Game Preview: Checkers vs Providence (Feb. 1, 2019)

The Checkers are back from the All-Star break and hosting the Providence Bruins to kick off a four-game home stand. Here's everything you need to know before puck drop.

1. BOUNCING BACK

This weekend marks the Checkers’ return to action after about a week off for the AHL All-Star break, a quick vacation that the team is hoping breaks up the grind of the grueling regular season.

“I think everyone is going to be refreshed,” said head coach Mike Vellucci after Thursday’s practice. “I liked the energy today, guys were jumping and ready to go. That’s a good sign. We need to carry that over to tomorrow.”

The break couldn’t have come at a better time for weary Checkers team. “I just wanted them to recharge their batteries,” said Vellucci.

“We’ve been on the road a ton with a lot of travel and quite a few six games in nine days stretches. Some of the guys had some nicks and bruises so it was nice for them to get a rest and now hopefully get back into it.”

Two of Charlotte’s top offensive threats in particular are looking to reignite themselves heading into the home stretch.

“[Martin] Necas, it’s been a whirlwind for him in his first year here so it’s good for him to get his rest,” said Vellucci. “He needed it more mentally than physically, especially after flying out west for the World Juniors. That’s a really stressful time, everybody wants to do well for their country. I just wanted him to reset his brain and his body and he had a really good practice today.

“With Kuoks, he missed the last two games there with an injury so hopefully he’s refreshed now. We sat him out for those games on purpose so he could get an extended rest.”

2. RIGHTING THE SHIP

The Checkers recently found themselves embroiled in their toughest stretch of the season, going three consecutive games without a win for the first time all season. The Checkers remain far ahead in the standings despite the quick skid, but topping Hartford last Saturday to get back on track heading into the All-Star break was a big boost for the club.

“That was the first little adversity we’ve had,” said Vellucci. “It was good to overcome that and get the win in Hartford. We want to win every game.”

3. DIVISION MATCHUP

Charlotte and Providence square off for the sixth and seventh times this weekend, with the Checkers taking three of the previous five contests to hold a slight edge in the season series. The first four meetings were all decided by just one goal, but the Bruins bucked the trend in the most recent tilt last week by topping the Checkers 5-3.

“We didn’t give them much,” said Vellucci of that loss. “I think they scored five goals on 10 chances, so we just had a tough one in the net there, Boother struggled a bit. But those things are going to happen. We pushed back a little but not enough. So we need to limit their chances and play good solid defensive hockey and we’ll score those goals.”

Despite sitting in just fourth place in the Atlantic, Providence enters this weekend as the hottest team in the AHL, having posting a 7-1-2 record over their last 10 games and rolling on a nine-game point streak.

“Providence is a very good team,” said Vellucci. “They’re playing their best hockey right now. If we started the playoffs today we’d play them in the first round. We need to keep that in our mind this weekend.”

4. POTTING POINTS

Andrew Poturalski continues to pace the Checkers and climb his way up the AHL’s scoring rankings. Through the first 46 games of the season, the forward has 46 points – 12 more than the next highest scoring Checker – and ranks third in the league, trailing Syracuse’s Carter Verhaeghe by two and scoring leader Daniel Carr from Chicago by seven.

Poturalski, in his third full pro season, has been a model of consistency for the Checkers this season, logging 26 points in his last 23 games while being held off the scoresheet in consecutive games just once over that stretch. He is also one of just three skaters to have appeared in each of Charlotte’s games this season, alongside Julien Gauthier and Roland McKeown.

“He’s a leader and he’s only 20-something years old,” said Vellucci. “He’s very quiet but consistently plays every shift hard and consistently gives us offense, which we definitely count on.”

Poturalski is nine points away from moving into the franchise’s top 10 single-season point list. The franchise record is 74 points, set by Zach Boychuk in 2013-14.

5. BEAN LIGHTS IT UP

Jake Bean has quietly been putting together a historically strong rookie campaign. Bean, who has 17 points in his last 21 games and four goals in his last four games, leads all Charlotte defensemen in scoring and has emerged as the top scoring rookie defenseman in the AHL.

“We all know that he’s a very smart hockey player, he’s showed that from the get-go,” said Vellucci. “Lately I think he’s shown more confidence in when to join the rush and when not to, when to make the offensive play versus when to be a little smarter with the puck.”

Bean already has the ninth-best single-season point total by a defenseman in franchise history, with Bobby Sanguinetti’s 50-points effort in 2011-12 holding the record. Only one rookie blue liner has recorded more points than Bean has so far, as Trevor Carrick’s 32 points in 2014-15 stands as the record in that category.

“One thing I do like is that he’s shooting it more, we had been talking to him about that,” said Vellucci. “He’s shooting the puck more, he’s got a sneaky shot. I’ve been telling him since I met him I want him to shoot more on the power play, I want him to shoot more at five-on-five. He’s doing that and they’re going in.”

Only three defensemen – and no rookies – in franchise history have scored more goals in a single season than Bean has through 45 games, with Mark Flood’s 13 in 2013-14 standing as the high mark.

6. POWERING BACK UP

Despite coming away with the win last Saturday in Hartford, Charlotte’s power play continued to falter, going scoreless on five man advantages. The Checkers are now 0-for-14 over their last three games and have five power-play goals in their last 55 opportunities over the last 12 games, dropping them to 20th in the AHL.

The Checkers will have their work cut out for them against a Providence penalty kill that ranks second in the AHL, but the confidence in their group remains steadfast.

“The personnel has changed quite a bit with call ups and injuries so we’ve been messing with that,” said Vellucci. “I went back and looked at some video this morning and we’re getting our chances, that’s the key. A couple of those games where we went 0-for-4, we had six or seven chances and just didn’t score. When the chances dry up, that’s when I’ll be worried. We’re still getting our chances, we just have to bear down on them a little bit harder.”

7. CARRICK'S RETURN

After a two-game absence while he served a suspension, Trevor Carrick will return to the lineup this weekend and give an already stacked defensive corps a boost.

“It’s going to be great getting him back,” said Vellucci. “He’s on that top power-play unit so that’s helpful there. Obviously he’s an all star and he eats a lot of minutes.”

Even with Haydn Fleury’s departure to the NHL yesterday, Charlotte’s blue line remains staggeringly deep.

“I’ve been happy with the D so far,” said Vellucci. “We have seven guys here right now and they continue to push each other to make sure they’re in the lineup.”

8. TUNE IN

You can tune in to this weekend's broadcasts with a subscription to the league’s new streaming platform AHLTV. Sign up here and catch the action on the road.

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!