Game Preview: Checkers vs. Lake Erie (Feb. 6, 2016)

The Checkers are back in action and looking for revenge as they face the Lake Erie Monsters tonight. Mired in their worst slump of the season, Charlotte will be trying to fight their way back into the win column.

Here are 7 things to know about tonight's tilt against Lake Erie:

1. ON A SKID

The Checkers didn't leave for the All-Star break on a good note, dropping their last three games (though they earned one point in the standings for the Jan. 29 overtime loss in Iowa), and didn’t fare any better upon returning. This four-game winless streak marks the team's longest this season and the longest since Jan. 30-Feb. 7 of last season.

2. SHORTHANDED MONSTERS

Lake Erie will be missing a few key pieces when they return to the coliseum ice tonight. Anton Forsberg and Joonas Korpisalo, who have handled the bulk of the work in goal this season, are both in Columbus, leaving veteran Brad Thiessen to man the pipes. The 29-year-old has started nine of the last 13 games for Lake Erie and has put up solid numbers, including a brilliant 27-save shutout last night.

Up front, they will continue to miss the scoring prowess of Kerby Rychel, who had six points in seven games at the time of his recall, as he continues to log time with the Blue Jackets, but did enjoy the return of flashy rookie Sonny Milano. On the back end, Jaime Sifers will miss both contests against the Checkers after earning a two-game suspension for slew-footing. Sifers has been a force for the Monsters, ranking second among team blue liners in scoring and recording a point in each of his last two games.

3. BANGED UP

The Checkers could have some holes in their lineup as well when the puck drops tonight. Justin Shugg and Danny Biega took the ice for the first time since their respective injuries at yesterday's morning skate, but it seems both remain a ways from returning as they were draped in yellow no-contact jerseys. Zach Boychuk, Keegan Lowe and Ethan Werek were all able to return to action last night, but the Checkers lost Patrick Brown for the end of the game due to an injury, with his status for tonight uncertain.

4. POWER OUTAGE

While still ranked near the top of the AHL rankings, the Checkers’ power play has gone cold during this rough patch. They have failed to score a power-play goal in three consecutive games, going 0-for-9 in the process. It marks the second time this season that the team had a three-game power-play goal drought. Prior to this stretch, the Checkers had scored at least one power-play goal in 11 of their last 13 contests.

5. SEARCHING FOR OFFENSE

The Checkers’ offense, which has been stellar all season, has also evaporated as of late. With last night’s shutout, the third one Charlotte has suffered this season, the Checkers have not scored a goal in five periods spanning over two games. That has happened one other time this season, from Oct. 25-27.

6. RYAN LOOKING TO REIGNITE

Team captain and leading scorer Derek Ryan began the season on a ridiculous tear, not going consecutive games without scoring until the end of December. But the forward has hit a bit of a slump, tallying one goal and one assist in his last 10 games and falling out of the top-20 scorers in the AHL.

7. BREAKING THINGS DOWN

The Checkers have yet to lose in regulation in a game in which they held a lead at either intermission (12-0-2-1 when leading after the first, 15-0-1-1 when leading after the second).

Charlotte suffered their first loss when allowing two or fewer goals on Friday, moving to 17-1-0 in those situations, and also saw a hiccup in their otherwise solid record in tight contests (13-3-2-2 in one-goal games). The need for their offense to come back alive is illustrated by their record of 22-4-2-1 when scoring three or more goals.