Game Preview: Checkers vs. Toronto (Dec. 20, 2013)

The suddenly streaking Checkers look to make it five in a row as they begin a two-game set with the Toronto Marlies tonight.

The upcoming games, part of a three-in-three set that began with Thursday’s wild 5-4 win over the Norfolk Admirals, mark Toronto’s first-ever visit to Charlotte. After not facing each other for the Checkers’ first three seasons in the AHL, the teams met for the first time last month in Toronto, with the Marlies taking both games to extend Charlotte’s losing streak to a club record seven games.

One month later, the Checkers have a chance to make a different kind of history tonight, as a fifth consecutive win at home would set a new franchise record.

Charlotte

Having been at their lowest point when they last faced Toronto, the Checkers are riding high of late. All four victories that they’ve earned in the last 10 days – doubling what they were able to put together in a 2-9-0 month of November - have come in dramatic fashion, with the Checkers giving up four unanswered goals on Thursday only to win the game with goals 33 seconds apart in the third period.

“You win some games and all of the sudden you’re feeling better, coming to the rink a little looser and the legs are feeling better,” said coach Jeff Daniels. “It’s a funny game that way, and right now the guys are feeling better and they should.”

The team’s ability to pull out a series of close games – they won all four games of their current streak by one goal – may actually stem from their earlier struggles that culminated when they last met the Marlies.

“As terrible as it sounds, I think it was a good thing,” forward Matt Marquardt, who scored the winning goal on Thursday, said of the team’s seven-game slide. “I’ve been on a championship team before (the 2012 Florida Everblades of the ECHL) where we lost 10 in a row and still ended up winning the cup. It’s one of those things where if you don’t deal with that all year, if you run into it in the playoffs it’s almost a little too late to try and learn that.”

The Checkers could be at a slight disadvantage heading into this game, having played an emotional game Thursday while the Marlies had the night off. Due to ongoing injuries to forwards Sean Dolan and Jared Staal and defensemen Danny Biega and Rasmus Rissanen, they’ll have no extra players at their disposal to help navigate the fatigue that could reach a critical point during Saturday’s noon rematch.

With that in mind, it will be up to the team’s veterans to continue to lead the way. In particular, the top line of Zach Boychuk, who has four goals in his last three games, Chris Terry and Brett Sutter has been a force of late.

“It’s a line that was put together just trying to find something,” said Boychuk, who has 11 goals in his last 14 games, including two on Thursday. “We had success before in the 2009 playoffs, they put us back together and we’re feeling really good right now.”

Given the short turnaround from tonight’s game to Saturday’s early start, part of a doubleheader with the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats at Time Warner Cable Arena, Mike Murphy may receive the start in goal tonight. He has played just four games this season, sitting out each of the last four in favor of John Muse, who has won six straight.

Toronto

Tonight’s game is the second of a three-game road trip for the Marlies, who have been off since losing by a 2-1 score in a shootout at Rochester on Wednesday.

Since winning those two games against Charlotte last month, the Marlies are 5-3-1 over a nine-game stretch to retain their tie with Rochester for first in the North – a division that does not have a team with a dominant record, making it the most-tightly contested in the league with four teams separated by three points.

The previous series with the Marlies was marked by some highly-physical play from the home team, with several Checkers shaken up by big hits. One of those, Jamie Devane’s board against Checkers defenseman Michal Jordan, resulted in a one-game suspension for Devane and six missed games for Jordan.

“They were probably the hardest team from a physical standpoint that we’ve played against and I thought it was honest,” said Daniels on Nov. 21, two days after last playing against Toronto. “A couple of hits were probably questionable, but for the most part they were a hard-working, honest team and that’s something we can learn from.”

Only two AHL goalies have played more minutes than Drew MacIntrye’s 1,210 this season, with the 30-year-old playing in 20 of Toronto’s 25 games. However, the Marlies find themselves in a similar situation to Toronto and could elect to give one of their two starts to Christopher Gibson, who has played just two career AHL games, both this season.

Since the teams last met, the Marlies have added Carter Ashton, who has seven points (5g, 2a) in six AHL games this season, from the parent Maple Leafs, while forward Greg McKegg, who enjoyed a four-point game against Charlotte on Nov. 16, has just returned from injury. However, they have lost center Jerred Smithson, rugged forward Troy Bodie and veteran defenseman John-Michael Liles to NHL recalls. Top-scoring forward Spencer Abbot (25 points in 23 games) missed Wednesday’s game due to injury.

The Marlies’ T.J. Brennan is one of just three AHL defensemen to lead his team in scoring. He is also tops among all league defensemen with 26 points in 25 games, and is the only AHL blueliner with more goals (12) than the Checkers’ Mark Flood, who is tied for second with eight.

Checkers Notes

Winning Streak

Prior to winning each of their last four games, a season high, the Checkers had not won two in a row since the season's opening weekend in Oklahoma City on Oct. 4 and 5. The current run is the longest winning streak the team has posted since setting a franchise record with six consecutive victories from Jan. 4-16 of last season.

With all four victories coming at home, the Checkers have tied their franchise record for longest home winning streak, set twice previously and most recently in November of 2011.

Power Players

The Checkers, who rank third in the AHL with a 24.0 percent success rate on the power play, have scored at least one man-advantage goal in each of their last eight games (10-for-31; 32.6 percent). That marks the longest streak they have posted this season and is one shy of the franchise record set from Jan. 2-Feb. 3, 2012 (15-for-44; 34.1 percent).

The Checkers have scored 41.9 percent of their goals on the power play this season (31 of 74), which is the highest percentage of any AHL team. Lake Erie has the next-highest percentage at 38.9. The Checkers are 1-6-0 when they do not score a power-play goal.

Winning with Muse

John Muse has won each of his last six games dating back to Nov. 30, which ties the franchise record set twice by teammate Mike Murphy during the 2010-11 season. Prior to his current streak, Muse's previous career high was set when he won his first five Checkers games from Dec. 16-Jan. 26 of the 2011-12 campaign.

Since joining the Checkers on a tryout contract on Oct. 23, Muse has been in goal for all 10 of the Checkers' wins. He ranks 13th in the AHL with a 2.39 goals-against average, is tied for 16th with a .919 save percentage and is tied for second with two shutouts. The other six goalies the team has used this season - Murphy, Justin Peters, Jesse Deckert, Allen York, Rick DiPietro and Rob Madore - are a combined 2-8-1 with a 3.74 goals-against average and .865 save percentage.

Boychuk Powers Up

After starting the season with two goals in his first 13 games, forward Zach Boychuk now has 11 in his last 14 to take sole possession of the team lead. He is also the team's points leader with 25 in 27 games, giving him a four-point lead over Chris Terry.

Nine of Boychuk's 13 goals have come on the power play, marking the most in the AHL, while his 15 power-play points are tied for second. He is the Checkers' all-time leader with 37 power-play goals, at least 10 more than any other player, while his 86 career power-play points with Charlotte trail Terry by one.

Boychuk also has goals in each of his last three games (four total), making the sixth time a Checkers player has scored in three consecutive games this season (Mark Flood, Terry, Aaron Palushaj, Victor Rask and one previous streak by Boychuk). No Checkers player has scored in four consecutive games since Drayson Bowman set a franchise mark with an eight-game run last season.

Home Again

The Checkers' current 10-game home stand ties the longest in franchise history, a record originally set from Nov. 25-Dec. 15 of last season. Dating back to Nov. 7, the Checkers are in the midst of a stretch in which they play 16 of 19 games at Time Warner Cable Arena. After starting the season 0-6-0 on home ice, the Checkers have won seven of 10 in their own building.

Three In Threes

Tonight marks the second game of the second time the Checkers have played three games in three days this season. Following Thursday's win over Norfolk, they are now 3-0-1 in games that are part of a three-in-three set.

The Checkers play a total of five three-in-three sets this season, the fewest in their four AHL seasons. Two of those, including this weekend's, take place entirely at home. Charlotte has an all-time record of 42-22-9 in games that are part of a three-in-three set, including a 15-7-3 record in game one, a 15-4-5 record in game two and a 12-11-1 record in game three. In home games that are part of a three-in-three set, the Checkers have a combined record of 11-4-2.

Divided Division

In 27 games, the Checkers have played against their own division, the West, just five times (4-1-0), marking the fewest games that any AHL team has played within its own division. They will not play another divisional game until facing Texas on Jan. 2, which marks the start of a run in which they will play eight of nine games against divisional opponents. The West Division is the only division that the Checkers have a winning record against.

Quick Hits

• Six of the Checkers' last seven games have been decided by one goal. They are 5-1-0 in those games.
• Charlotte's four even-strength goals on Thursday were a season high
• The Checkers' five total goals on Thursday tied four previous games for their season high
• Charlotte's three overtime games are the fewest in the league, as is its lone shootout appearance.
• The Checkers' five shorthanded goals allowed are tied for the fifth-most in the AHL
• Charlotte is one of three teams that have yet to score a shorthanded goal
• Matt Corrente ranks tied for fourth among all AHL defensemen with five major penalties
• Charlotte has both scored (28) and allowed (32) more goals in the third period than in any other period

Player Streaks

• John Muse has won each of his last six starts (Nov. 30-Dec. 19)
• Aaron Palushaj has points in each of his last four games (Dec. 10-19: 1g, 5a)
• Zach Boychuk has goals and points in each of his last three games (Dec. 12-19: 4g, 2a)
• Philippe Cornet has points in each of his last two games (Dec. 15-19: 1g, 1a)
• Victor Rask has assists and points in each of his last two games (Dec. 15-19: 0g, 2a)

Milestones

• Chris Terry recorded his 250th AHL point with an assist on Zach Boychuk's first goal on Dec. 19
• Zach Boychuk played his 200th game as a Checker on Dec. 19

Injuries

• Sean Dolan - missed seven games starting Dec. 1
• Jared Staal - missed six games starting Dec. 5
• Rasmus Rissanen - missed four games starting Dec. 10
• Danny Biega - missed two games starting Dec. 15

Transactions

Incoming

• Dec. 14 - (D) Austin Levi recalled to Charlotte from Florida (ECHL)

Outgoing

• none