THE MATCHUP
The Checkers have one road trip left on the regular season slate, and it kicks off Saturday with a big matchup against the Thunderbirds.THE STORYLINES
Playoff Picture
The Checkers are heading into the second-to-last weekend of the regular season with plenty left to play for. The team has already clinched a playoff berth and guaranteed they’ll have home-ice advantage in the opening round, but they’re still jockeying for position and trying to chase down the second seed and a first-round bye.The fourth-place Checkers trail the third-place Penguins by two points, but they do hold a game in hand over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - who beat the Islanders last night and play Hershey tonight and tomorrow. Charlotte sits six points behind Providence with five games remaining on the schedule for both clubs - the Bruins beat the Comets last night in overtime and face them again tonight before playing Springfield to wrap up the weekend.
LOCKDOWN
The Checkers have been frustrating opposing offenses lately. Charlotte has allowed 23 total goals over the last 14 contests and just five over the last seven games. They continue to allow some of the fewest shots per game in the league, and the tandem of Spencer Knight and Magnus Hellberg has recorded four shutouts in the last 10 games.The Thunderbirds rank in the top half of the league in terms of goals per game and have posted 22 total tallies over their last six contests.
ROAD WARRIORS
The road has been kind to Charlotte down the stretch, as the team enters the weekend on a six-game point streak away from home (5-0-1-0). The Checkers have given up just six total goals across that run - never surrendering more than two in a single contest.SEARCHING FOR POWER
The Checkers have recorded a power-play goal in three of their last five games, but they’ve left plenty of opportunities on the table. Charlotte went 1-for-16 during a penalty-filled series against Hartford over the weekend, and is now 3-for-33 on the man advantage over the last seven games.THE QUOTES
Checkers coach Geordie Kinnear on his team's focus"We just go about our business. Nothing changes for us - get better today, get better tomorrow, recovery day Thursday, go into Springfield and have a good practice there and prepare for Springfield. That’s our approach. When we worry about ourselves, we’re a good team. When we start worrying about what other teams are doing we’re mediocre. We want to be a really good hockey team, so let’s focus on ourselves."
Checkers forward Will Lockwood on the team's recent success
"There’s a lot of good chemistry in the locker room and on the ice too. There’s not one guy having a lot of individual success, it’s like every line is rolling. That’s been the key to our success so far."
Lockwood on the team's mindset heading into the final road trip of the season
"We’ve had a really good mindset where - I don’t think we’ve been content where we’ve been at. We’ve been playing well and we;ve been winning a lot of games, but there’s not satisfaction in the locker room. We know we’re building toward something, so we’re just trying to keep building."
THE ONES TO WATCH
Charlotte
- Rasmus Asplund - 11 points in last 12 games
- Will Lockwood - 4 points in last 4 games
- Mackie Samoskevich - 7 points in last 6 games
Springfield
- Adam Gaudette - 7 points in last 5 games
- Mikhail Abramov - 8 points in last 6 games
- Hugh McGing - 10 points in last 6 games
