Game Preview: Checkers vs Hartford (March 23, 2019)

The Checkers’ extended home stand wraps up with a pair of tilts against their Atlantic Division rivals, the Hartford Wolf Pack.

1. TICKET PUNCHED

With the Lehigh Valley Phantoms defeating the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in regulation on Friday night, the Checkers officially became the first team to clinch a spot in the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs. This marks the third straight postseason appearance for the Checkers and the fifth time in their nine AHL seasons that they’ve qualified for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

With just under a month still left in the regular season, the Checkers’ seeding and opponent for the first round has yet to be determined.

2. HISTORIC SEASON

Charlotte, which is currently 42-15-8, has held the league’s best record since Nov. 10. With 11 games remaining in the regular season, the Checkers are just six standings points shy of topping the franchise record of 97 set during their inaugural AHL season in 2010-11.

3. HOME SWEET HOME

With Wednesday’s big win over Syracuse, the Checkers have now set a new franchise record by picking up a point in eight straight home contests, logging a 7-0-1 record along the way. Charlotte’s last regulation loss at Bojangles’ Coliseum came on Feb. 6 and so far this season the team not registered consecutive regulation losses on home ice.

Heading into this weekend the Checkers have six more home games on the schedule, four of which come against Hartford and Springfield who rank eighth and seventh in the Atlantic Division, respectively. The Checkers have topped 20 home wins for the third consecutive season and the fourth time in team history, and should they win out in the remaining six games they would match the franchise record of 27 set in 2016-17.

4. NECAS STAYS HOT

After snapping a 21-game goal drought, Martin Necas has lit the lamp four times over the last four games, three of which came on the man advantage. The rookie recorded his second career multi-goal game on Wednesday, ripping two near-identical one timers from the left circle that the goalie had no chance on. Necas, who has found strong chemistry playing alongside Tomas Jurco and Patrick Brown, has 10 points (4g, 6a) in his last seven games and has moved into third on the team in scoring.

5. NED STANDS TALL

Already the only goalie in franchise history to record a 30-win season, Alex Nedeljkovic hit that milestone for the second consecutive season with his defeat of Syracuse on Wednesday. The netminder set a franchise record a season ago with 31 victories on the year and looks to shatter that mark with 11 games remaining on the schedule.

Nedeljkovic has a five-win cushion on the next goalie in the AHL rankings, as well as boasting the fourth-best goals-against average and the second-most minutes played.

6. NEW ADDITIONS

The Checkers and Wolf Pack face off this weekend for the first time since pulling off an AHL trade, with Hartford loaning Dustin Tokarski to Charlotte and Charlotte loaning Josh Wesley to Hartford. Tokarski has been a welcome addition to the club, making the most of his two starts thus far by allowing a single goal in each and coming away with two wins.

The other big deadline acquisition for Charlotte, Tomas Jurco, continues to be a boost for the team’s offensive attack. The forward has logged seven points in his last seven games and seems to have sparked an offensive resurgence in linemate Martin Necas.

The Checkers could also see another new face in the lineup this weekend as third-round draft pick Stelios Mattheos has joined the team via an ATO. The 19-year-old forward was a scoring machine in the WHL for the Brandon Wheat Kings and could make his pro debut during the series against Hartford.

7. SPECIAL TEAMS STAND OUT

The Checkers’ recent hot streak has coinciding with some strong showings on special teams. After a rough patch, the team has recorded a power-play goal in each of their last eight games, including a stellar 2-for-3 performance in Wednesday’s win.

On the other side, Charlotte’s penalty kill has also impressed as of late. The team has surrendered just two power-play goals in their last 10 games and have killed off 16 straight man advantages, including holding Syracuse’s top-ranked power-play unit scoreless in both games this week.

8. TUNE IN

If you can't make it to Bojangles' Coliseum tonight, you can tune in to the broadcast with a subscription to the league’s new streaming platform AHLTV. Sign up here and catch the action.

As always, the radio broadcast will be available via the Checkers app or this link, so tune in and tweet Jason Shaya to let him know you’re listening!