During the longest such streak of their season, opponents have out-scored the Checkers by a combined 17-4 margin. Charlotte has allowed four or more goals in each game while being able to muster multiple goals just once.
It’s in no way what the team hoped to accomplish following the All-Star break, putting points at even more of a premium as they head into their final 29 games of the season needing to make up a 14-point gap and leapfrog six teams to get back into playoff position.
“It’s a bit of everything,” said coach Jeff Daniels of the team’s current funk that includes back-to-back 4-1 home losses to Chicago over the weekend. “Defensively we’re not giving up a whole lot. They’re scoring some goals on their chances but it’s not like we’re giving up 20 chances.
Daniels also used the “reset button” term to describe what needs to happen with Zach Boychuk, the reigning AHL goal-scoring champion who he surprisingly scratched on Saturday. Boychuk was back on a top line with Ben Holmstrom and Chad LaRose at Monday’s practice, with Daniels confirming that the player would be back in for Tuesday’s game in Lake Erie.
“It was a wake-up call for him and a wake-up call for the team that the way we were playing was not good enough,” explained Daniels.
Daniels said that he considered sitting other players who would otherwise be automatic choices to be in the lineup. He may or may not have that option again this week, at least at the forward position, with Carter Sandlak leaving Monday’s practice due to injury and Brendan Woods still day-to-day with his own ailment. However, he’s not ruling out a similar move in the near future.
“If guys aren’t playing well they don’t deserve to be in the lineup,” he said. “That goes for anyone. It’s a matter of you’ve got to perform and do what you’re capable of doing, and if not, we’re not going to keep playing you.”
The benching of Boychuk, the best offensive weapon on a team that struggles mightily on offense, was probably the strongest message Daniels could send at that time.
“His bar is a little higher than some other guys with what he’s capable of doing,” said Daniels. “I told him his B game is better than some other guys’ A game, but those guys are bringing their A game. He’s got to bring his A game. It’s just a matter of being the player that he can be. He’s a proud guy and I’m sure he’ll come back ready to play.”
Two days after learning of Daniels’ decision to sit him upon arriving at the rink Saturday morning, Boychuk again expressed his disappointment but did not seem to hold any lingering hard feelings.
“You’ve seen it throughout Checkers history. Bobby Sanguinetti was healthy scratched a few years ago, Mark Flood last year,” said Boychuk, who could have also added two-time AHL All-Star Jerome Samson to that list. “It’s definitely a tactic that can be used. You never want to see it happen to yourself, but once it does you’ve got to take it and run with it.
“It was definitely a shock. After we lose that first game against Chicago you get another chance to come back the next night and try to redeem yourself – you want that chance. It was not a good time, but you’ve got to learn from it. JD told me that he expects a lot from me and I’ve got to play like I did last year.
“I know I can play better. You can talk about it as much as you want but you’ve got to do it on the ice.”
Asked to assess Boychuk compared to last season, Daniels suspected that disappointment from his recent reassignment from Carolina was a reason for his relative slump – he has not recorded a point in eight of 11 AHL games since – with Boychuk later confirming that suspicion.
“Absolutely,” he said. “You want to be in the NHL and when you get sent down halfway through the season it’s a little bit different to come to a team that’s halfway through their season. I’m just trying to get acclimated with the guys and find some chemistry with some linemates and hopefully things start going our way.”
“It’s never fun to be sent down after getting a good amount of games up there, but it is what it is,” said Daniels. “Control how you play down here. My message, I want him playing to where he can get back up top - not just for him but for everyone in that lineup. He’s got to bring it every single night.”
Though Saturday’s game did not go the way the team had hoped, Daniels said he thought the team’s effort was improved. That also seemed to carry over to Monday’s practice, which seemed to be among the more physical the team has had this season.
“That’s our makeup,” said Daniels. “We’re a hard-working team, kind of meat-and-potatoes I guess you could say, which has kind of been lacking from our game a little bit. It was good to see the guys respond today and hopefully that’s our mindset tomorrow.”
Woods, who has been practicing on and off with the team since suffering his injury on Jan. 23, practiced Monday in a yellow non-contact jersey and is traveling with the team to Lake Erie.
