Game Preview: Checkers at Texas (March 12, 2014)

The Checkers’ franchise-record run of road games finally comes to an end when they visit the Texas Stars tonight.

Tonight’s game will be the fourth time the Checkers and Stars meet during Charlotte’s 10-game road swing, with the Stars winning all three games so far. The Checkers were able to earn a point during that time by way of a seven-round shootout loss on Feb. 22, but came away empty in a 4-1 loss the night before that and a 3-0 defeat this past Saturday. Against teams other than Texas on their current road swing, the Checkers are 5-1-0.

The Checkers, who enter tonight’s game five points out of a playoff spot, return home to face the Lake Erie Monsters on Old-Time Hockey Weekend this Saturday and Sunday.

Charlotte

On either side of Saturday’s loss to the Stars, the Checkers were able to pick up a pair of wins against the San Antonio Rampage to create more distance between some of the teams that are chasing them in the standings and keep the pace on teams ahead of them. Though they’ve gotten very solid goaltending from John Muse and Mike Murphy in the three games since Justin Peters returned to the NHL, their ability to score goals has carried them to their recent victories.

That was evident during the recently-completed, three-in-three weekend that saw the Checkers need all four of their regulation goals in each game to pick up victories in San Antonio on Friday and Sunday, while their inability to generate much against Texas (their 23 shots were their lowest total since Dec. 1) led to their only loss of March and just their second shutout of the season. Even including that shutout, the Checkers are still averaging 3.67 goals per game in their last six outings.

The usual suspects have led the charge during that six-game segment, with Zach Boychuk (4g, 4a), Aaron Palushaj (2g, 6a), Chris Terry (2g, 4a) and Brett Sutter (3g, 2a) all enjoying productive stretches. They’ve been joined by Sean Dolan (3g, 4a), who has thrived since moving from his usual fourth-line position to center Boychuk and Palushaj.

The Checkers should also have the services of one of their key defensemen, with Michal Jordan thought to be on his way back to Texas following a one-day NHL stint. The Carolina Hurricanes had recalled him on Monday in case one or more of their defensemen made a game-time decision that they couldn’t play due to injury, something that ended up not happening.

A return by Jordan, who did not miss a Checkers game during his recall, would be a welcome one as the Checkers prepare to face the conference’s top offensive team that averages 3.58 goals per game. The Stars are also the best in the league on the power play at 27.8 percent – a particular concern to a Charlotte penalty kill that has allowed five goals in its last 10 opportunities.

If Jordan ends up not playing for whatever reason, rookie Austin Levi is ready to re-enter the lineup after sitting out the last two games. Forward Greg Nemisz missed the last two games due to injury but remains with the team should he be healthy enough to play tonight. Brendan Woods, also injured, did not make the trip.

Texas

While the Checkers have had to go to San Antonio and back since last facing the Stars, their opponents have been off since Saturday’s win – one that extended their point streak to seven games (6-0-1). That run includes three straight wins: two on the road against their chief competition for the West Division title, the Abbotsford Heat, and one against Charlotte.

The Stars are among the AHL’s best home teams this season with a record of 22-6-1, with their last loss on home ice coming against Oklahoma City on Feb. 4.

Two of four Texas skaters who rank in the AHL’s top 10 in terms of scoring could possibly miss tonight’s game, with AHL goals leader Colton Sceviour (32) and co-power-play-goals leader Chris Mueller (14) both recalled to Dallas on Tuesday as fallout from the frightening incident involving Rich Peverley on Monday. Sceviour scored in Dallas’ 3-2 win over St. Louis on Tuesday – his fourth goal in nine NHL games this season.

Even without Sceviour and Mueller, the Stars would still have AHL points leader Travis Morin (74 in 55 games) and rookie scoring leader Curtis McKenzie (55 points) at their disposal. Both players have 11 points in seven games against the Checkers this season

Update: Dallas returned Mueller to Texas on Wednesday morning.

As the Checkers found out Saturday, for all that offense, the Stars are also capable of winning with defense. Jack Campbell, a first-round draft pick in 2010 who recently returned from injury, picked up the shutout that day to improve to 7-0-0 with a 1.12 goals-against average, .956 save percentage and one shutout this season. With Cristopher Nilstorp in the NHL to replace the injured Kari Lehtonen, Campbell will likely start tonight with ECHL recall Josh Robinson backing up.

Checkers Notes

Against Texas

The Checkers have an all-time record of 5-6-2 against Texas over the last three seasons, including a 2-4-1 record in the eight-game season series that concludes tonight. The Checkers have won just one of their last seven games in Texas (1-3-3) over the last two seasons, with their most recent win at Ceder Park Center coming on March 23, 2013.

Philippe Cornet leads the Checkers with six points (3g, 3a) in seven games against the Stars this season. Greg Nemisz (1g, 4a in five games) and Justin Shugg (1g, 4a in seven games) are tied for second with five points apiece.

The Checkers are killing penalties at just a 62.1 percent rate (18-for-29) against the Stars, who have the league's No. 1 power play at 27.8 percent.

Playoff Picture

With 17 games to play, the 10th-place Checkers currently trail eight seed Milwaukee, which has played one fewer game, by five points. They also trail seventh-place Rockford by seven points, with the Checkers having three games in hand on the IceHogs.

Of the Checkers' remaining games, six will be be played against the three teams immediately ahead of them (one against Milwaukee, one against Rockford and four against nine seed Oklahoma City, who they currently trail by five points with two games in hand). Seven will be played against teams below them in the Western Conference standings (three against 12-seed San Antonio, two against 13-seed Lake Erie and two against 14-seed Iowa).

Sutter Fires Away

En route to recording his first multi-goal game of the season on March 9, Brett Sutter had nine shots on goal, marking the most of his 450 career AHL games. Sutter also nine shots in a playoff game with Abbotsford on April 21, 2010.

Now in his third season as the Checkers' captain, Sutter, who hit another milestone with his 500th professional game on March 2, has 18 points (8g, 10a) in his last 20 games dating back to Jan. 23.

Dolan Steps Up

Checkers center Sean Dolan set career highs with two goals, three points, five shots on goal and a plus-3 rating against the San Antonio Rampage on March 7. He followed that up with the primary assist on Aaron Palushaj's game-winning goal on March 9, giving him seven points in his last five games (3g, 4a).

Dolan, a 26-year-old who has signed three consecutive AHL contracts with Charlotte since intially joining the team on a pro tryout in January of 2012, has topped his career high for points in a single season with 13 (4g, 9a) in 33 games. He has nine points in 13 games, including two game-winning goals, since missing 21 games due to injury.

The Big Three

Along with Texas (four), the Checkers are one of two teams to feature three or more players among the AHL's top 20 scorers. Zach Boychuk leads the Checkers and is tied for ninth in the AHL with 53 points, while Chris Terry and Aaron Palushaj are tied for 11th in the league with 52 points each.

All three players have held sole possesion of the Checkers' scoring lead at one point this season and are on pace for their best scoring seasons at the AHL level. At their current pace, all three players would break Boychuk's team record of 65 points set in 2010-11, with Boychuk on pace for 70, Terry on pace for 68 and Palushaj on pace for 66.

Shootout Stars

The Checkers scored twice on four shootout attemps in San Antonio on March 7, giving them a .450 shooting percentage (9-for-20) that ranks second in the AHL. Chris Terry and Aaron Palushaj lead the Checkers with three goals each on four attempts, while Brody Sutter ranks third with goals on both of his attempts both this season and in his AHL career. The only other Checker to score on a shootout attempt this season is Matthew Pistilli, who scored on his one attempt before the Checkers released him from his PTO.

The Checkers are 2-2 in shootouts this season, with their four attempts ranking as the fewest in the AHL.

Hats off to Boychuk

With three third-period goals on March 2, Zach Boychuk recorded his third hat trick of the season and fourth of his career. Three of those hat tricks have come since Jan. 24, while his previous hat trick came almost exactly three years earlier on Jan. 23, 2011. He is responsible for four of six hat tricks in the Checkers' AHL history (Jacob Mikflikier, Brett Sutter).

Boychuk, who set a new career high with his 24th goal of the season on March 1, now ranks fourth in the AHL with 27. He is tied for the league lead with a franchise-record 14 power-play goals.

Now in his fifth professional season, Boychuk is on pace for 35 goals, which would break Chris Terry's team record of 34 set in the 2010-11 season. Terry and Boychuk rank first and second on the Checkers' all-time goals list with 95 and 93, respectively.

Power Players

In Zach Boychuk (t-1st with 14) and Chris Terry (t-9th with 10), the Checkers have two of the AHL's top 12 in terms of power-play goals this season. Boychuk has already broken the single-season franchise record of 12 previously set by Jacob Micflikier in the 2010-11 campaign. Meanwhile, Mark Flood's seven power-play goals are tied for third among AHL defensemen and for the most by a Checkers blueliner in a single season (Bobby Sanguinetti in 2011-12).

The Checkers currently rank second in the AHL with a 22.0 percent success rate on the power play.

On the Road Again

The Checkers' current 10-game road swing (5-3-1) is the longest in the team's four AHL seasons, narrowly eclipsing a pair of nine-game segments from Oct. 28-Nov. 13, 2011 (5-4-0), and from Oct. 13-31, 2012 (6-2-1). Charlotte is 15-12-2 on the road this season.

Quick Hits

• Aaron Palushaj's 20th goal of the season on March 9 was also his sixth-game winner, putting him into a five-way tie for the AHL lead.
• Jared Staal's goal on March 9 ended a 41-game drought dating back to March 29 of last season.
• Despite getting shut out by Texas on March 8, the Checkers are still averaging 3.67 goals over their last six games.
• After killing each of their 13 previous penalties, the Checkers killed just five of 10 over their last three games.
• The Checkers have earned points in eight of their last 11 games (7-3-1).
• Mark Flood ranks second among AHL defensemen with 12 goals. That sets a career high and is the most by a Charlotte defenseman in a single season.
• Matt Corrente is tied for fourth among AHL defensemen with 10 major penalties. On Feb. 26, he became the first Checkers defenseman to top 100 penalty minutes in a season since Zack FitzGerald (229) in 2010-11.
• The Checkers' eight overtime games (5-3) and four shootouts (2-2) are the fewest in the league.
• The Checkers are 13-9-2 against West Division opponents this season.
• Charlotte's two shorthanded goals are tied with Adirondack for the fewest in the league.

Player Streaks

• none

Milestones

• Aaron Palushaj is one shy of 250 AHL games
• Zach Boychuk is one shy of 150 professional assists
• Justin Shugg is three shy of 100 professional points
• Brett Sutter is four shy of 200 professional points
• Brett Sutter played his 450th AHL game on March 9
• Michal Jordan played his 250th AHL game on March 9
• Aaron Palushaj recorded his 200th professional point on March 7

Injuries

• Greg Nemisz - missed two games starting March 8
• Brendan Woods - missed eight games starting Feb. 22

Transactions

Incoming

• March 11 - (D) Michal Jordan reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)
• March 6 - (D) Austin Levi recalled to Charlotte from Florida (ECHL)

Outgoing

• March 5 - (G) Justin Peters recalled to Carolina (NHL) from conditioning loan with Charlotte