THE MATCHUP
Charlotte’s road trip rolls on as the Checkers face the Wolf Pack for a midweek tilt with big playoff implications.THE STORYLINES
Tight Race
The Checkers currently occupy the fourth spot in the Atlantic Division and hold a three-point lead over the Wolf Pack - who have played one fewer game thus far. A win for Charlotte would create a more substantial gap between it and Hartford, while a loss would pull the Wolf Pack within a point with a game in hand. The difference between fourth and fifth place is a big one, as the third and fourth seeds earn home-ice advantage over the fifth and sixth seeds for the opening round of the Calder Cup Playoffs.As far as clinching a playoff berth goes, the Checkers’ magic number is 10 - representing the number of points needed, either collected by Charlotte or left on the table by Springfield.
Locking It Down
Charlotte’s defense has been particularly stingy over the team’s most recent run. They have surrendered 12 total goals over the last six contests, and six of those came in a 6-4 loss to Springfield.Two of those games were shutout gems from Spencer Knight, who is 8-1-0 with a 1.77 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage since Feb. 10. New addition Magnus Hellberg is 2-1-0 in his three appearances since being acquired at the trade deadline, surrendering three total goals in those two victories.
Firing Rubber
As has been the trend for much of the season, the Checkers are pouring a ton of shots on goal down the stretch of the regular season. They have notched at least 33 in each of the last six contests and have hit the 46+ mark in two of the last three.Familiar Foe
The Checkers and Wolf Pack will know each other well by the time the end of the regular season rolls around - starting with tonight’s tilt, four of Charlotte’s final 10 games are against Hartford. The Checkers have won each of the four previous matchups this season - two of which went to overtime.THE ONES TO WATCH
Charlotte
- Rasmus Asplund - 8 points in last 7 games
- Wilmer Skoog - 6 points in last 5 games
- Zac Dalpe - 6 points in last 9 games
Hartford
- Karl Henriksson - 2 points in last 3 games
- Alex Belzile - 9 points in last 9 games
- Brennan Othmann - 5 points in last 5 games
