January 18, 2012 9:54 AM
When the points finally started coming for Zac Dalpe, the Carolina Hurricanes took notice.
The NHL club recalled Dalpe on Wednesday morning, one night after he extended his AHL point streak to six games with a goal and an assist in the Checkers’ 6-5 win over Grand Rapids. Though he went scoreless in his first game back from his previous stint with the Hurricanes on Jan. 4, he recorded at least one point in each subsequent contest for a total of 5 goals and 3 assists.
 Charlotte captain Brett Sutter, who had been with the Hurricanes since Jan. 5, was simultaneously reassigned to the Checkers and will join the team for their upcoming two-game set against his former team in Abbotsford.
The 8 points registered during Dalpe’s point streak represent exactly half of his season total at the AHL level, equaling his output from his previous 17 games. He particularly struggled to score in December, at one point experiencing a six-game stretch with no points whatsoever.
Having earned a four-game stint with the Hurricanes when he finally started to come out of that slump, Dalpe looked like a different player upon his return to Charlotte.
“For me he has the puck a lot more, and when he’s got the puck he’s skating with it,” coach Jeff Daniels said earlier this week. “When he got sent down, the message was to push the pace, and he’s done that.”
“Before, I was a little too hard on myself,” said Dalpe “I sat down with (Assistant Coach) Geordie (Kinnear), and we kind of came to the conclusion that I was my own worst enemy.”
Dalpe, who played on a line with Eric Staal at times during his last NHL stint, will now get a chance to carry his current momentum into the NHL lineup. The Hurricanes’ Chad LaRose could be out for another few weeks with an upper-body injury, giving Dalpe some time to take advantage.
Sutter went scoreless while playing on the fourth line during his just-concluded, seven-game stay with the Hurricanes. He has recorded 3 assists in 15 NHL games this season.
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