The Checkers are embarking on their first extended road trip of the season - a five-game trek over the next week that kicks off Friday in Hartford.
THE MATCHUP
- Record/Standings
- CLT - 7-2-0-1 (3rd Atlantic)
- HFD - 5-5-1-1 (6th Atlantic)
- Power Play / Penalty Kill
- CLT - 40.4% (1st) / 82.4% (t-14th)
- HFD - 11.8% (28th) / 72.3% (31st)
- Offense / Defense
- CLT - 4.50 GF/Game (1st) / 3.00 GA/Game (t-15th)
- HFD - 2.75 GF/Game (25th) / 3.58 GA/Game (27th)
- Head-To-Head
- 0-0-0-0
THE STORYLINES
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Checkers are back on the road looking to replicate the success they’ve had early on this season. At 3-0-0-1, they are one of four teams across the AHL that has yet to record a regulation loss on the road - with three of those four tilts coming against the current top two teams in the Atlantic Division.REVENGE GAME
As division rivals, the Checkers and Wolf Pack were very familiar with each other last season. The two sides squared off eight times during the regular season and the Checkers proved to be dominant in those meetings, going 7-1-0-0 while outscoring Hartford 25-10. The Wolf Pack flipped the script in the first round of the playoffs, though, upsetting the Checkers in three games to send Charlotte packing.POWERING UP
Charlotte’s power play hit a bump for the first time last weekend when they were held scoreless in a loss to Toronto - the first time they haven’t registered a goal in a game this season. The unit would bounce back in a big way, though, racking up four power-play goals in the next night’s win. The Checkers still reign as the top power play in the league - clocking in nearly 12 percentage points higher than the second ranked club - and have scored 19 power-play goals in 10 games, a mark that is 41 percent of the way to their 72-game total of 46 a season ago.The Checkers will look to keep things rolling as this trip starts with a meeting against a Hartford squad that has the second-worst penalty kill in the AHL thus far.
INJURY NOTES
Charlotte’s lineup could look a little different to start this road trip. Mike Benning and Will Lockwood were both absent from this week’s skates, though their diagnoses vary - head coach Geordie Kinnear called Benning “day-to-day” and noted that Lockwood would be “longer term”.Zac Dalpe and MacKenzie Entwistle remain sidelined, with Kinnear denoting them both as “week-to-week”, but the head coach acknowledges that they are taking a slower approach with their injuries in order to “make sure when they’re back in they can go full go”. Dalpe has been skating with the team in a yellow no-contact jersey but was absent from Wednesday’s practice, while Entwistle joined the team in a yellow-no-contact jersey this week.
THE QUOTES
Head coach Geordie Kinnear on the focus of practice this week“We talk a lot about the power of repetition and that was the theme this week. We want to play a certain way and there’s certain things we have to do to play that way. We have to make sure we bring that every single day, whether it’s practice or to the gym - there’s a certain way to do things and we look for it every single day.”
Kinnear on facing two new opponents this weekend
"Getting to know some of the other teams, there’s some new coaches in our division - Springfield, Hartford. It’ll be interesting to watch how their teams have evolved.”
Kinnear on going out on the road
“To be honest - and I tell our guys all the time - it’s not about the other team. It’s how we play and how we operate. It’s about our agenda and how we want to carry ourselves and how we want to play. I’m looking forward to the guys doing it on the road - we have a great building with a great atmosphere here at home, but we want to make sure wer’re a great road team too.”
THE INFO
The games this weekend - along with every game this season - are available via the new AHLTV on FloHockey! Click here to watch.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!
