Game Preview: Checkers at Texas (Dec. 27, 2014)

The Checkers return from the holidays with a tough weekend schedule that begins with a West Division matchup in Texas tonight.

Following tonight’s game against the Stars, the team makes the long bus ride to Oklahoma City to take on the Barons less than 24 hours later – a somewhat rude awakening for a team that was able to disperse for a quick holiday break earlier in the week. The trip concludes with a New Year’s Eve rematch in Oklahoma City before the Checkers renew hostilities with Texas at Time Warner Cable Arena the following weekend.

Charlotte will be looking to maintain momentum built prior to the break, when they took points in each of their last three games at home (2-0-1).

Charlotte

The post-holiday weekend is often an interesting one for AHL teams that haven’t been able to practice regularly for several days. The Checkers were able to reconvene for a Friday skate in Charlotte before hitting the road, which could help them to their goal of picking up where they left off last weekend.

The team will have a different lineup due to a handful of transactions that have taken place since their 3-1 win over San Antonio on Sunday. In terms of departures, they’ll be without goalie Drew MacIntyre, who is playing for Team Canada at the Spengler Cup in Switzerland and will miss the entirety of this road trip. Brendan Woods, who ranks tied for fourth on the team with 13 points, is also back in Carolina and is expected to play for the Hurricanes in Tampa Bay tonight.

To fill the void, the Checkers recalled goalie Daniel Altshuller, who is 6-1-0 with a 3.19 goals-against average and .886 save percentage to begin his rookie season with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades, and re-signed Gabriel Desjardins to his third tryout contract in less than two months.

Though the team, in a perfect world, would likely give John Muse all three games in MacIntyre’s absence, the travel schedule is such that Altshuller, the Hurricanes’ third-round pick in 2012, could potentially make his AHL debut this weekend.

The recall of Desjardins, who has one assist in eight Checkers games this season, suggests that center Brody Sutter is not yet able to return from injury. Similarly, the fact that Everblades defenseman Mike Little remains on the roster could mean that Keegan Lowe and Beau Schmitz are likely to remain unavailable on the blue line.

Texas

Last week, the Checkers were caught at a disadvantage in having to play a rested San Antonio team on the second of back-to-back nights. That scheduling quirk has already corrected itself with Charlotte able to sit back and watch the Stars play on Friday.

It ended up being a rather unusual game, with the Stars losing 7-3 to San Antonio despite out-shooting the Rampage 36-18.  It was a stat-killing evening for both Texas goalies, with starter Jussi Rynnas, recently returned from a brief stint with the NHL parent club in Dallas, giving up three goals on five shots. Jack Campbell allowed three on 12, with the Rampage going on to add an empty-netter for good measure.

Friday’s loss dropped the Stars to 1-2-1 in the four games since their most recent meeting with the Checkers – a 3-1 victory for Charlotte in Texas. They trail division-leading Oklahoma City by 10 points.

The Stars will be playing without experienced defenseman Cameron Gaunce, who Dallas recalled on Saturday morning. Reigning AHL MVP Travis Morin, the team’s scoring leader with 24 points in 23 games (including four in two games against the Checkers), is also on NHL duty, leaving Brendan Ranford (19 points) as the team’s top scorer.

Checkers Notes

Against Texas

Tonight marks the fifth of eight meetings between the Checkers and Texas this season, with the teams alternating victories starting with the Stars 8-2 win on Nov. 8. In 22 all-time contests between the two clubs, the Checkers hold a 9-9-4 record, including a 4-5-3 mark at Cedar Park Center in Texas.

Chad LaRose leads all Checkers skaters with three points (1g, 2a) in four games against the Stars this season, while Jared Staal paces the club with two goals. With leading scorer Travis Morin (four points) in the NHL, four Texas players (Derek Hulak, Radek Faksa, Scott Glennie and Brendan Ranford) are tied for the team lead among active skaters with three points apiece against Charlotte. Hulak leads the team with three goals, all of which came in the clubs' first meeting of the season.

In goal, Drew MacIntyre has played in all four games against the Stars but will miss tonight's game while playing at the Spengler Cup in Switzerland. John Muse made one relief appearance, stopping 22 of 26 shots in Texas' 8-2 win on Nov. 8. Jussi Rynnas (1-0-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average and .938 save percentage) and Jack Campell (0-1-0, 2.03 GAA, .935 SV%) have each played one game against the Checkers.

Murphy's Helping Hand

Defenseman Ryan Murphy leads the Checkers with 16 assists on the season, at least double that of any other Charlotte skater. He also leads the team in points, making him the only AHL player to do so without scoring a single goal. Murphy, who has played just 21 of the Checkers' 29 games after starting the season in Carolina, is one of seven AHL defensmen to hold at least a share of his team's lead in scoring. He ranks third among AHL defensemen in assists, just three off the league lead, and is tied for 13th in points by defensemen. He leads the Checkers in power-play assists and points (7).

Murphy, a 21-year-old who the Hurricanes drafted 12th overall in 2011, now has 40 points (3g, 37a) in 46 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. He currently has assists in each of his last four games (5a).

LaRose Finding His Legs

Veteran forward Chad LaRose has recorded a goal in each of his last three games, putting him one shy of the team's longest goal streak this season set by Justin Shugg from Nov. 18-21. The streak has propelled LaRose to second on the team in points (15) and third in goals (7). After scoring just two goals in his first 21 games after taking last season away from hockey, the longtime Carolina Hurricane has five goals in his last eight contests.

LaRose leads the AHL in shorthanded assists (3) and is tied for second in the league shorthanded points (3).

Career Stretch For Staal

Jared Staal's opening goal against Oklahoma City on Dec. 18 was his fifth of the campaign, marking a career high for a single season. Since then, he added an assist against San Antonio on Dec. 19, extending his point streak to a career-best four games (2g, 2a - since ended) and tying his career high for points in a single season (7) that was set in each of the last two campaigns.

Now in his fifth professional season, all with the Checkers, Staal has posted 32 points (15g, 17a) in 191 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.

Quick Hits

• Charlotte is in the midst of a stretch in which it plays 11 consecutive games agains the West Division. The Checkers are 6-8-2 in divisional play this season
• The Checkers win over Texas in their most recent away game on Dec. 13 snapped a franchise-record, eight-game winless streak on the road (0-7-1)
• The Checkers' 15 shots on goal in their most recent game vs. San Antonio on Dec. 22 tied a franchise record for fewest in a single game set earlier this season
• Kyle Hagel leads the league in major penalties (11)
• Defenseman Rasmus Rissanen is tied for fourth among AHL defenseman in minor penalties (17)
• Defenseman Trevor Carrick is tied for third among AHL rookies in major penalties (4)
• Forward Justin Shugg ranks seventh in the AHL with a shooting percentage of 24.3%

Streaks

• Ryan Murphy has assists and points in each of his last four games (Dec. 16-21: 0g, 5a)
• Chad LaRose had goals and points in each of his last three games (Dec. 18-21: 3g, 1a)

Injuries

• Keegan Lowe - missed four games starting 12/16
• Beau Schmitz - missed seven games starting 12/10
• Greg Nemisz - missed eight games starting 12/8 (out for season)
• Brody Sutter - missed 17 games starting 11/15

Milestones

• Trevor Carrick scored his first professional goal on 12/19
• Ryan Murphy recorded his 50th pro point on 12/18
• Chad LaRose played in his 700th pro game on 12/16
• Brendan Woods recorded his 100th AHL/pro penalty minute on 12/16

Transactions

Incoming

• 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. 26 - (C) Brendan Woods recalled to Carolina (NHL) from Charlotte