The Checkers are back on the ice following a brief holiday break and looking to get back on the winning track.
THE MATCHUP
- Record/Standings
- CLT - 16-7-1-2 (4th Atlantic)
- LV - 12-12-4-1 (7th Atlantic)
- Power Play / Penalty Kill
- CLT - 33.7% (1st) / 85.8% (5th)
- LV - 20.7% (7th) / 81.3% (t-19th)
- Offense / Defense
- CLT - 3.81 GF/Game (1st) / 2.88 GA/Game (t-14th)
- LV - 2.67 GF/Game (17th) / 3.48 GA/Game (27th)
- Head-To-Head
- 0-0-0-0
THE STORYLINES
TIME TO BOUNCE BACK
The Checkers enter the weekend having lost their last outing, a 4-1 defeat by Bridgeport in their final contest before the holiday break. It was a rare misfire as of late for Charlotte, as it snapped a five-game winning streak for the team that is 9-3-1-1 in its last 14 tilts. The Checkers have dropped back-to-back games in regulation just twice this season - most recently in early December - and have not registered more than two regulation losses in a row.They’ll face a Lehigh Valley squad that similarly saw a hot streak stifled recently, snapping a three-game winning streak with back-to-back defeats at the hands of the Penguins - including the most recent defeat last night in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS
Offense continues to propel the Checkers this season, with the team having scored at least four goals in five of their last seven contests. That clip keeps the Checkers as the league’s number-one offensive attack - averaging 3.81 goals per game.On the defensive side of things, Lehigh Valley has given up the sixth most goals in the AHL - though only one team has been able to crack the three-goal mark against the Phantoms over the last six games.
DYNAMIC DUO
With a lengthy list of skaters sidelined with injury, the Checkers have a platoon of players stepping up against adversity.Two particular hot producers have been John Leonard and Oliver Okuliar - the former earned his first hat trick of the season last weekend and has points in four straight games, while Okuliar has goals in each of the last three contests to accumulate eight points over the past five nights.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Checkers have run hot and cold away from Bojangles Coliseum thus far. The team is 6-3-1-2 on the road overall but are heading into the weekend on a two-game road winning streak that puts them at 3-1-1-1 over their last six road contests.Charlotte has proven to be plenty stingy away from home this season, surrendering nine total goals over the last four games - with six of those all coming in a loss to the Penguins.
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.Additionally, Mellow Mushroom in Uptown is the official road game destination, as they will be showing every road game throughout the season!
For the full list of broadcast options, click here!
