Game Preview: Checkers vs. Lake Erie (March 16, 2014)

Having taken the first game on Saturday to maintain the momentum of their playoff push, the Checkers will look to do the same in this afternoon's rematch against Lake Erie at Time Warner Cable Arena.

A 5-2 victory over the Monsters last night was the Checkers' third straight win and seventh in their last eight games. A successful first home game in nearly one full month now has the Checkers four points out of a playoff spot with two games in hand on eighth-place Rockford with 15 games left to play.

Today's match-up concludes the four-game season series with Lake Erie, the West's last-place team who won the first meeting by a 1-0 score but has lost two straight. Following today's game, the Checkers take a one-game trip to play Norfolk on Wednesday but return home to host the San Antonio Rampage this Friday and Sunday.

Charlotte

­The Checkers admittedly went through something of an adjustment in their long-awaited return home on Saturday, with the Monsters carrying a large portion of the play to come back from two down and tie the game heading into the third period.

“We didn’t have a lot of legs in the first 40 minutes,” said coach Jeff Daniels. “I don’t know if that was because we were on the road for a long time, but we just couldn’t find a way to get going.”

The third period was an entirely different story, with Danny Biega scoring 48 seconds in and Brett Sutter restoring the two-goal lead two minutes later. Aaron Palushaj’s insurance goal put the game out of reach as the Checkers wore down Monsters goalie Calvin Pickard, who shut them out on Jan. 31 but allowed five goals in each of the next two meetings.

“When things are going your way, sometimes you get some bounces,” said Sutter. “This time of year it’s about finding wins. It doesn’t have to be pretty.”

“We talked about the importance of winning the game and not letting it slip by,” said Daniels. “I thought we responded the right way.”

The Checkers were out-shot 37-26 on the night, making the performance by goalie John Muse all the more important. Muse now has wins in each of his last five starts, one of three streaks of five or more games he’s been able to put together this season.

“He was really good tonight,” said Terry of Muse following Saturday's game. “He kept us in the game when we needed him. He’s been playing stellar, he’s our rock back there and we need him to continue to do that for us as we continue to make our playoff push.”

Given the quick turnaround to today’s game, the Checkers may actually turn to Mike Murphy, who played what Daniels felt may have been his best game of the season in a 3-0 loss in Texas last weekend. With the team struggling out of the gate on Saturday, there could be more concerns about fatigue heading into today’s game, though it’s more than accustomed to that type of scheduling.

“It’s probably four times it’s happened for us, but I think winning the game will definitely help going into (today) because all of the sudden you’re not as tired hopefully and you feel a little better, as opposed to losing this game and dragging coming to the rink tomorrow,” said Daniels.

“After three-in-three on the road in three cities, I don’t think there’s too much that can faze us,” said Sutter.

Lake Erie

After briefly climbing out of the Western Conference cellar with a head-to-head win over Hamilton in their previous game, Saturday's loss put the Monsters back in 15th place heading into today's contest. They aren't mathematically eliminated from the postseason as of yet, but a 13-point deficit will certainly be a challenge.

Despite their place in the standings, the Checkers have seen on two separate occasions that the Monsters are a team that will continue to press. Prior to coming back from 2-0 down and looking as though they would take the lead if not for stalwart penalty killing by the Checkers late in Saturday's second period, the Monsters were able to erase a 3-0 deficit against Charlotte on Feb. 1 before ultimately succumbing on two late goals.

Pickard, who the Checkers have victimized for 10 goals on 51 shots (.804 save percentage) since suffering a 33-save shutout against him earlier in the season, could be due for a rest given those struggles, the quick turnaround and his heavy workload of late (starts in eight of Lake Erie's last nine games). If so, Kent Patterson, who has played just six career AHL games, including one this season (four goals allowed on 38 shots at Toronto last week), would likely get the nod with Sami Aittokallio not dressing since Feb. 22.

After scoring the Monsters' second goal off the rush and hitting the crossbar on a power-play minutes later, defenseman Stefan Elliott (21 points in 49 games) was arguably the Monsters' top offensive threat on Saturday. Three of Lake Erie's top seven scorers are blueliners, including NHL veteran Matt Hunwick (29 points), Karl Stollery (22 points) and Elliott. The Monsters rank 25th in the league with an average of 2.53 goals per game.

Checkers Notes

Against Lake Erie

Today will mark the 12th all-time meeting between Charlotte and Lake Erie since the Checkers joined the Western Conference prior to the 2011-12 season. Charlotte has a 5-3-3 record against the Monsters during that time, including a 3-2-0 record in Charlotte and a 2-1-0 record this season that includes two straight victories.

Zach Boychuk leads the Checkers with five points (3g, 2a) against Lake Erie this season, including a hat trick on Feb. 1. Charlotte is a perfect 19-for-19 on the penalty kill in the season series, including a pair of 8-for-8 performances on Jan. 31 and March 15 that mark the most the Checkers had given up in a single game since Feb. 11, 2012 and the most opportunities without allowing a power-play goal in team history.

On a Roll

The Checkers have won seven of their last eight games (March 1-15) for the second time this season (Jan. 3-24). Those tie the best eight-game stretches in team history, with the team also going 6-1-0 from Jan. 4-20 of last season and from Nov. 11-28, 2010. Today's game is an opportunity to win eight of nine for the first time in the team's four AHL seasons.

At 31-27-3, the Checkers are a season-high four games above the .500 mark. They were a franchise-record low six games under .500 on Dec. 7 (8-14-1).

Playoff Picture

With 15 games to play, the 10th-place Checkers currently trail eight seed Rockford by two points with two games in hand. They will have an opportunity to leapfrog idle Oklahoma City, who they trail by one point with two games in hand, with at least one point earned in today's game against Lake Erie.

Of the Checkers' remaining games, six will be be played against the three teams immediately ahead of them (one against seven-seed Milwaukee, one against Rockford and four against Oklahoma City). Six will be played against teams below them in the Western Conference standings (three against 12-seed San Antonio, two against 13-seed Iowa and one against 15-seed Lake Erie).

All He Does is Win

Including a career-high, 43-save effort against Texas on March 12, Checkers goalie John Muse has won each of his last five starts, including four since returning from injury on March 7. It is his third streak of five or more wins this season, including a six-game streak from Nov. 30-Dec. 19 that tied a franchise record set twice by teammate Mike Murphy in the 2010-11 season and another five-game streak from Jan. 11-24.

Now 21-11-0 on the season, Muse has won 18 of his last 24 decisions dating back to Nov. 23 and is one shy of tying the team record for most wins in a single season set by Justin Peters last season and by Justin Pogge in 2010-11.

A winner of two NCAA National Championships with Boston College and an ECHL Kelly Cup with the Florida Everblades, Muse has an all-time AHL record of 39-21-3. He ranks second in the Checkers' AHL history with 38 wins, two more than Peters and five fewer than Murphy.

The Big Three

Along with Texas (four), the Checkers are one of two teams to feature three or more players among the AHL's top 20 scorers. Zach Boychuk leads the Checkers and is tied for seventh in the AHL with 56 points, while Chris Terry and Aaron Palushaj are tied for 10th in the league with 55 points each.

All three players have held sole possesion of the Checkers' scoring lead at one point this season and are on pace for their best scoring seasons at the AHL level. At their current pace, all three players would break Boychuk's team record of 65 points set in 2010-11, with Boychuk on pace for 71, Terry on pace for 70 and Palushaj on pace for 68.

Sutter Moving Up

After scoring 21 points (9g, 12a) in his last 22 games dating back to Jan. 23, Checkers captain Brett Sutter has passed Zac Dalpe for the third-most points in the Checkers' AHL history (133 in 240 games). Only Chris Terry (238) and Zach Boychuk (208) have more.

Sutter, who recently played his 500th professional game on March 2, has averaged 0.71 points per game in his last two seasons with the Checkers compared to 0.33 points per game in his first five AHL campaigns with Quad City, Abbotsford and Charlotte. Despite missing 14 games while on NHL duty with Carolina this season, he ranks fourth on the Checkers in scoring with 35 points (11g, 24a) in 47 games.

Dolan Steps Up

Since moving onto a line with Zach Boychuk and Aaron Palushaj, Checkers center Sean Dolan has eight points (4g, 4a) in his last seven games. That stretch has allowed him to set new career highs in assists (nine) and points (14) while tying his career high in goals (five). Prior to this season, Dolan had 16 points in 92 career AHL games.

Dolan, a 26-year-old who has signed three consecutive AHL contracts with Charlotte since intially joining the team on a pro tryout in January of 2012, has 10 points in 14 games, including two game-winning goals, since missing 21 games due to injury.

Boychuk's Goals

Zach Boychuk's 28 goals this season top his previous career high of 23 and are the fourth-most in the AHL. With the three players ahead of him all on NHL rosters as of Sunday morning, he was the league's active goal-scoring leader.

Boychuk is on pace for 35 goals this season, which would break Chris Terry's club record of 34 set in the 2010-11 campaign. He already has the third-best goal scoring season by a Checkers player, with Terry and Jacob Mikflikier (29) the only players to ever score more than his 28, both of whom did so during the 2010-11 campaign. Terry and Boychuk rank first and second on the Checkers' all-time goals list with 97 and 94, respectively.

Boychuk is tied for the league lead with 14 power-play goals, breaking the old franchise record of 12 set by Mikflikier in 2010-11. He has three hat tricks this season, all since Jan. 24, making him responsible for four of six hat tricks ever recorded by a Checkers skater (Mikflikier, Brett Sutter).

Power Players

In Zach Boychuk (t-1st with 14) and Chris Terry (t-7th with 11), the Checkers have two of the AHL's top nine in terms of power-play goals this season. Boychuk has already broken the single-season franchise record of 12 previously set by Jacob Micflikier in the 2010-11 campaign. Meanwhile, Mark Flood's seven power-play goals are tied for third among AHL defensemen and for the most by a Checkers blueliner in a single season (Bobby Sanguinetti in 2011-12).

The Checkers currently rank second in the AHL with a 22.2 percent success rate on the power play.

Quick Hits

• The Checkers' 5-2 win over Lake Erie on March 15 allowed them to get to the .500 mark at Time Warner Cable Arena for the first time this season (15-15-1). The Checkers suffered six consecutive home losses to start the campaign.
• The Checkers' 8-for-8 performance on the penalty kill on March 15 tied the most opportunities they have allowed without allowing a goal in team history. Both came this season and both were against Lake Erie (Jan. 31).
• Aaron Palushaj's 20th goal of the season on March 9 was also his sixth-game winner, putting him into a five-way tie for the AHL lead.
• Despite getting shut out by Texas on March 8, the Checkers are still averaging 3.75 goals over their last eight games.
• The Checkers have earned points in 10 of their last 13 games (9-3-1), including wins in seven of their last eight.
• Mark Flood ranks second among AHL defensemen with 12 goals. That sets a career high and is the most ever by a Charlotte defenseman in a single season.
• The Checkers' eight overtime games (5-3) and four shootouts (2-2) are the fewest in the league.
• Charlotte's two shorthanded goals are tied with Adirondack for the fewest in the league.

Player Streaks

• John Muse has won each of his last five starts since Feb. 18
• Brett Sutter has points in each of his last three games (March 9-15: 3g, 2a)
• Aaron Palushaj has assists and points in each of his last three games (March 9-15: 2g, 3a)
• Zach Boychuk has points in each of his last three games (March 9-15: 1g, 3a)
• Chris Terry has points in each of his last three games (March 9-15: 2g, 2a)

Milestones

• Brett Sutter is one shy of 200 professional points
• Aaron Palushaj is one shy of 200 AHL penalty minutes
• Justin Shugg is two shy of 100 professional points
• Zach Boychuk recorded his 150th professional assist on March 15
• Aaron Palushaj played his 250th AHL game on March 12

Injuries

• Greg Nemisz - missed four games starting March 8
• Brendan Woods - missed 10 games starting Feb. 22

Transactions

Incoming

• March 11 - (D) Michal Jordan reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• None