Game Preview: Checkers vs Toronto (Jan. 12, 2018)

Back at home after a tough road trip, the Checkers are looking to get back on track as they welcome one of the league’s top teams in Toronto.

1. CREAM OF THE CROP

The Marlies roll into Charlotte as one of the premier teams in the AHL. Already sitting atop of the Eastern Conference, they trail Manitoba by three points of the top spot overall in the league, all while going 5-5-0 over their last 10 games. Despite that middle of the road stretch, Toronto enters this weekend as winners of four consecutive games, outscoring its opponents during that streak 19-6.

For a Checkers team that is going through a rare slump, taking on a top tier opponent like Toronto on home ice should stand as a barometer for how they stack up against the Eastern contenders.

“Every team right now is really good, but this is an especially good test for our team,” said Vellucci. “We’re at home and we have some guys back in the lineup and we’re playing a very good team. It’s going to be a tight game and we need to make sure to get to the net and make sure that we tighten up defensively.”

2. STINGY MARLIES

The Checkers are heading into a tough weekend matchup with a Marlies team that has been locking down opponents all year. Toronto is allowing an average of 2.14 goals per game, the best mark in the league by a significant margin. They have given up two or fewer goals in six of their last seven and boast two of the top four goalies in the AHL with Garret Sparks and Calvin Pickard. Needless to say, the Checkers are preparing for a tough defensive battle.

“They’re a veteran team that doesn’t let up a lot of goals,” said Charlotte head coach Mike Vellucci. “It’s going to be a tight checking game. The neutral zone is going to be jammed up and we’re going to have to fight through their checks to make sure we get into the offensive zone.”

3. ON THE SKIDS

The Checkers return home after their toughest road trip yet this season, a trek that saw them go 1-4-0 while scoring one or fewer goals in each loss. Given that the team triumphed in Lehigh Valley to break up the trip, the Checkers have still only lost more than two consecutive games this season once, a four-game skid to end a lengthy road trip in November.

Finally back on home ice for the first time since Christmas, the team is ready to put that slump to bed against the Marlies.

“We had a long bus ride there so the two days off will definitely help that,” said Vellucci. “But even when we win a lot of games in a row we have to make sure the highs aren’t too high and the lows aren’t too low. The guys know. They look at the standings and where we are and they know we have to do some damage in these home games.”

4. SEARCHING FOR POWER

While the Checkers have gotten a lot of production out of their man advantage this season, posting the third-best percentage in the league, but have gone cold as of late. Charlotte failed to convert on the power play in four of their last five games, all of which ended in losses.

The Checkers spent much of their last two practices working on their special teams, but the coaching staff doesn’t seem too concerned about the downturn in production, especially with how shorthanded the roster was over the road trip.

“We got our two units back, with the normal guys who have been doing it all year,” said Vellucci. “So practice was more or less just getting back familiar with everybody. We’ve actually been working on our penalty kill mostly. We’ve been giving up too many goals on the kill.”

To Vellucci’s point, the Checkers have surrendered a power-play goal in 10 of their last 11 contests.

5. RETURNING OF THE KING

After a stint in the NHL, Lucas Wallmark is back with the Checkers, who certainly hope the forward gets their offense rolling once again. The Swede has only played eight games with Charlotte since Nov. 10, putting up eight points over those contests, but still ranks fourth on the team in scoring with 23 points in 20 games this season.

The Checkers should get a boost from having Wallmark back in the lineup as he takes his spot on the top line with Andrew Miller and Valentin Zykov. When all three forwards are in the lineup, the Checker are 15-5-0 this season.

6. BLUE LINE SHUFFLE

The rotation through blue liners took an unexpected turn in Hershey when Brenden Kichton was tabbed as the odd man out for Sunday’s rematch. A free agent addition this past offseason who has been a mainstay in the lineup when healthy, Vellucci hoped to kick start Kichton by scratching him.

“We have seven really good D so on any given night somebody is going to be scratched,” said Vellucci. “It’s not always going to be the same guy. I didn’t think he had been playing that well. But he’s a great defenseman and he’s back in the lineup this weekend and he’s going to do a great job. That was just to give him a little break and refresh and reset his goals and get him going.”
The move also served as a message to the rest of the group going forward.
“I think it proved a point when Kich got scratched that anybody can get scratched,” said Vellucci. “If you’re not competing every day and if you’re not having a good game, you could be out of the lineup. So make sure you’re prepared mentally and physically and you’re ready to go.”

7. BETWEEN THE PIPES

The Checkers have continued to deploy their tandem of Alex Nedeljkovic and Jeremy Smith fairly evenly as of late, but both netminders have struggled at times during Charlotte’s most recent stretch. Smith has lost three straight (though one was a game he entered in relief) while Nedeljkovic is 2-3-0 in his last seven appearances and has allowed at least four goals in four of those games. Still, Vellucci is ready to move on from the tough road trip and get his duo back on track.

“I don’t blame this weekend on our goaltenders,” said Vellucci. “They weren’t great, they didn’t steal a game, but they didn’t lose it for us. The second game we didn’t score any goals so obviously you’re not going to win any games like that. Both just need to pick it up and get back to where they were before, be a little steadier. Not giving up, not really fluke goals but early goals. Just make sure they’re steady. Ned’s going to go [Friday] night then we’ll see from there.”

8. GET THE APP

The Checkers app got a fresh new set of paint during the offseason but functions just the same. Follow along with scoring updates as well as play the Top Line interactive game.

You will also be able to listen to the radio broadcast via the app or this link. Jason Shaya’s pregame show starts 15 minutes prior to puck drop, tune in and tweet Jason to let him know you’re listening.