The Checkers are back in the Queen City and kicking off a midweek series with serious playoff race implications against the Bruins.
THE MATCHUP
- Record/Standings
- CLT - 35-19-3-3 (4th Atlantic)
- PRO - 35-19-4-3 (3rd North)
- Power Play / Penalty Kill
- CLT - 22.1% (4th) / 87.5% (1st)
- PRO - 20.5% (7th) / 85.6% (2nd)
- Offense / Defense
- CLT - 3.13 GF/Game (15th) / 2.58 GA/Game (4th)
- PRO - 3.36 GF/Game (6th) / 2.54 GA/Game (3rd)
- Head-To-Head
- 0-0-0-0
THE STORYLINES
NECK AND NECK
These two tilts against Providence will have big impacts on the increasingly tight Atlantic Division race. The Checkers currently occupy fourth place with 76 points and 12 games left, while the Bruins sit in third with 77 points and 11 games left. Just ahead of both of them are the second-place Penguins with 78 points and 11 games left - who will visit the Queen City this coming weekend.The Checkers go into this series with a magic number of three to clinch a playoff berth. That number goes down with every standings point Charlotte collects and every point that Hartford leaves on the table - the Wolf Pack face Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday and Providence on Saturday.
ON THE RISE
As the regular season draws closer to its conclusion, the Checkers are gaining momentum and putting together a hot run. After a strong 16-6-1-2 start to the season, Charlotte hit a bit of a speed bump in the form of a 5-6-2-0 stretch. The team shook out of that, though, and since Jan. 25 they are 14-7-0-1.POWERING UP
The Charlotte power play also looks to be rejuvenated as of late. After enduring a 20-game skid that saw them total five power-play goals and boast a success rate of 6.76 percent, the Checkers have notched eight power-play goals across their last nine games - operating at a clip of 25.81 percent.THE QUOTES
Defenseman Jaycob Megna on the recent road tripI thought we did a good job sticking with the road trip. Those last two wins were big to finish it the right way. It was a long way and I think guys did a really good job of sticking together
Megna on the team's defensive identity
We take that mentality in all three zones - we’re on top of people, we don’t want to give time and space. It starts with Geordie and the style that we want to play and I think guys have bought into it. When we’re at our best we’re all over people - it’s suffocating at times.
Assistant Coach Bobby Sanguinetti on roster shuffling around the trade deadline
It’s the group in there. They’ve done a really good job of taking in the new guys when it happens. Our job is to make sure that systematically they understand it. It starts with the leadership group in there and I think we have a great group of guys and I think they help out with that. They coach each other as well. We try to give the information and they go out and apply it and work through it. That’s a big part of the chemistry that you see.
Megna on this week's slate
We have everything we need in that room to be successful. It’s just a question of whether we go out and dictate and play the way we know we can. We feel good about it, but the work’s got to happen on the ice. It’s a good test here this home stand with a couple of teams that are right with us. We’ll see where we stand.
THE MILESTONES
- John Leonard is one shy of becoming fifth player in franchise history to score 30 goals in a season
- John Leonard and Rasmus Asplund are both one shy of setting single-season franchise records for shorthanded goals and shorthanded points
THE PLAYERS TO WATCH
- Charlotte
- Mike Benning - Three points (2g, 1a) in last three games
- C.J. Smith - Seven points (3g, 4a) in last seven games
- John Leonard - 14 points (10g, 4a) in last 15 games
- Providence
- Georgii Merkulov - 10 points (2g, 8a) in last nine games
- Oliver Wahlstrom - Five points (1g, 4a) in last four games
- Matthew Poitras - Nine points (3g, 6a) in last five games
THE INFO
Wednesday's game is a Winning Wednesday presented by Bud Light, featuring $1 draught beer and a free ticket to our game on April 12 for everyone in attendance if the Checkers win.Wednesday is also College Night presented by Hendrick Acura - with discounted tickets available with a valid email address - and Teacher and School Employee Appreciation Night.
If you can't make it to the Coliseum this week, the games - along with every game this season - are available via the new AHLTV on FloHockey! Click here to get a subscription.
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