Game Preview: Checkers vs. Grand Rapids (April 13, 2014)

It’s the final home game of the regular season as the Checkers host the second of a two-game set against the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Anything less than the victory earned in the first game on Thursday will be trouble for the Checkers, who need every point they can get in their last three games. Despite staying idle during a busy Friday and Saturday around the league, they enter today's game in ninth place with the opportunity to get back in the top eight should they earn more points than Oklahoma City does in Abbotsford later in the day.

Including the win on Thursday, the Checkers are 2-1-0 against the Midwest Division leading Griffins this season. They conclude their regular-season slate with back-to-back games in Milwaukee and Rockford starting Friday.

Charlotte

The Checkers broke a three-game losing streak that saw them lose their spot in the top eight by way of a convincing 3-0 victory over the defending Calder Cup champions on Thursday. All of the goal scoring game in the first 14 minutes of the first period, with John Muse standing tall to record his fifth shutout of the season with 30 saves.

Muse, who is highly likely to start again today, has yet to allow a goal in 120 minutes played against the Griffins, both this season and in his career. Upon rejoining the Checkers on a pro tryout contract in October, his first AHL game of this season was another 30-save blanking of Grand Rapids on Oct. 25.

It looked as though the Checkers may have had to play today’s rematch without one of the offensive heroes from Thursday’s game as scoring leader Zach Boychuk, who posted a goal and an assist in the win earlier this week, joined the Carolina Hurricanes for their game in Detroit on Friday night. However, Boychuk, who earned a spot on the AHL’s Second All-Star team thanks to a season that has him leading the league in goals (36) and power-play goals (18) and ranking second in total points (72), rejoined Charlotte on Saturday.

Boychuk’s return should give the Checkers the option of using the same lineup as Thursday’s game, though they could potentially still make a handful of changes. Forwards Nicolas Blanchard and Aaron Palushaj and defenseman Ryan Murphy are all candidates to return from injury, while junior hockey product Sergey Tolchinsky awaits his professional debut after joining the Checkers on a late-season tryout.

The Checkers hope that potentially strong lineup will help them navigate through a day that presents one of the largest possible swings in terms of playoff position to date. With Oklahoma City, Charlotte and Rockford all tied with 77 points to occupy spots eight through 10 and Utica just two points behind that pack, the Checkers could end up as high as eighth or as low as 11th depending on today’s results.

Grand Rapids

While the Checkers have had some good fortune with having their best possible team available in terms of a lack of NHL recalls and could get even better news on the injury front, the Griffins, who have had a playoff spot secured for some time now and have a chance to clinch the Midwest Division today, have lost even more players to the parent Detroit Red Wings.

Petr Mrazek, who entered Thursday’s game as the AHL’s leader in terms of goals-against average and save percentage before the Checkers victimized him for three goals on seven shots to start things off, made the trip to Detroit on Friday. Following him on Saturday were a pair of defensemen in AHL All-Rookie Team member Ryan Sproul and another promising young prospect in Xavier Ouellet, both of whom played against the Checkers on Thursday.

Those three join a long list of productive Griffins who have graduated to an injury-plagued Red Wings team, with Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Jurco, Riley Sheahan and Luke Glendening all becoming regular NHL players since first facing the Checkers in October. In their absence, the Griffins are led by rookie Teemu Pulkkinen, who ranks tied for fourth in the AHL with 30 goals, and Adam Almquist, another Second-Team All Star who ranks third among AHL defensemen with 52 points. Winger Mitch Callahan (44 points) and center Cory Emmerton (43 points in 50 games) can also provide offense.

In goal, the Griffins, who are among the AHL’s best offensive (sixth) and defensive (second) teams, still have Tom McCollum, who ranks fifth in the league with a 2.32 goals-against average. He has actually earned the bulk of the starts this season, playing 44 against the 33 from Mrazek, who joined Boychuk as a Second-Team All Star earlier in the week. Jake Paterson, a Red Wings prospect who joined the Griffins from his junior team two weeks ago, is likely to back up.

Checkers Notes

Against the Griffins

The Checkers have an all-time record of 8-3-0 against Grand Rapids, including a 2-1-0 mark this season and an all-time mark of 3-1-0 at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Zach Boychuk leads the Checkers with six points (2g, 4a) in the three games against Grand Rapids, with Victor Rask coming in second with five (3g, 2a). Chris Terry (1g, 2a), Danny Biega (3a) and Michal Jordan (3a) are also at a point-per-game pace with three in three. With Tomas Jurco, Gustav Nyquist and Ryan Sproul all in the NHL with Detroit, the Griffins do not have a player who has recorded more than one point against the Checkers this season.

John Muse is perfect against the Griffins both this season and in his career, having earned 30-save shutouts in both of his meetings with the Griffins on Oct. 25 and April 10. Petr Mrazek, who made all three starts against the Checkers this season, is now in the NHL. Tom McCollum made a pair of relief apparances, stopping 20 of 23 shots in 41 minutes played.

Charlotte went 5-for-15 on the power play (33.3 percent) and 7-for-9 (77.8 percent) on the penalty kill in the previous three games against the Griffins.

Playoff Picture

With three games left in their regular season, the Checkers are part of a three-way tie with Oklahoma City and Rockford, with the three teams occupying spots eight through 10 in the Western Conference. Oklahoma City holds the first tiebreaker by way of fewest games played, while Charlotte holds the tiebreakder over Rockford by way of more regulation/overtime wins (ROW).

Depending on today's results, the Checkers could climb to eighth should they earn more points than Oklahoma City does in Abbotsford. A regulation loss could see them fall as low as 11th, a scenario that would become reality if Rockford earns a point in Chicago and Utica takes two points from its match-up in Adirondack.

Muse Shuts the Door

Checkers goalie John Muse earned his fifth shutout of the season with 30 saves against Grand Rapids on April 10. That puts him one shy of the team's single-season record set by Justin Peters last season and ties him for second in the AHL. With his seventh career shutout, all with the Checkers, Muse also tied Peters for most in team history.

Muse's win on April 10 also put him first on the Checkers' all-time wins list with 44, one more than teammate Mike Murphy. He has already set the team's single season record with 27 victories, five more than the previous record set by Justin Pogge in 2010-11 and tied by Peters last season. He is tied for second in the AHL in wins despite ranking eighth in games played (44).

Boychuk's All-Star Season

Checkers forward Zach Boychuk leads the league with 36 goals and 18 power-play goals and ranks second with 72 points. All of those marks are career highs and franchise records, helping him earn a spot on the AHL's Second All-Star team announced earlier this week.

Boychuk's previous career highs were 23 goals (2012-13), 65 points (2010-11) and 10 power-play goals (2012-13). He owned the previous franchise record for points, while his goal total surpasses Chris Terry's 34 in 2010-11 and his power-play goals total surpassed Jacob Micflikier's 12, also in 2010-11.

Boychuk, who earned the AHL's Player of the Month award in March, has 27 points (13g, 14a) in 20 games since March 1. 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.

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 (first AHL with 18) and Chris Terry (fifth 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 32 total goals by Boychuk and Terry are the most of any two teammates in the league, with Texas' Chris Mueller and Colton Sceviour coming in second with 28. Boychuk and Terry are responsible for 44.4 percent of the Checkers' 72 power-play goals this season.

The Checkers currently rank second in the AHL with a 22.5 percent success rate on the power play - a mark that, if sustained for the final three 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.

Quick Hits

• Victor Rask has goals in four straight home games since March 23, tying him with Rockford's Brandon Pirri for the longest active streak in the league. He has eight points (4g, 4a) in his last seven games overall since March 26
• Charlotte's seven regulation losses when leading after the first period (17-7-1) are tied with Portland for the most in the AHL.
• Brett Sutter has tied his career high of 29 assists set last season despite playing 11 fewer games.
• Chris Terry is three 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.
• Checkers defenseman Rasmus Rissanen ranks tied for third 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 and six shootouts are 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 three games are against teams in the Midwest Division. It is 11-9-1 against the the Midwest, including a 2-1-0 record against Grand Rapids, a 2-1-0 mark against Milwaukee and a 4-2-1 record against Rockford.

Player Streaks

• Zach Boychuk has goals and points in each of his last two games (April 6-10: 3g, 1a)
• Danny Biega has assists and points in each of his last two games (April 6-10: 0g, 3a)
• Victor Rask has assists and points in each of his last two games (April 6-10: 1g, 2a)
• Brett Sutter has points in each of his last two games (April 6-10: 1g, 1a)
• Philippe Cornet has assists and points in each of his last two games (April 6-10: 0g, 2a)

Milestones

• Brody Sutter is one shy of 50 professional points
• Matt Marquardt is two shy of 150 professional points
• Matt Marquardt is two shy of 400 professional games
• Chris Terry is two shy of 150 Checkers assists
• Chris Terry is two shy of 300 AHL points

Injuries

• Nicolas Blanchard - missed one game starting April 10
• Ryan Murphy - missed one game starting April 10
• Aaron Palushaj - missed eight games starting March 25
• Greg Nemisz - missed 17 games starting March 8
• Brendan Woods - missed 23 games starting Feb. 22

Transactions

Incoming

• April 12 - (LW) Zach Boychuk reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)
• April 11 - (LW) Sergei Tolchinsky assigned to Charlotte from Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
• April 10 - (D) Ryan Murphy reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• None