QUICK HITS
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Checkers have been lights out on home ice over the last few months, but they’ll finish out the season away from Charlotte, as each of their last five contests with be on the road. The Checkers are 17-14-0-0 on the road this season, but posted a 5-2-0-0 over their seven March contests away from home.The Penguins have also been a considerably stronger team on home ice, boasting a 19-11-3-1 record in their home arena and a 12-17-1-3 record on the road.
SCOUTING THE PENS
The Penguins are heading into the home stretch of the regular season on an upswing, having won six of their last 10 contests to push into fifth place in the Atlantic Division. They have plenty to play for at this point in the year, as they hold a narrow lead over the sixth place Hartford Wolf Pack while the Bridgeport Islanders - the team on the outside looking into the playoff picture - try to work their way into the postseason.The defensive side of the game has been the Penguins’ bread and butter this season - they rank 11th in goals allowed per game and 10th in penalty kill as opposed to 26th in goals-for per game and 31st on the power play. Veteran Louis Domingue has been the workhorse for the Pens as of late, starting 11 of the team’s last 13 games, while rookie Tommy Nappier has been the other half of the tandem.
DALPE DELIVERS
Zac Dalpe lit the lamp on Sunday for his fifth goal in the last six games, and continues to lead the team with 28 on the season. The captain needs just two goals to become the fifth 30-goal scorer in franchise history, and he would need eight to tie Zach Boychuk’s franchise single-season goals record. Dalpe’s career high in goals is 33, a mark he his in 2018-19 as a member of the Cleveland Monsters.BETWEEN THE PIPES
Joey Daccord has handled the majority of the workload for Charlotte this season and has been stellar - especially as of late. The netminder is 8-1-0 in his last 10 starts while allowing a total of 17 goals along that stretch and only surrendering more than two in two instances.Serving alongside Daccord is Christopher Gibson, who has looked strong after returning from a four-month absence due to injury. The veteran goalie is 2-0-1 in his three most recent appearances since returning, allowing five total goals along the way.
COMING IN
CLT: 4-0-1-0 in last five games this seasonWBS: 3-2-0-0 in last five games this season
WHO TO WATCH
CLT
Alexander True - 6 points in last 6 gamesAleksi Heponiemi - 11 points in last 12 games
Zac Dalpe – 6 points in last 6 games
WBS
Drew O'Connor – 8 points in last 8 gamesSam Poulin – 7 points in last 7 games
Jon Gruden – 6 points in last 7 games
TUNE IN
Tonight's contest starts at 7:05 p.m. in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and as always you can listen to the game for free via the Checkers app on iPhone or Android. You can also watch via the league’s AHLTV service.And new for this season, our friends over at Ed's Tavern on 2200 Park Road are going to be showing the game on their TVs!
