Game Preview: Checkers at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (April 5, 2023)

The Checkers kick off their final road trip of the regular season with a critical tilt in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

QUICK HITS

PLAYOFF PICTURE

Tonight’s contest holds a lot of weight when it comes to Charlotte’s playoff scenarios. The Checkers currently sit in fourth place in the Atlantic Division, but a win over the Penguins would move them back into a tie for third. Finishing in the third or fourth spots in the division would earn the Checkers’ home-ice advantage for the opening best-of-three round, while finishing in the higher position of those two could come into play further down the road.

A win would also knock down the Checkers’ magic number to officially clinch a playoff berth, which currently stands at five.

AGAINST THE PENS

The Penguins have had their struggles this season and currently find themselves in the Atlantic Division cellar, but the Checkers certainly aren’t taking them lightly. In six head-to-head matchups thus far, Charlotte holds a 3-2-0-1 record against the Penguins - including a split of the two games in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton that came in early January.

The good news for the Checkers is that they’ll be looking to snap their five-game winless streak against a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton squad that is riding an identical skid.

FINDING OFFENSE

Despite going 0-1-2-0 over the three-game set against Springfield last weekend, the Checkers started to regain their offensive flow after a stifling series with Providence prior to that. Charlotte totaled 11 goals over the three games against the Thunderbirds, and they have eclipsed the four-goal mark six times over the last 11 contests. On the other side, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has allowed at least four goals in each of their last four contests.

CARLSSON KEEPS SCORING

Lucas Carlsson registered multi-point efforts in two of the three tilts against Springfield to keep his red-hot run alive. Since Jan. 14 the blue liner has posted 34 points in 31 games and ranks eighth in scoring in the AHL overall during that stretch. In fact, during that run Carlsson has more multi-point games (9) than scoreless games (7).

With six games remaining in the regular season, Carlsson sits at 48 points. The franchise single-season record for points by a defensemen is 50, set by current assistant coach Bobby Sanguinetti in 2011-12.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

The road has been kind to the Checkers this season. Overall they are 18-9-2-1 away from home, and since Dec. 29 they are a staggering 14-3-1-0 in road contests. The Penguins, on the other hand, are one of two teams in the Eastern Conference with a home record below .500.

QUOTES

Head Coach Geordie Kinnear on his team's play as of late

"Realistically we’ve had a lot of missing bodies, guys in and out, the team has changed quite a bit. I give the group a lot of credit playing the way they have. We just have to get back to more consistent hockey"

Kinnear on heading into this final road trip

"I thought we had a lot of emotion in the last two games - both teams did. That preps us for going on the road. You want to be playing really good hockey down the stretch."

Kinnear on frustration setting in for his team

"It’s not even a concern of mine. These guys have been in these situations, everybody has. I’m not worried about that."

Kinnear on Logan Hutsko, who was a full participant at Tuesday's practice after missing the last month due to injury

"He’s playing really good hockey this year, it’s unfortunate he’s had some setbacks with different types of injuries. He’s trending the right way and [Tuesday] was a step in the right direction."

COMING IN

CLT: 0-3-2-0 in last five games

WBS: 0-2-2-1 in last five games

WHO TO WATCH

CLT

Lucas Carlsson - 21 points in last 16 games

Anthony Bitetto - 3 points in last 2 games

Zac Dalpe - 4 points in last 4 games

WBS

Drake Caggiula - 11 points in last 8 games

Tyler Sikura - 3 points in last 3 games

Ty Smith - 4 points in last 3 games

TUNE IN

Tonight's game starts at 7:05 p.m. You can tune in to the broadcast with a subscription to the league’s streaming platform AHLTV - home broadcast only.

The radio broadcast will be available via the Checkers app on iPhone or Android.

Additionally, our friends over at Ed's Tavern on 2200 Park Road are going to be showing the game on their TVs!