charlotte leads the league in shootout victories with a perfect 4-0 record and is one of only two teams (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) that has yet to lose an overtime game … The Checkers are tied with Hartford for the most shorthanded goals allowed of any AHL team (five) … Charlotte’s 34 third-period goals at least double their total of any other period (17 in the first, 13 in the second) … The Checkers rank seventh in average shots allowed per game (27.7) but rank 23rd in goals allowed (3.17) … Charlotte has yet to lose a game when leading at either intermission.