Game Preview: Checkers at Texas (Dec. 12, 2014)

The Checkers hope their luck away from home will finally turn as they begin a back-to-back set against the Texas Stars tonight.

A 3-0 loss to Norfolk on Wednesday extended Charlotte’s road winless streak to seven games (0-6-1), marking the longest such streak in their five AHL seasons. The team, which stayed above water by going 3-1-1 on a recent five-game home stand, has not won away from the friendly confines of Time Warner Cable Arena since defeating Iowa on Oct. 24.

This series against their West Division rival marks the Checkers’ first visit to Texas this season. The teams, who will play each other eight times before all is said and done, split a pair of games in Charlotte on Nov. 8 and 10.

Charlotte

The low-scoring Checkers, who rank 28th in the league with an average of 2.26 goals scored per game, suffered a shutout for the second time this season on Wednesday. That came despite a season-high 37 shots on goal against old nemesis Yann Danis, a former goaltender of the year in the AHL.

“It was a good road game,” said Checkers coach Jeff Daniels. “We carried a lot of the play, got a lot of pucks on net and drew a lot of penalties. We just couldn’t score, and that’s frustrating because three of our best games of the year have been on the road and we’ve lost two in regulation and lost one in overtime. The guys are playing the way we want them to play and I thought they deserved better than (Wednesday’s) outcome.”

The loss marked the Checkers’ second in as many games since earning points in a season-best four straight (3-0-1) from Nov. 29-Dec. 6.

Questions about the team’s ability to generate offense may intensify as key injuries continue to mount. The biggest blow of the season occurred over the weekend when alternate captain and leading scorer Greg Nemisz (14 points in 21 games), suffered a knee injury that is likely to keep him out for the remainder of the season.

“It’s a huge loss,” said Daniels. “He was off to a great start offensively, but for me he was also a go-to-guy and one of the first over the boards in a lot of situations, whether it be the penalty kill, power play, going up against the other team’s top guys or protecting a lead late in the game. We’ll also miss him in that locker room because he’s a real good pro.”

Most of the Checkers’ injuries this season have involved players who can play at the center position. Nemisz, a natural winger, had been playing the role for much of the season with Brody Sutter, Ben Holmstrom and Patrick Brown all missing time at one point or another. Of that group, only Holmstrom is a sure bet to play Friday as Sutter has yet to resume skating with the team since leaving a game on Nov. 14 and Brown left Wednesday’s game early and did not return. A.J. Jenks, one of the few natural centers on the team, also made an early exit in Norfolk.

“We didn’t have a lot of depth at that position to begin with and we’ve been really banged up there all season,” said Daniels. “(Brendan Woods) has done a really good job filling in and now with these other injuries we’re going to have to continue to assess.”

With Daniels unsure as to whether Brown and Jenks would be available to play Friday, the Checkers may potentially have to bring in a player or two from the ECHL level to face Texas. With defenseman Beau Schmitz also on the shelf, the Checkers brought the bare minimum of 20 skaters on their three-game trip.

Texas

The Stars, who return many key players from last season’s team, have yet to find the kind of dominant form that made them Calder Cup champions. At 9-7-7, they currently rank 11th in the Western Conference, with their 3-1 defeat in Charlotte on Nov. 10 marking the first of an eight-game winless streak that ended on the 29th.

That said, the Checkers have seen firsthand what the team is capable of when it’s on its game. The Stars’ 8-2 victory on Nov. 8 tied Charlotte’s franchise record for most goals allowed and remains its most lopsided defeat of the season. Texas enters tonight’s game having dispatched the division-leading Oklahoma City Barons 5-1 on Wednesday.

The Checkers caught a break as reigning league MVP Travis Morin, who leads the team and is tied for fourth in the AHL with 24 points, earned a recall to the parent Dallas Stars on Thursday. In his absence, Justin Dowling (17 points, including five points in his last three games) and Brett Ritchie (six in his last four) provide the main offensive threats to help offset the loss Morin and Curtis McKenzie, last year’s top rookie in the AHL, to Dallas.

Coming the other way in the Morin transaction was hulking defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, a 6-foot-7, 241-pound first-round draft pick in 2011 who would tonight play his first AHL game of the season.

In goal, Anders Lindback has posted impressive numbers at the AHL level since coming down from Dallas in place of Jussi Rynnas last week. In his first three games with Texas, the 26-year-old who previously played in the NHL with Nashville and Tampa Bay is 2-1-0 with a 1.64 goals-against average and .949 save percentage. He has played each of Texas’ games since his assignment while 2010 first-round draft pick Jack Campbell (.898 save percentage this season) backed up.

Checkers Notes

Against Texas

Tonight marks the third of eight meetings between the Checkers and the Stars. In the first meeting, Texas handed Charlotte its worst loss of the season, 8-2, but the Checkers got their revenge two nights later, prevailing 3-1. In 20 all-time contests between the two clubs, the Checkers hold a 8-8-4 record, including a 3-4-3 mark at Cedar Park Center in Texas.

In eight career games against the Stars, Justin Shugg has logged six points (1g, 5a), the highest total for any active Checkers player. A.J. Jenks has the most goals, with two in four games. Derek Hulak (3g, 1a) and Scott Glennie (1g, 2a) lead active Stars in scoring against Charlotte this season.

Drew MacIntyre earned Charlotte's victory over Texas this season by stopping 28 of 29 shots on Nov. 10, though both he and partner John Muse have goals-against averages above 4.00 and save percentages under .900 thanks to their appearances in the lopsided loss two days earlier. Anders Lindback has not faced the Checkers since losing a 4-3 game while with Milwaukee on Jan. 7, 2012, while Jack Campbell took Texas' loss despite stopping 29 of 31 shots.

Power Outage

The Checkers are just 1-for-30 (3.3 percent) on the power play over their last eight games dating back to Nov. 22. That includes an active, season-long drought in which they have not scored on 20 consecutive power plays dating back to their most recent goal off the stick of Justin Shugg in the second period of a game against Milwaukee on Nov. 29. The eight man advantages that the team saw Wednesday night marked the highest number of the season.

Charlotte currently ranks last in the AHL with a 9.4 percent success rate on the power play. In their previous four AHL seasons, the team never finished lower than fifth in terms of power-play percentage. Their lowest-ever percentage to finish a season was 19.8 percent.

Can't Convert

Wednesday's contest at Norfolk saw the Checkers shut out despite pumping a season high 37 shots on goal. In the three games where Charlotte recorded their three highest shot totals (10/25 - 35 shots, 11/22 - 36, 12/10 - 37), they have only scored one total goal.

Brock McGinn, Phil Di Giuseppe and Chad LaRose are the Checkers' top three in terms of shots on goal, combining for 163, but they have a total of 11 goals between them, giving the trio a combined shooting percentage of 6.7.

Road Woes

The Checkers have not recorded a victory in any of their last seven road games (0-6-1), breaking a franchise record set from Feb. 18-March 25, 2012 (0-2-4). Their road winless streak is the second-longest active streak in the AHL and is tied for the second-longest posted by any team at any time this season.

Meanwhile, the Checkers saw their six-game point earned streak at home (5-0-1) snapped with a 4-3 loss to Iowa on Monday. It was one shy of tying the best streak in team history that was set in 2012-13.

Murphy's Helping Hand

Thanks to a three-assist effort against Iowa on Dec. 8 that tied his AHL career high, defenseman Ryan Murphy now leads the Checkers with 10 assists on the season, at least three more than any other player. He is also tied for second on team in scoring with 10 points despite starting the season in Carolina and playing just 15 Checkers games. He leads the team in power-play assists and points (4).

Murphy, a 21-year-old who the Hurricanes drafted 12th overall in 2011, now has 33 points (3g, 30) in 39 career AHL games. Last season, he posted a 12-game assist/point streak that marked the longest in franchise history and was the longest by an AHL defenseman since the 2008-09 campaign.

Shorthanded Firepower

The Checkers' five shorthanded goals are tied for the third-most in the league and are two more than 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). Greg Nemisz and Brendan Woods are part of a 12-way tie for the league lead with two shorthanded goals each. Ben Holmstrom recorded the team's other shorthanded tally with its first penalty-shot goal since Dec. 20, 2011.

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

Woods Breaks Out

With 10 points (5g, 5a) in 23 games, second-year-forward Brendan Woods has already surpassed his assist (3) and point (8) totals from his 42-game rookie season. The first two-goal game of his career on Dec. 6, including his second Teddy Bear Toss goal in as many campaigns, allowed him to tie last season's goal total.

Woods, who has three goals in his last four games, is now part of a five-way tie for second on the Checkers in terms of points. His two shorthanded goals are tied for the AHL lead.

Worst Behavior

With 21.4 penalty minutes per game, the Checkers are the fifth-most penalized team in the AHL. They rank second in major penalties with 33, 10 of which are courtesy of Kyle Hagel, who leads the AHL in that category. Rasmus Rissanen has been assessed 16 minor penalties, which are the third most among AHL defensemen. In their four previous AHL seasons, the team never finished with an average higher than 16.5 penalty minutes per game.

The Checkers have done a better job as of late with not letting those penalties hurt them, as they are a perfect 14-for-14 on the penalty kill in their last four games. In their three games prior to that, they allowed six goals on 14 tries.

Quick Hits

• Wednesday's shutout was the Checkers' second of the season. Each of the team's last five shutouts dating back to Jan. 31 of last season occurred on the road
• Ryan Murphy is the only Checkers skater yet to record a penalty this season
• Drew MacIntyre is tied for the AHL lead with nine losses
• Justin Shugg is tied for ninth in the league in shooting percentage (24.2)
• Carter Sandlak ranks fourth among AHL rookies in penalty minutes (46)
• Trevor Carrick is tied for third among AHL rookies in major penalties (4)

Streaks

• None

Injuries

• Beau Schmitz - missed one game starting 12/10
• Greg Nemisz - missed two games starting 12/8
• Brody Sutter - missed 11 games starting 11/15

Milestones

• Drew MacIntyre is one shy of 200 AHL wins
• Keegan Lowe is six shy of 150 AHL/pro penalty minutes
• Ryan Murphy is four shy of 50 pro points
• Chad LaRose is two shy of 150 AHL games and three shy of 700 pro games
• Brendan Woods is five shy of 100 AHL/pro penalty minutes
• Andrew Rowe is five shy of 100 pro assists
• Danny Biega is one shy of 50 AHL/pro penalty minutes

Transactions

Incoming

• Dec. 7 - (G) Drew MacIntyre assigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• Dec. 5 - (LW) Chris Terry recalled to Carolina (NHL) from conditioning stint in Charlotte