Game Preview: Checkers vs Bakersfield (March 4, 2017)

A split series with Milwaukee earlier in the week leaves the Checkers still on the outside of the playoff picture, but they’ll get another crack at working their way up the standings this weekend with a pair of tilts against the Bakersfield Condors. Here are 9 things to know about tonight's game:

1. AGAINST THE CONDORS

Tonight marks the first ever visit to Charlotte by the Bakersfield Condors, who are in their second year as an AHL club. The two squads met earlier this season in Bakersfield, where the Checkers went 0-1-1 as part of a rough California road trip.

Given that it has been three months since the teams last met, pre-scouting the Condors has been of the utmost importance for Charlotte this week.

“They’ve changed some of their personnel but the structure is the same,” said head coach Ulf Samuelsson. “We just have to go back and look at what we did well and what things they did well to try and be ready. It’s a good team that has two heavy, top-end lines, so we’ll have to do a good job on both sides of the puck.”

With only one full practice day between the Checkers’ last game and tonight’s contest, Samuelsson had to be selective about what he wanted to focus on leading up.

“It’s late in the season so you don’t want to do too much, but we wanted to touch on a couple areas that Bakersfield specifically does well,” he said. “We’re working on that and getting quicker movement of the puck on our power play.”

The Condors’ top scorer, Anton Lander, has been a thorn in the Checkers’ side for several seasons now, dating back to when Edmonton’s affiliate was located in Oklahoma City. In 15 games from the 2013-14 campaign to this season, Lander has racked up 16 points.

With Laurent Brossoit currently on the Oilers roster, the Checkers will head into action tonight to face either a goalie they’ve never seen in rookie Nick Ellis, or a veteran they faced once in 2012-13 in Jonas Gustavsson.

2. OFFENSE ROLLS

After an influx of talent on their roster, the Checkers’ offense has come to life as of late. They have scored at least four goals in four of their last five and at least five in three of their last four. Throughout the entire season Charlotte has enjoyed its best success when the offense gets going, posting a 20-3-0 record when scoring three or more goals.

The Checkers have been boasting a balanced attack over that stretch, with seven different skaters recording multi-point games over the last five contests, but the catalyst appears to have been the strong play of the team's top two lines.

""They’ve played well, especially ever since Miller got healthy," said Samuelsson. "Wallmark’s line has been good and last game I thought Brickley brought some good energy to Poturalski’s line."

3. IN THE HUNT

With Wednesday’s shootout victory, the Checkers continue to draw closer to the playoff race. At 56 points, Charlotte sits four points behind the Iowa Wild, who currently hold onto the Central Division’s final playoff spot but have played two more games than the Checkers. In between the Checkers and the Wild are the Cleveland Monsters, who have a one-point edge over Charlotte. The Checkers face both Cleveland and Iowa two more times this season, hosting the Wild and traveling to play the Monsters later this month.

4. FREE HOCKEY

Saturday’s shootout win also marked the third time in five games that the Checkers’ have gone beyond 60 minutes. In 24 games since Jan. 1, the Checkers have played in six overtime games, going 4-2.

Most recently, the Checkers have been engaged in high-scoring overtime affairs, with four of the last five featuring at least a combined seven goals.

5. HOME-ICE ADVANTAGE

Even after splitting their midweek series against the Admirals, the Checkers still hold the fourth-highest winning percentage on home ice in the AHL. At 18-7-1-0, only Chicago, San Jose and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton have posted better marks at home. The Checkers, who are 8-2-0 in their last 10 home contests, will play 12 of their remaining 21 games at Bojangles’ Coliseum.

6. A NEW START

Since joining the Checkers via a trade last week, Danny Kristo has regained his scoring touch. After recording 20 goals and 40 assists in each of his first three pro seasons, the Minnesota native had seen his numbers dip this season, which he had previously split between Chicago and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. But with Charlotte, Kristo has put up four point in four games, including notching a goal, an assist and a clutch conversion in the shootout in Wednesday’s victory.

7. POTURALSKI ON FIRE

Even after leading the Checkers in scoring for the majority of the season, Andrew Poturalski has turned on the jets offensively over the last month. In 10 games since Feb. 4, the first-year pro has racked up 13 points, including five goals in his last seven games. Poturalski is third among all AHL rookies in scoring, just four behind the league leader. His 41 points are the second-most by any Checkers rookie in franchise history, while he would need 16 points in the final 21 games to match Zac Dalpe’s record-setting 2010-11 season.

8. SPECIAL TEAMS

An 0-for-9 showing during the two-game set with Milwaukee last week kept the Checkers anchored to last place in the AHL’s power-play rankings. Charlotte’s power-play, which has produced at a 10.7 percent clip this season, is scoreless in its last 16 man advantages over the previous six games. This dry spell comes immediately after the Checkers recorded three goals on seven power plays over a pair of games in mid-February.

The penalty kill, while ranking higher than the power play, has had its issues as of late as well. The Checkers surrendered four power-play goals in 10 chances over the two-game series with Milwaukee, and have allowed six in their last seven games.

9. TUNE IN!

You can tune in to hear Jason Shaya's call live from Bojangles' Coliseum tonight! Pregame show kicks off at 5:45.

You can also download the new Checkers App, available for both iPhones and Androids, for score updates and to play the new Top Line game!