Game Preview: Checkers vs Tucson (Jan. 21, 2017)

The longest home stand of the year rolls on as the Checkers host the Tucson Roadrunners for the first time ever. Here are 9 things to know about tonight's game:

1. PICKING UP POINTS

Despite suffering a setback in this week’s matchup with Milwaukee, the Checkers continue their effort to claw their way back up the standings. Wednesday’s late comeback to force overtime gave the Checkers points in four of their last five contests, taking seven of a possible 10.

2. NEW FOE

Tonight marks the first ever meeting between the Checkers and the Roadrunners, who are in their first AHL season. This also marks the first time that the Checkers have squared off with a Coyotes affiliate in franchise history.

The Roadrunners, who currently lead the Pacific Division, present the Checkers with a tough challenge.

""They’re obviously one of the top teams in the league," said Checkers head coach Ulf Samuelsson. The way they play is that they’re defensive minded, not a lot of rush chances either way. We have to be prepared to have a lot of patience and work through that."

Playing in the recently formed Pacific Division, the Roadrunners will play eight less games than teams outside of their division this season. While that can be helpful for a team, it is a bit of a double-edged sword.

"It gives them more practice days and more chance to prepare for games and work on individual skills," said Samuelsson. "That’s the advantage, but the disadvantage is you play less games and a lot of people believe that you learn how to play the game in games. It’s kind of two philosophies there."

3. ROADRUNNER REINFORCEMENTS

Tucson picked up a few pieces over the last 48 hours to help boost their already high-powered attack. Forward Laurent Dauphin departed Arizona yesterday to join Tucson, where he has been a point-per-game player this season in the AHL, while young talent Anthony Duclair joins the Roadrunners for his first AHL stint after putting up 44 points in the NHL last season. Those new faces join established powers like Chris Mueller, who ranks in the top 10 in AHL scoring, and Kyle Wood, the fourth highest scoring rookie in the league, to give Tucson a boatload of skill.

"They’ve gotten production from their top players and that, combined with good goaltending, usually results in a win for them," said Samuelsson. "We’ll be challenged. We’ll have to play well defensively, we’ll have to look for their speed, but more importantly we’ll have to play a patient game. They grind it out hard."

4. NED RETURNS

After a one-game recall to back up Cam Ward that saw him make his NHL debut in his home state of Ohio, Alex Nedeljkovic is back with the Checkers.

Immediately prior to his recall in his first game back from a two-week stint with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades, Nedeljkovic made a career-high 42 saves in a shootout win over Cleveland. His save total was the most by a Checkers goalie since Feb. 20 of last season, when Anthony Peters made 44 saves in a losing effort at Grand Rapids. It was also the first career shootout appearance for the 20-year-old rookie, who was a perfect 4-for-4 against the Monsters.

""I think him playing a couple games in Florida got him going in the right direction," said Samuelsson. "He didn’t have the best numbers or the best percentages with us here to start and that started to eat on him a little bit. So he got a couple of wins down there, scored a goal, then came up here and played two really solid games and now he gets to taste the NHL a little bit. So that’s certainly something that should feed a young player like that."

5. FREE HOCKEY

By scoring two goals in the final three minutes of the third on Wednesday, the Checkers headed beyond the 60 minutes of regulation for the seventh time this season and the third time in the last 10 games. The loss to Milwaukee dropped Charlotte to an even 3-3 in games ending in overtime, while they emerged victorious in their one shootout this season.

6. OFFENSE COMES ALIVE

In those four games where they earned a point, the Checkers’ offense found a spark. While they have struggled throughout the season to score more than two goals (falling below that mark in 25 of the 40 games played), the Checkers totaled 16 goals, surpassing the two-goal plateau in each contest.

7. HOME SWEET HOME

In the midst of their longest home stand of the season, an eight-game slate running from Jan. 13 to Jan. 28, the Checkers hold a 10-5-1 record on home ice this season, good for a .656 points percentage that ranks third in the Central Division. Meanwhile, the team’s .292 points percentage on the road (6-16-2) ranks seventh in the eight-team Central. Charlotte leads the league with 24 games played on the road and has the second fewest played at home (15).

8. PK STRUGGLES

The Checkers surrendered a pair of power-play goals Wednesday against the Admirals, marking the seventh time they’ve allowed more than one in a single game and the third time in the last 10 games it has happened. It also marked the eighth time this season that Charlotte has allowed a power-play goal in consecutive games.

This comes immediately after the Checkers snapped their longest run of the season – five straight games allowing a power-play goal – with a three-game streak of being perfect on the penalty kill.

9. TUNE IN!

If you aren't able to make it to Bojangles' Coliseum for tonight's game, you can still tune in to hear Jason Shaya's call live, with the pregame show kicking off at 5:45.

You can also download the new Checkers App, available for both iPhones and Androids, for score updates and to play the new Top Line game!