Game Preview: Checkers vs Cleveland (Feb. 24, 2017)

As the playoff race tightens, the Checkers are back at home to host the Cleveland Monsters in a pivotal two-game set. Here are 10 things to know about tonight's game:

1. NEW FACES

After a busy week of transactions, three different players could be making their Checkers debuts tonight.

Philip Samuelsson, acquired from Montreal on Tuesday, skated with the team for the first time at Thursday’s practice, while Danny Kristo, acquired from Pittsburgh yesterday, joined the team Friday morning.

Along with those new additions, the Checkers could see a pair of key pieces return to the lineup this weekend. After they both were full participants in Thursday’s practice, head coach Ulf Samuelsson said that he thinks Sergey Tolchinsky and Brendan Woods will be available for the weekend. The former has missed the last nine games due to injury, while the latter has been sidelined since October while working his way back from surgery.

2. BICKELL'S RETURN

Should he clear waivers at noon, Bryan Bickell will be assigned to Charlotte by the Hurricanes. He won't be available for tonight's game, but could be in the lineup as early as Saturday. That would mark the veteran forward’s return to game action for the first time since being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in November.

Bickell was out “indefinitely” since receiving the diagnosis, but resumed skating with Carolina over the past few weeks and hoped to make his return this season.

"Since the 2015 playoffs, I've been struggling to understand what was going on with my body," said Bickell in the November statement announcing his diagnosis. "Again during the past few weeks, it felt like something wasn't right. Obviously this is a bit of shock for my family and me, but I am hopeful I will be able to return to the ice and continue playing the game that I love."

Over a 275-game AHL career with Norfolk and Rockford, the three-time Stanley Cup champion has totaled 140 points and 259 penalty minutes.

3. HOME SWEET HOME

With two more victories during their last home stand, the Checkers are 15-6-1 within the friendly confines of Bojangles’ Coliseum this season. The team’s .705 points percentage at home, where they have won five of their last six contests, is the sixth-best mark in the league. The team’s best-ever points percentage at home for an entire season is .613, set in the 2010-11 season.

4. GAINING GROUND

With a two game set against Cleveland ahead, the Checkers have a chance this weekend to draw even in the standings with the Monsters. Charlotte has gone 6-3-1 over their last 10 games, while Cleveland is 4-4-2 and losers of two straight. Heading into tonight’s contest, the Checkers trail the Monsters by four points for the fifth spot in the Central Division. The final playoff spot still belongs to Iowa, who sit nine points ahead of the Checkers but have played four more games.

5. POTS ON A ROLL

Continuing his hold on the team scoring lead, Andrew Poturalski has rattled off an impressively solid offensive run over the last handful of games. With four points over the three-game weekend, Poturalski now has the fourth-highest point total by a rookie in franchise history, one shy of Sergey Tolchinsky’s 2015-16 campaign and four behind Victor Rask’s total. Should he appear in all 76 games, Poturalski is on pace to become just the second rookie in franchise history to reach the 50 points mark, though he would still be slightly behind Zac Dalpe’s 57-point effort from 2010-11.

Poturalski is also currently riding a six-game point streak, one shy of the longest by a Checker this season, set by Brock McGinn earlier in the year.

6. KING LUCAS

It was another game, another goal for Lucas Wallmark Sunday, as he marked his 17th goal of the year 19 seconds into the contest in Milwaukee. The tally gives Wallmark the second-most goals by a rookie in franchise history, with six more to go before he catches Zac Dalpe’s 23.

With six points in his last five games, Wallmark has pulled within three of Andrew Poturalski’s scoring lead, something the rookie has held since the start of December.

7. SCORERS STEPPING UP

While the Checkers’ top three scorers have done much of the heavy lifting as of late, the team has seen an increase in their scoring depth over the past few games.

While his season has been frustratingly plagued by injury, Andrew Miller has shown his ability as an established producer during the team’s most recent stretch. The forward has piled up six points in his last seven games, including a career-best three-point effort Sunday against Milwaukee.

Then there’s Andrej Nestrasil, who has been as consistent a force for Charlotte as anyone during his month with the team. The forward has 10 points in 15 games with the Checkers this season and has picked up a helper in each of the last three games.

8. AGAINST THE MONSTERS

Tonight marks the fifth meeting between the Checkers and Monsters this season. The two clubs have split the matchups thus far, with Cleveland taking the first two tilts and Charlotte winning the next two. So far the home team has won each contest and all four have been decided by either one or two goals.

The Monsters enter tonight ahead of Charlotte in the standings but are trending downward, having dropped four of their last five contests. Cleveland’s offense, ranked 29th in the AHL, has been struggling to put pucks in the net, having scored two or fewer goals in regulation in each of their last eight games.

Cleveland’s saving grace has been its stingy defense, tied for sixth in the league in terms of goals-against per game. The Monsters have held their opponents to two goals or fewer in seven of their last 10 games, though three of their last four contests have seen them surrender four.

9. PROMOS

Tonight’s contest, the first of a six-game home stand, features several promotions. If you’re looking for tickets, you can save 40 percent on groups of four when purchased online, or if you can use a valid college email address to receive a discount online as well. Tonight is also Go Red For Women night presented by Piedmont Natural Gas, so be sure to wear red and show your support!

10. TUNE IN!

You can tune in to hear Jason Shaya's call live from Bojangles' Coliseum tonight! Pregame show kicks off at 6:45.

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!