Game Preview: Checkers vs. Grand Rapids (April 10, 2014)

The Checkers begin what they hope will be a strong final push for the playoffs as they welcome Grand Rapids to Time Warner Cable Arena tonight.

Three losses in a three-game road trip last weekend have Charlotte on the outside looking in, with wins in each of their last four games crucial to preserving their hopes. That starts with this contest against the defending Calder Cup champion Griffins, who are sticking around for a rematch on Sunday afternoon. The teams have not met since October, when they split a pair of games less than a week apart in Grand Rapids.

Following their last two home games of the regular season, the Checkers wrap things up on the road where they face Milwaukee and Rockford on back-to-back games starting Friday.

Charlotte

Coming up empty in a three-in-three weekend for the first time in team history would have been difficult enough to deal with given how precious each point is at this stage of the season and how it cost the team a newfound spot in the top eight.

After coming back from a three-goal deficit, losing Sunday’s game with 35 seconds to go against one of their main competitors on the Western Conference bubble was something else entirely.

“It’s a tough one to swallow,” said captain Brett Sutter.

Three full days have passed since then, with the Checkers even getting a little bit of good news via Rockford’s regulation loss on Tuesday. They hope the physical and mental rest from that period will help them enter tonight’s game with the required amount of energy and optimism that allowed them to go 12-4-0 in March.

“We had a talk after (Sunday’s) game,” said Sutter. “We can’t let it get us down, and we took the night to sleep on it and let it sink in. We’ve been fighting for the last month or so here to give ourselves a chance and we’ve done that, so if we get back to the way we were playing 10 days ago we’ll be alright.”

“We had a bit of a backbreaker, but (the players) are smart enough to know our situation and we’ve got to rebound from that game,” said coach Jeff Daniels.

At the moment, the race looks as though it’s four teams battling for the last two spots in the West, though Milwaukee could potentially join that group by falling back and Utica could potentially do the same by winning out. The Checkers are only one point out of eighth place, though every other team in the race has games in hand.

“In the big picture, we’re going to have to win all four,” said Daniels, referring to the team’s remaining regular-season schedule. “For now, we’ve just got to focus on getting that first win.”

“We’ll take it game-by-game, but we know that to have a chance we have to control our own fate,” said Sutter. “We’ll start it off with a good few games at home, and a big win Thursday would put some pressure on the other teams.”

The Checkers could potentially get one of their top scorers in Aaron Palushaj back for this game, with the forward practicing fully with the team on Wednesday for the first time since missing the March 25 game in Iowa due to injury. Nicolas Blanchard, who left Sunday’s game following a hard hit, is likely to miss out after missing this week’s skates.

After starting three games in three nights over the weekend, there’s an excellent chance that the Checkers will ride John Muse for a relatively spaced out final four. Muse had won five in a row prior to last weekend, tying him with Mike Murphy for the franchise’s all-time wins mark.

Grand Rapids

The defending champs are already assured of finishing with a better regular-season record than they did last season. As the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed, they are still in contention for the Kilpatrick Trophy as the AHL’s regular season champion and home ice throughout the playoffs.

The Griffins’ success has come despite a tough season of injuries with their parent club in Detroit. Since last meeting the Checkers in October, sniper Gustav Nyquist, a thorn in the Checkers’ side for the last two seasons, has taken the NHL by storm with 48 points in 55 games for the Red Wings. Skilled scorer Tomas Jurco, center Riley Sheahan and rookie center Luke Glendening have also moved on to the NHL.

How have the Griffins stayed successful despite absences to those key players? It helps that their successors were already on the roster. Forward Teemu Pulkkinen, who is tied for fourth in the AHL with 30 goals, and defenseman Ryan Sproul, a reliable all-around contributor, earned spots on the league’s All-Rookie team announced yesterday. Adam Almquist could be on contention for a spot on one of the AHL All-Star teams announced today as he ranks third among AHL defensemen with 52 points and third among all skaters with 48 assists.

“They’ve always been able to replace guys with other skilled guys,” said Daniels. “They’re a puck-possession team that can make plays, and we’ve got to eliminate those second and third opportunities. Part of that is just by coming through the neutral zone and not turning the puck over.”

Thanks to two goalies ranked in the AHL’s top three in terms of goals-against average, the Griffins are also the league’s second-best defensive team with an average of 2.43 goals allowed per game. Petr Mrazek leads the league with a 2.03 GAA and .927 save percentage in 30 games played, while Tom McCollum checks in at 2.32 and .920 in 44 outings.

The Griffins are coming off a 2-1 shootout victory over Hamilton on Saturday that marked their fourth win in their last five games.

Checkers Notes

Against the Griffins

The Checkers have an all-time record of 7-3-0 against Grand Rapids, incluidng a 1-1-0 mark this season. Both games took place in Grand Rapids in October, with John Muse earning a 30-save shutout in his first AHL game of the season as part of a 5-0 victory on Oct. 25 and the Griffins bouncing back to win 5-2 on Oct. 30.

Zach Boychuk leads the Checkers with four points (1g, 3a) in the two games against Grand Rapids, with Victor Rask coming in second with three (2g, 1a). The Griffins' top two scorers from the October meetings, Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Jurco, are both in the NHL with Detroit.

John Muse earned a 30-save shutout in his only meeting against the Griffins, with Rick Dipietro stopping 25 of 29 shots in the other. Petr Mrazek started both games against the Checkers, making 10 saves on 12 shots before Tom McCollum replaced him in the initial meeting on Oct. 25. He has a 1-1-0 record, 3.03 goals-against average and .905 save percentage against Charlotte this season.

Charlotte went 4-for-12 on the power play (33.3 percent) and 5-for-7 (71.4 percent) on the penalty kill in the previous two games against the Griffins.

Playoff Picture

A 1-0 loss to Oklahoma City coupled with a win by Rochester on April 5 caused the Checkers to fall from eighth to 10th in the Western Conference playoff race. Another loss in OKC on April 6, the Checkers' third defeat in as many days, now has them one point out, though eighth-place Rochester has played two fewer games.

In addition to maximizing points earned in their last four games, the Checkers will now need some assistance from around the league to make the postseason as they welcome the defending Calder Cup champion Grand Rapids Griffins for their final two home games before heading out to face Milwaukee and Rockford on the road.

After the initial tiebreaker that goes to the team with fewest games played, the Checkers have the next tiebreaker over every other team in the race by way of their 32 regulation/overtime wins (ROW).

Boychuk's Historic Goals

Checkers forward Zach Boychuk followed his AHL Player of the Month performance in March (22 points in 16 games) with three goals in his first three games of April. He now has 35 goals on the season, at least three more than any other AHL player, and has broken Chris Terry's previous team record of 34 set in 2010-11.

Boychuk, who scored his 100th goal as a Checker with the first of two in Oklahoma City on April 6, now has 12 more goals than his previous career high of 23 set last season. Along with Terry (67), he is also one of two players to break his own club record of 65 points set in the 2010-11 campaign. Thanks in part to a team record and AHL-best 17 goals on the power play, he currently ranks second in the AHL with 70 points, 11 behind league leader Travis Morin of Texas.

The AHL has not had a 40-goal scorer since Oklahoma City's Colin McDonald (42) and Hamilton's Nigel Dawes (41) both accomplished the feat in 2010-11.

Busy Weeks

Checkers forwards Zach Boychuk and Chris Terry completed the rare feat of playing four games in four nights, having played in Carolina's win over Dallas on Thursday and the entirety of the Checkers' three-in-three starting Friday. The first three took place in three different cities (Raleigh, San Antonio and Oklahoma City), with the Checkers staying in OKC to complete the set on Sunday.

Including his first two in the NHL, Terry finished the stretch with three assists, all on the power play. After going scoreless in Carolina, Boychuk, the reigning AHL Player of the Month, scored three goals for Charlotte to extend his AHL lead and set a new club record for most in a single season (35).

Also last weekend, goalie John Muse marked the fifth instance of a Checkers goalie starting three games in three nights. He is now responsible for two of those, having also done so from Feb. 17-19, 2012.

Three Games, Three Nights, No Points

The Checkers emerged pointless from a stretch of three games in three nights for the first time in team history (28 total attempts) last weekend. Prior to losing once in San Antonio and twice in Oklahoma City, the Checkers had only gone winless once in team history - an 0-2-1 stretch from Dec. 28-30, 2012, that also took place entirely on the road in Houston, Texas and San Antonio.

The Checkers' three-game losing streak ties the second-longest active streak in the league. It is their third regulation loss streak of three or more games this season and first since Feb. 4-7.

Floodgates Open

Mark Flood is enjoying the best goal-scoring season by a defenseman in Checkers history, with his 13 goals ranking fourth among AHL blueliners and breaking the old record of 10 set by Bobby Sanguinetti in 2011-12. Flood's eight power-play goals (third AHL defensemen) are also a new team record for a defenseman, breaking Sanguinetti's mark of seven also set in 2011-12.

Flood, who played his 500th professional game earlier this season, has already topped his previous AHL career high of 11 goals set with Manitoba in 2010-11. He scored just one goal in 52 games with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the KHL last season.

Power Players

Both Zach Boychuk (1st AHL with 17) and Chris Terry (t-4th with 14) have broken the franchise record for most power-play goals in a single season previously held by Jacob Micflikier (12 goals in 2010-11). Meanwhile, Mark Flood's eight power-play goals are the-third most by an AHL defenseman and are the most ever by a Checkers blueliner in a single season, breaking Bobby Sanguinetti's record of seven from 2011-12.

The 31 total goals by Boychuk and Terry are the most of any two teammates in the league, with two other sets (Texas' Chris Mueller and Colton Sceviour, Binghamton's Matt Puempel and Mike Hoffman) coming in second at 27 apiece. Boychuk and Terry are responsible for 43.7 percent of the Checkers' 71 power-play goals this season.

The Checkers currently rank tied for second in the AHL with a 22.4 percent success rate on the power play - a mark that, if sustained for the final five games of the season, would mark the highest of their four AHL campaigns. The team has never converted at a rate lower than 19.8 percent over the course an entire season.

Shooting Gallery

Oklahoma City out-shot Charlotte 27-5 in the second period of a game on April 6, with the Barons' shot total marking the most by an AHL team in a single period since Adirondack took 29 in the first period of a game at Binghamton on Feb. 25, 2012. It was also the highest total that the Checkers have allowed in their four AHL seasons, breaking the old mark of 23 set in the first period at Norfolk on Feb. 25, 2011.

Oklahoma City out-scored the Checkers 4-1 in that period, with Charlotte coming back to tie the game in the third only to lose on a goal with 35 seconds remaining in regulation. The final shot total was 42-24 in favor of the Barons.

The Checkers have now been out-shot by double digits 11 times this season, with seven of those occuring since March 2. They have been out-shot by 15 or more four times, with two of those occurring in their last three games.

Special Teams Struggles

The Checkers' three power-play goals allowed on April 6 tied their season high set on two previous occasions. They have allowed at least one power-play goal in each of their last five games, killing penalties at a 73.1 percent rate (19-for-26) during that time.

Over that same five-game stretch starting March 29, the Checkers are a combined 2-for-16 (12.5 percent) on the power play.

Quick Hits

• Charlotte's seven regulation losses when leading after the first period (16-7-1) are the most in the AHL.
• Brett Sutter has tied his career high of 29 assists set last season, despite playing 12 fewer games.
• Chris Terry is four away from tying the club record for assists in a single season (43) set by Zach Boychuk in 2010-11 and tied by Terry in 2011-12.
• With 26 wins, John Muse is tied for third in the AHL and has set a new team record for most in a single season. He is tied with teammate Mike Murphy for most in team history (43).
• Checkers defenseman Rasmus Rissanen ranks tied for second in the AHL in terms of minor penalties by defensemen (36). Matt Corrente is tied for third in major penalties by defensemen (12).
• The Checkers' 10 overtime games are the fewest of any AHL team, and their six shootouts are tied with Rochester for the fewest in the league. Charlotte's .700 winning percentage in overtime (7-3) leads the league, as does its 41.9 shooting percentage in the shootout.
• The Checkers' three shorthanded goals are the fewest in the AHL. They have never scored fewer than six in a single season.
• Charlotte's final four games are against teams in the Midwest Division. The team is 10-9-1 against the the Midwest, including a 1-1-0 record against Grand Rapids, a 2-1-0 mark against Milwaukee and a 4-2-1 record against Rockford.

Player Streaks

• None

Milestones

• Brody Sutter is one shy of 50 professional points
• Sean Dolan is one shy of 100 professional penalty minutes
• Matt Corrente is one shy of 550 professional penalty minutes
• Matt Marquardt is two shy of 150 professional points
• Chris Terry is three shy of 150 Checkers assists
• Chris Terry is three shy of 300 AHL points
• Brett Sutter recorded his 200th AHL point on April 6
• Zach Boychuk scored his 100th Checkers goal on April 6

Injuries

• Aaron Palushaj - missed seven games starting March 25
• Greg Nemisz - missed 16 games starting March 8
• Brendan Woods - missed 22 games starting Feb. 22

Transactions

Incoming

• April 4 - (LW) Zach Boychuk reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)
• April 4 - (LW) Chris Terry reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• April 4 - (D) Ryan Murphy recalled to Carolina (NHL) from Charlotte