Game Preview: Checkers vs. Oklahoma City (Feb. 7, 2014)

After cooling off a bit during a 1-3-0 road trip, the Checkers will hope to resume their winning ways against a team they've had plenty of success against this season.

Charlotte is 6-0-0 against the West Division rival Oklahoma City Barons, their opponent for tonight's annual Pink in the Rink game at Time Warner Cable Arena, to start the 12-game season series between the two clubs. A win tonight would tie the most victories the Checkers have ever earned against a single opponent during one season and extend their home winning streak to a franchise-record five games.

Tonight's game and a rematch on Sunday technically start a five-game home stand for the Checkers, though two of those games will be played against at Raleigh's PNC Arena on Feb. 14 and 16.

Charlotte

Having won eight of their last 10 games heading into this week, the Checkers were somewhat humbled in their first two meetings against the Abbotsford Heat this season – a 7-1 loss on Tuesday and a 4-3 defeat on Wednesday. The back-to-back losses are the first suffered by Charlotte since Toronto beat them on consecutive days just prior to Christmas.

The Checkers will hope that a return home, where they have won nine of their last 13, will do them some good. They should also have plenty of confidence against a Barons team that they've beaten with regularity since last season's playoffs, including a wild 9-3 victory in their last game at Time Warner Cable Arena on Jan. 24 that featured six fights in addition to the glut of goals.

Coach Jeff Daniels may have the most lineup decisions to make since training camp, with Thursday's recall of Sean Dolan and Beau Schmitz from the ECHL's Florida Everblades giving him 14 forwards and eight defensemen, barring any unforeseen injuries or yet-to-occur transactions. That number could increase even further depending on the status of injured forwards Nicolas Blanchard and Jared Staal, who did not accompany the team on their trip to Lake Erie and Abbotsford but could be nearing a return.

The extra bodies may help the Checkers battle concerns of fatigue, as they did not arrive in Charlotte until relatively late on Thursday night following a full day of travel from Abbotsford. Meanwhile, the Barons have already spent a full day in Charlotte, including a practice day at Time Warner Cable Arena while the Checkers were still on the west coast.

Dolan and Schmitz each had seemingly successful stints with the Everblades, with Dolan scoring four points (2g, 2a) in three games and Schmitz racking up four assists in six outings. Both were with the Checkers from the start of the season up until their assignments in late January, though Dolan has not played in the AHL since suffering an injury on Nov. 30.

In Wednesday's game, in which the Checkers fought back from three one-goal deficits before giving up the winner with three minutes remaining, the team used 11 forwards and seven defensemen, rather than the traditional allotment of 12 and six, for the first time this season. That resulted in rookie blueliner Keegan Lowe playing his first game since Jan. 23 and forwards Matt Marquardt and Brendan Woods sitting out as healthy extras.

In goal, John Muse and Mike Murphy split the two games in Abbotsford after Cam Ward played twice in Lake Erie, though Muse played just 13 minutes on the road trip before giving way to Murphy in Tuesday's loss. Muse has three wins against the Barons this season against Murphy's two.

Update: With Nicolas Blanchard and Sean Dolan returning to the lineup, the Checkers have released A.J. Jenks and Matthew Pistilli. More lineup notes here.

Oklahoma City

While the Checkers have hit a bump since out-scoring Oklahoma City by a 13-3 margin in back-to-back wins two weeks ago, the Barons have responded in fine fashion with three straight victories against tough opponents currently ranked in the Western Conference's top four. That stretch started with a 5-3 win against Toronto and continued with wins of 7-4 and 5-2 against Texas.

In addition to arriving in Charlotte well in advance of the Checkers, the Barons should also be a little more rested in terms of game action as they've been off since Tuesday. They have not played back-to-back games since last facing the Checkers, while all four of Charlotte's games since then have been part of such sets.

The Barons have made a key addition since last facing the Checkers, with center Mark Arcobello assigned from the NHL's Edmonton Oilers. Arcobello, who led the Barons in scoring with 68 points in 74 games last season, has four points (2g, 2a) in his only two AHL games of the season. A Checkers' nemesis in last season's playoffs (his four-point performance in game two was a key turning point in the series), he also has 18 points (4g, 14a) in 41 games with Edmonton.

Arcobello will not be eligble to play in Sunday's rematch, as his time spent in the NHL requires him to take its upcoming Olympic break.

Other roster changes include the assignment of goalie Chet Pickard, who the Checkers victimized for 13 goals in two games, to the ECHL. Tyler Bunz has replaced him on the roster, though workhorse Richard Bachman (2.75 goals-against average, .915 save percentage against the Checkers) is likely to see both starts against Charlotte.

Tyler Pitlick, who registered a goal and an assist in his last game against the Checkers, has missed the last two games due to injury. Curtis Hamilton, Ryan Hamilton and Andrew Miller will all be out tonight.

The Barons, who trail the Checkers by just one point in the standings with two additional games played, rank in the league's bottom four in terms of average goals allowed (3.43) and penalty killing (78.2 percent). Charlotte contributed in both of those areas in the 9-3 victory as they tied a franchise record with five power-play goals.

Checkers Notes

Home Cooking

The Checkers have won each of their last four home games since Jan. 12. That ties their longest home winning streak in team history, a mark set three times previously including from Dec. 10-19 of this season.

A win tonight would improve Charlotte's home record to 13-13-0 and mark the first time they have hit the .500 mark on home ice this season. The Checkers lost each of their first six home games to start the campaign.

Tough Trip

A pair of defeats in Abbotsford earlier this week marked the first time the Checkers have suffered consecutive losses since Toronto beat them on Dec. 20 and 21. It also dropped them back to the .500 mark at 22-22-1 for the season. Prior to facing the Heat, the Checkers had won eight of their last 10 games.

Charlotte has not lost more than two games in a row since a franchise-record, seven-game losing streak from Nov. 2-19.

Biega Breakthrough

After going without a goal in his first 38 professional games with Charlotte dating back to last season, Danny Biega scored twice in the Checkers' 4-3 loss to Abbotsford on Wednesday. It marked the second multi-goal game by a Charlotte defenseman this season, with Matt Corrente also scoring twice at Milwaukee on Dec. 27.

Those performances by Biega and Corrente mark the fifth and sixth times that a player has scored his first two Checkers goals in the same game (Zach Boychuk on Oct. 17, 2010, Cedric McNicoll on Jan. 14, 2011, Jeremy Welsh on Oct. 27, 2012, and Beau Schmitz on March 15, 2013). Biega was the third player to score his first two professional goals in the same Checkers game, joining Welsh and Schmitz.

Boychuk Burst

Checkers forward Zach Boychuk has seven goals in his last five games, including the second and third hat tricks of his career on Jan. 24 and Feb. 1. He leads the Checkers and ranks fourth in the AHL with 22 goals, which are just one shy of his career high set last season. He has hit the 20-goal mark in the AHL in each of his four seasons with the Checkers.

Boychuk's 88 career Checkers goals are one short of tying Chris Terry for the franchise's all-time lead. He already leads the franchise with 40 power-play goals, including 12 this season that are tied for the most in the AHL and for the Checkers' single-season record.

Power Outage

Since tying a franchise record with five power-play goals on seven chances against Oklahoma City on Jan. 24, the Checkers are 0-for-17 in their last four games. That marks the team's longest drought of the season, eclipsing an 0-for-13 run that lasted three games from Nov. 2-9.

Over the course of their current drought, the Checkers' have fallen from second in the AHL at 23.4 percent to fourth in the league at 21.5 percent.

Feast or Famine

The Checkers' three losses by six or more goals are the most of any AHL team this season. In addition to a 7-1 loss in Abbotsford on Tuesday that marked the most lopsided road defeat in team history, the team also suffered home losses of 8-1 to Hershey on Nov. 14 and 7-1 to Texas on Jan. 17. Charlotte also lost 7-2 to Iowa on Oct. 20, which, when coupled with the above losses, ties them with Oklahoma City for the most losses by five or more goals this season.

Charlotte has also won four games by five or more goals this season, tying it for second-most in the AHL behind Texas (seven).

Floodgates Open

Defenseman Mark Flood scored his 10th goal of the season against Lake Erie on Feb. 1, giving him sole possession of second-most among AHL defensemen. Six of his goals have come on the power play, tying him for third among league blueliners in that category.

In just 45 games, Flood, a 29-year-old veteran who scored just one goal in 52 games in the Russian KHL last season, has already tied Bobby Sanguinetti (2011-12) for the most goals scored by a Checkers defenseman in a single season. He is just one away from his AHL career high of 11 set with Manitoba during the 2010-11 campaign.

Against the Barons

The Checkers' 12-game season series against Oklahoma City ties the longest in team history (Norfolk in 2010-11). Of Charlotte's remaining 31 games, six of those will come against the Barons.

Not including playoffs (Oklahoma City defeated the Checkers 3-2 in last season's first round), Charlotte holds an all-time record of 15-5-2 against the Barons, including a 6-0-0 record this season. The Checkers can tonight tie their record for most wins in a head-to-head series, one that was previously set when the team went 7-3-2 against Norfolk in 2010-11 and 7-0-1 against Peoria in 2012-13.

Checkers forwards Matt Marquardt and Philippe Cornet are both former Barons, with Cornet representing them in the 2011-12 All-Star Game. Defenseman Keegan Lowe's father, Kevin Lowe, is a member of the parent Edmonton Oilers' front-office staff, while forward Brody Sutter's father, Duane Sutter, is an Oilers scout.

Barons forwards Matthew Ford and Steve MacIntyre both played for Charlotte during its ECHL era.

Quick Hits

• The Checkers are 10-5-0 against fellow West Division opponents this season, making it the only division they have a winning record against. Each of their next four games will be against divisional opponents.
• The Checkers have scored three or more goals in 12 of their last 16 games. They are 20-7-0 when scoring three or more and 2-15-1 when scoring fewer than three.
• The Checkers have lost each of their last two one-goal games after winning 10 of their previous 11.
• In terms of winning percentage, February is historically the Checkers' best month with an all-time record of 19-10-5, though they are off to a 1-2-0 start this season.
• Charlotte's four overtime games and two shootouts are the fewest in the league.

Player Streaks

• Danny Biega has points in each of his last two games (Feb. 4-5: 2g, 1a)

Milestones

• Zach Boychuk recorded his 100th Checkers assist at Abbotsford on Feb. 5.
• A.J. Jenks played his 150th career AHL game at Abbotsford on Feb. 5
• Ryan Murphy played his 50th professional game at Abbotford on Feb. 4

Injuries

• Jared Staal - missed 12 games starting Jan. 3
• Nicolas Blanchard - missed nine games starting Jan. 17

Transactions

Incoming

• Feb. 6 - (D) Beau Schmitz recalled to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)
• Feb. 6 - (C) Sean Dolan recalled to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• Feb. 2 - (G) Cam Ward recalled to Carolina (NHL) from Charlotte