THE MATCHUP
Coming off a weekend split in Toronto, the Checkers are wrapping up their road trip with a midweek visit to Rochester. The Amerks have had three of their first four contests this season go to overtime, picking up five of a possible six points across those, but had their run broken up by an 8-4 loss to Laval in their last outing. On the flip side, the Checkers have split each of their first two series - first with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at home and then with Toronto on the road.THE STORYLINES
KICKSTARTING THE OFFENSE
Charlotte’s offense has gone through its ups and downs early on this season - it posted four goals in the win over the Penguins, but has otherwise been held to three or fewer tallies thus far, tying for 21st in the league. Tonight’s matchup represents a chance to get things rolling though, as Rochester is tied for 30th in the AHL by giving up five goals per game.KINNUNEN'S HELPING HAND
Santtu Kinnunen has been Charlotte’s most consistent producer thus far in the season. The blue liner has picked up at least one helper in each of the team’s first four games, currently sitting in a tie for second among all AHL defensemen with six assists.As it stands, Kinnunen’s six points are double that of the next leading scorer on Charlotte.
SPECIAL TEAMS BATTLE
The two sides of Charlotte’s special teams have found varying levels of success heading into tonight’s tilt. On the power-play, the Checkers have notched three goals on the man advantage across 18 opportunities thus far - including a 1-for-7 showing in Sunday’s loss to Toronto - a mark that puts them just under the middle of the pack when it comes to league rankings.On the other side, the Checkers successfully killed their first 17 times shorthanded to start the year, not surrendering a power-play goal until the third period of their fourth game. They still sit tied for fourth in the AHL, however, with a 94.4 percent success rate on the PK.
Things are flipped for Rochester, as the Amerks have been hot on the power play to start the year - currently tied for fifth in the AHL - but have struggled on the kill - sitting 30th out of 32 teams.
THE ONES TO WATCH
Charlotte
- Santtu Kinnunen - 6 assists in last 4 games
- Zac Dalpe - 3 points in last 3 games
- Patrick Khodorenko - 3 points in last 3 games
Rochester
- Jeremy Davies - 4 points in last 3 games
- Jiri Kulich - 6 points in last 4 games
- Isak Rosen - 6 points in last 4 games
