Game Preview: Checkers at Toronto (Nov. 19, 2013)

The Checkers get another chance to snap out of their losing funk when they complete a two-game road trip to Toronto tonight.

A 4-1 loss to the Marlies on Saturday marked the Checkers’ sixth consecutive defeat, setting a new franchise record. It is also the longest streak that any AHL team has gone through this season, dating back to a 5-3 loss in San Antonio on Nov. 2 that has the team still searching for its first victory this month.

Tonight’s game continues the first-ever season series between the two clubs, which concludes with two games in Charlotte on Dec. 20 and 21 – the final contests in a 10-game home stand that starts Nov. 30.

Charlotte

Saturday’s game against the Marlies didn’t go as poorly as the Checkers’ two previous games – a pair of home losses to Hershey (5-3 and 8-1) that dropped the team to 0-6-0 at home this season – but a team desperately in need of a positive result still did not receive one.

Having spoken of the team’s fragile confidence level after seeing things go against them early in games, the Checkers endured a healthy dose of adversity in the game’s first few minutes. John-Michael Liles, a veteran NHL defenseman playing his first game with the Marlies since rejoining the team one day earlier, scored a power-play goal at the three-minute mark of the first period, just seconds after All-Star blueliner Michal Jordan left the game with an injury and did not return.

After the Checkers failed to convert on a five-on-three power play, the Marlies then cashed in on one of their own near the end of the period, netting what proved to be the winning goal as Zach Boychuk clawed one back for the visitors to make it 3-1 on a third-period power play, giving him the team’s only goal for the second time in as many games.

Heading into tonight’s rematch, the focus will be on the confidence level of the Checkers, who have had two full days between games to be together on the road – a far cry from the hectic, always-on-the-go travel of previous trips this season. It will also be on Jordan, a key player whose huge minutes would not be easily replaced, though sophomore defenseman Beau Schmitz has proved to be a capable addition in a pinch.

The team’s goaltending situation is also murkier than ever, with three netminders on the roster for the first time this season. John Muse has started the last two games since Rick DiPietro allowed five goals on 15 shots last week, though Muse has given up 10 goals in that time, including a franchise-record seven last Thursday. Mike Murphy returned from the NHL on Monday but has not seen game action since making an early exit from a game in Charlotte on Oct. 20, his last with the Checkers before Carolina recalled him to serve as Justin Peters' backup for a 10-game stretch.

To get a win tonight, the Checkers will need to solve some special teams issues (two power-play goals allowed in each of their last three games) and offensive woes (seven goals in their last five), but will perhaps most importantly need to get off to the kind of start that will give them the belief they’ll need to execute the rest of their game plan.

Toronto

In an unusual scheduling quirk, the Marlies have actually played a game since last facing Charlotte, pulling out a 3-2 shootout win in the 10th round over Texas while the Checkers sat idle in Toronto. The result gives the Marlies wins in each of their last two games after entering the initial match-up with Charlotte on a three-game losing streak, pushing them just barely into playoff position as the Western Conference’s No. 8 seed.

Despite allowing two goals to beat workhorse Drew MacIntyre, who ranks in the AHL’s top six in wins (8), minutes played (727) and goals-against average (2.23), the Marlies played a stifling brand of defense against the Stars, giving up just 21 shots through three periods and overtime and enjoying a 17-4 shots advantage in the second frame.

A handful of Marlies who were active against the Checkers also made contributions against Texas, with Liles, who has formed a formidable power-play combo with T.J. Brennan, the league’s leader in goals and points by a defenseman, scoring in the shootout. Jamie Devane, who delivered the hit that injured Jordan, and Korbinian Holzer, who picked up a four-minute penalty for high sticking Brett Sutter that the Checkers couldn’t capitalize on, finding the back of the net.

Update: The AHL suspended Devane one game for a boarding incident that occurred on Saturday, likely the play against Jordan. He will miss tonight's rematch.

Defenseman Brad Staubitz, a veteran of 230 NHL games who the parent Maple Leafs acquired in a trade with Anaheim last week, picked up an assist in his team debut. Former Carolina Hurricanes agitator Troy Bodie also played his first game with the Marlies this season after coming down from Toronto earlier in the day.

Also on Sunday, forward Spencer Abbott, who leads the league with 18 assists, did not record a point for the first time all season, ending his 13-game point streak that ties the longest posted by any AHL player this season.

In a transaction that may or may not be significant with MacIntyre playing all but three of the Marlies’ games to this point, the team swapped goalies with the ECHL Orlando Solar Bears in recent days, with Christopher Gibson coming up to replace Garret Sparks. Gibson, a 20-year-old rookie who Toronto chose in the second round of the 2011 draft, has yet to make his AHL debut.

Checkers Notes

Losing Skid

After starting the season with a record of 5-3-1, the Checkers have lost each of their last six games, setting a new franchise record. The previous record was set last season when the team dropped five in a row, all at home, from Nov. 24-Dec. 6.

The current slide is the longest regulation losing streak than an AHL team has experienced this season, with Bridgeport, Hamilton and Utica all snapping out of five-game funks. Only two teams suffered losing streaks longer than six games last season - San Antonio and Worcester, who each lost eight in a row in March and April.

Youth Movement

Elias Lindholm, the fifth overall selection in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, made his AHL/Checkers debut on Nov. 7, becoming the youngest player to ever play for the franchise at 18 years and 340 days. Defenseman Justin Faulk, who debuted with the team following the end of his freshman season in college, had the previous record at 19 years and 40 days, set on April 20, 2011.

By scoring his first AHL goal on Nov. 13, Lindholm became the youngest Checker to score a goal or record a point at 18 years and 347 days. He has three points in his last three games (1g, 2a), giving him the most points on the team during that time.

Lindholm is the second-highest-drafted player to suit up for Charlotte behind Rick DiPietro, the 2000 first-overall draft choice who made his debut with the team earlier this season. Manny Malhotra (7th overall in 1998), who has since signed with Carolina, gives the team three top-10 picks this season alone. Prior to this season, the highest-drafted player to ever play for the team was defenseman Ryan Murphy (12th overall in 2011), who played his first game with the team last March.

Muse's Run Ends

After allowing three or fewer goals in each of his first five starts this season, goalie John Muse allowed a franchise-record seven goals in Thursday's 8-1 loss to Hershey. Prior to that, a Checkers goalie had allowed six goals in a single game on eight separate occasions, including two by Muse last March.

Muse, who set a franchise record with a 154-minute shutout streak to start the season, entered Thursday's game leading the league in goals-against average (1.29) and save percentage (.957). After that loss an a subsquent 4-1 defeat in Toronto on Saturday, he now ranks 15th with a 2.36 goals-against average and is 14th with a .921 save percentage.

Scoring Slump

The Checkers have scored just seven goals in their last five games, with three of those goals coming during a 5-3 loss to Hershey on Nov. 13. The team managed just one goal in each of its four other contests and has now scored one goal in six different games this season.

Charlotte, which has scored just one even-strength goal in its last three games, ranks 25th in the AHL with an average of 2.47 goals per game.

Rare Territory

A 2-1 loss to the Chicago Wolves on Nov. 9 dropped the Checkers to 5-6-1 on the season, marking the first time they had been under the .500 mark since starting 0-1-1 in Norfolk on Oct. 7 and 8, 2011. With the team now 5-9-1, this is the latest in a season that the team has been under .500, with the 2010-11 Checkers evening their record to 7-7-1 on Nov. 11, 2010, en route to an eventual run to the Eastern Conference Final.

Since joining the AHL, the Checkers have been under .500 for just 46 total days, 29 of which came during the team's inaugural season, when they hit a record-low four games under .500 (2-6-1) on Oct. 29, 2010.

Divided Division

In 15 games, the Checkers have played against their own division, the West, just three times (2-1-0) and will not play another game against a West team until hosting San Antonio on Dec. 10. No other AHL team has played fewer games within its own division.

Quick Hits

• Since scoring first in eight conscutive games, the Checkers have allowed the opposition to score first in each of their last three
• After going through an 0-for-13 drought over three games, the Checkers have four power-play goals in their last three games (4-for-16: 25 percent)
• The Checkers have allowed multiple power-play goals in five of their last eight games, including each of their last three
• Despite not scoring a goal since Oct. 26, Mark Flood is tied for fifth among AHL defenseman with five goals and ranks tied for fourth with three power-play goals
• The Checkers' one overtime game is tied with Iowa for the fewest in the league
• Charlotte is one of three teams that have yet to score a shorthanded goal

Player Streaks

• Elias Lindholm has points in each of his last three games (Nov. 13-16; 1g, 2a)
• Zach Boychuk has goals and points in each of his last two games (Nov. 14-16; 2g, 0a)

Milestones

• Elias Lindholm scored his first career AHL goal on Nov. 13 and recorded his first AHL assist on Nov. 14
• Nicolas Blanchard recorded his 350th penalty minute as a Checker on Nov. 14
• Nicolas Blanchard is 2 goals away from 25 Checkers goals
• Michal Jordan is 3 assists away from 50 AHL/Checkers assists