As the Atlantic Division race tightens, the Checkers are heading out on the road for a jam-packed three-in-three weekend through New England.
THE MATCHUP
- Record/Standings
- CLT - 38-20-3-3 (2nd Atlantic)
- PRO - 36-22-4-3 (4th Atlantic)
- Power Play / Penalty Kill
- CLT - 22.5% (2nd) / 86.9% (1st)
- PRO - 20.9% (t-6th) / 85.1% (4th)
- Offense / Defense
- CLT - 3.23 GF/Game (9th) / 2.61 GA/Game (4th)
- PRO - 3.29 GF/Game (8th) / 2.62 GA/Game (5th)
- Head-To-Head
- 2-0-0-0
THE STORYLINES
BUSY WEEKEND
The Checkers are embarking on their first and only three-games-in-three-nights scenario of the season - starting Friday in Providence, facing Bridgeport on Saturday and returning to Providence to close things out on Sunday.This is only the second season in franchise history that the Checkers have faced just a single three-in-three stretch - with 2016-17 standing as the other. Overall Charlotte is 78-61-14 all time in three-in-three situations.
BATTLE FOR THE ATLANTIC
The Atlantic Division remains one of the tightest races in the league. The Checkers sit in second place with 82 points and eight games remaining, holding a slight edge over the Penguins - who have an identical record but have one fewer regulation win than Charlotte, which serves as the tiebreaker. Charlotte has gained ground on Hershey as well, trailing the first-place Bears by three points with an equal number of games played.On the other side, the fourth-place Bruins have 79 points with seven games left on their slate, while Lehigh Valley (73 points) and Springfield (72) hold fifth and sixth place - respectively - with six games left each. Seventh-place Hartford is still mathematically in the hunt but running out of real estate to make the jump in the playoff picture.
The top two teams in the Atlantic Division will earn a bye past the opening round of the playoffs, while the third and fourth seeds will secure home-ice advantage over the fifth and sixth seeds in that first round.
RUNNING HOT
The Checkers are firing on all cylinders at the moment, holding a 17-8-0-1 record since Jan. 25 - the third-highest mark in the Eastern Conference over that stretch. The offense has been clicking, especially as of late with 19 goals across the last four contests, while the Checkers continue to stifle opponents - surrendering the fewest shots per game in the AHL and the fourth-fewest goals.NEW GUY IN GOAL
A big addition at the trade deadline, Kaapo Kahkonen has jumped right into action for Charlotte and produced positive results. The veteran netminder has appeared in seven of the Checkers’ last 10 games and picked up five wins, along with a 2.22 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage.THE MILESTONES
- John Leonard is five away from breaking the franchise single-season goals record (Zach Boychuk's 36 in 2013-14)
- John Leonard is two away from breaking the franchise single-season game-winning goals record (Aleksi Saarela's nine in 2018-19 and Warren Foegele's nine in 2017-18)
- Trevor Carrick is two shy of becoming the third defenseman in franchise history with 50 points in a season
- Trevor Carrick is seven away from breaking the franchise single-season points by a defenseman record (Lucas Carlsson's 54 in 2022-23)
- Trevor Carrick is eight away from breaking the franchise single-season assists by a defenseman record (Lucas Carlsson's 54 in 2022-23)
- Trevor Carrick is five away from breaking the franchise single-season power-play points by a defenseman record (Bobby Sanguinetti's 30 in 2011-12)
- Trevor Carrick is one shy of setting the franchise single-season power-play goals by a defenseman record
- John Leonard and Rasmus Asplund are both one shy of setting single-season franchise records for shorthanded goals and shorthanded points
- Rasmus Asplund is two shy of 150 AHL points
- Trevor Carrick is two shy of 100 pro goals
- John Leonard is two shy of 100 pro assists
THE PLAYERS TO WATCH
- Charlotte
- Jesse Puljujarvi - 3 points (2g, 1a) in two games this season against Providence
- Matt Kiersted - four points (1g, 3a) in last four games
- Justin Sourdif - Nine points (4g, 5a) in last six games
- Providence
- Jaxon Nelson - Two points (1g, 1a) in two games this season against the Checkers
- Georgii Merkulov - Eight points (1g, 7a) in last nine games
- Matthew Poitras - 11 points (5g, 6a) in last nine games
THE INFO
This weekend's games - along with every game this season - are available via the new AHLTV on FloHockey! Click here to get a subscription.For the full list of broadcast options, click here!
