Game Preview: Checkers vs. Texas (April 7, 2017)

The final home stand of the regular season kicks off with the first of back-to-back games against the Texas Stars tonight. Here are nine things to watch heading into the matchup:

1. PLAYOFF PICTURE

The Checkers enter tonight’s game, one of five remaining the regular season, in playoff position thanks to a highly successful stretch that has seen them go 11-2-1 since March 9 and 24-9-3 since Jan. 10. However, the Cleveland Monsters are right on their heels thanks to a 9-1-1 stretch of their own that includes last night's 1-0 victory over Chicago. The teams enter tonight's game with identical .556 points percentages, though the Checkers hold the tiebreaker for having played one fewer game and also have a significant lead in the next ROW (regulation and overtime wins) tiebreaker, an advantage they could clinch for the season tonight.

With both teams in action tonight, Charlotte needs to earn at least the same amount of points that Cleveland (vs. Grand Rapids) does to keep its playoff spot at the end of the day.

2. SWAP AT FORWARD

Charlotte will have its scoring leader, rookie center Andrew Poturalski, back for tonight’s game. Poturalski, who ranks third among the AHL’s first-year players with 48 points, played his first two NHL games with Carolina earlier this week. Tonight’s game will mark the first time that the Checkers will have all three of Poturalski, Lucas Wallmark and Aleksi Saarela at their disposal, giving the team unprecedented depth at the center position at a key time. With five games to go, Poturalski needs nine points but just two assists to tie Zac Dalpe’s team records for a rookie, both of which were set in 2010-11. He is already second in both categories.

To replace Poturalski on their roster, the Hurricanes recalled winger Sergey Tolchinsky, who has 22 points in 57 games with the Checkers this season. Tolchinsky, who is expected to make his season debut with Carolina this weekend after posting one assist in his first two NHL games last season, has played in four of Checkers’ last seven games.

3. TEXAS TWO-STEP

The Stars, who rank sixth in the Pacific Division, will be fighting to keep their faint playoff hopes alive this weekend. With a .486 points percentage, they trail both Stockton (.556) and Bakersfield (.531) for what will likely be the division’s final berth.

Texas enters tonight’s game having roughly alternated wins and losses since the beginning of March, most recently beating Bakersfield, the only team Charlotte is assured of not getting a victory against this season, 4-3 on Wednesday. Texas is the only other team that has a chance of posting a perfect record against the Checkers, having picked up 6-2 and 4-2 victories way back on the first weekend of the regular season.

“I think Texas is going to be like San Antonio but with a little more skill,” said Samuelsson, comparing the Stars to the team he defeated twice on home ice earlier this week. “They work extremely hard, they finish checks and they take a lot of pride in their team. I think that alone is something that we have to recognize and respect.

4. HOME COOKING

The Checkers, who have already set a club record for home victories in a single season, have won seven of their last eight at Bojangles’ Coliseum. Their current .708 points percentage at home, which they have achieved by way of a 25-10-1 record, ranks fifth in the AHL. The four teams ahead of them have all already qualified for the postseason.

This weekend’s games against the Stars mark the last of the regular season for Charlotte, which hits the road for two games in Grand Rapids and another in Chicago next week. The Checkers are 12-9-4 away from home this season, though they have earned points in seven of their last eight on the road (5-1-2).

5. HATTRICK DWYER

Charlotte forward Patrick Dwyer scored three times in the team’s most recent game, a 5-2 win over San Antonio, on Wednesday. The feat marked just the second hat trick of his 812-game professional career and first since March 21, 2009, with AHL Albany. It was the Checkers’ first hat trick since Matt Tennyson at Iowa on Nov. 11 of this season, the team’s first at home since Zach Boychuk on Jan. 24, 2014.

Dwyer, who is playing in the AHL this season for the first time since the 2009-10 season, became the eighth Checkers skater to hit the double-digit mark in goals over the course of the evening. Of his 22 points on the season, 19 have come in his last 29 games since the calendar turned to 2017.

6. WELCOME ADDITIONS

In just their second game back with Charlotte after NHL stints with Carolina, forwards Phil Di Giuseppe (3a) and Lucas Wallmark (1g, 2a) joined their Dwyer, their linemate for the evening, with three-point nights. The accomplishment was the first of the season for Di Giuseppe, who has played just 35 AHL games this season, and second for Wallmark, with both of those coming over an eight-game period since March 10.

7. ON THE WALL-MARK

Wallmark’s goal on Wednesday, which held up as the eventual game-winner, set a new team record for most by a rookie in a single season. His 24 tallies, which rank second among all AHL rookies, surpassed the 6-year-old mark set by Dalpe during the inaugural 2010-11 campaign. Wallmark, who played his first eight NHL games with Carolina in recent weeks, has 29 points in 32 games since Jan. 7, which is tied with Andrew Miller for most on the team during that time. His 16 goals during that time period are at least five more than any other Checkers skater.

8. MCCOLLUM MAKES A DIFFERENCE

Wednesday’s win improved Tom McCollum to 10-2-1 with a 1.97 goals-against average and .929 save percentage in the AHL this season. The veteran netminder, who made just one relief appearance with Stockton prior to his March 7 loan acquisition from Stockton, has played in 12 of a possible 13 games for Charlotte since that time. Though he will not be able to play enough minutes to qualify for the AHL’s leaders in terms of goaltending statistics, he leads all Checkers netminders who have played more than two games in GAA and SV% and needs just one victory to tie Michael Leighton for the most by a Checkers goaltender this season.

9. THROWBACK NIGHT

The Checkers will tonight wear specialty jerseys for the final time this season. Throwback jerseys, presented by Husqvarna and modeled after those worn during the first days of professional hockey in Charlotte, will be auctioned off after the game to benefit the Checkers Charitable Foundation. A family discount offering savings of 40 percent on groups of four tickets is available, and free Husqvarna buffs will be given to the first 5,000 fans in attencance.