During the week before that, the Checkers obliterated the Islanders one night but had a slow start in the rematch two days later and ultimately lost in a shootout.
The coaching staff stressed the importance of building from that disappointment and not falling into those trappings again.
Two big wins in Toronto later, it seems like those lessons stuck.
“You look at those Bridgeport games, we wanted to learn a lesson,” said Head Coach Geordie Kinnear. “We wanted to correct that, we wanted to get better at that. And we did.”
The Checkers marched into Toronto on Friday and put in a dominant effort en route to a 5-0 victory.
“The first period of the first game it felt like both teams were feeling each other out or nervous,” said Kinnear. “But then when we got the first goal we really settled in and I thought we were in sync pretty good.”
The challenge came in the next day’s rematch, where the Checkers avoided the pitfalls that doomed them against Bridgeport and notched another convincing win.
“Second game, I thought the chances were fairly even, more than the score indicated,” said Kinnear. “So it was a good win for the group - being on the road against an elite team on a back-to-back.”
It was a complete effort across the board for the visiting Checkers, and an impressive takedown of the North-Division leaders - but there’s still plenty of room for improvement this week.
“We want to make sure that we keep building,” said Kinnear. “Clean up those grade-A chances.”
SHUTTING DOWN SHOTS
Alex Lyon earned his first shutout of the season on Friday in Toronto, and while he came up big when called upon, one of the big things that jumped out on the stat sheet is the fact that the Marlies only registered 13 shots on goal.It’s indicative of how the Checkers have become one of the best shot-suppressing teams in the AHL. They allow an average of 28.08 shots-per-game - the third-best mark in the league - and they have surrendered less than 25 shots in five of their last eight games.
“It’s something we’ve tried to harp on all year long,” said Kinnear of his team’s stinginess when it comes to shots against. “It’s an individual thing and it’s a team thing.”
As far as the biggest factor in his team’s success at keeping shot totals down, Kinnear points to their play on the other side of the game.
“I think it’s important to have the puck,” he said. “Because when you have the puck it’s hard for the other team to get a shot on net or score a goal. We have the puck a lot.”
The Checkers will continue to lean on that strength down the final stretch - a run that only features one team (Springfield) that ranks in the top half of the AHL in shots per game.
PRODUCTION UP TOP
The Checkers outscored the Marlies 9-2 over the weekend, and a large chunk of that production came from their leading scorers. Seven of those nine tallies came from skaters with double-digit goal totals, while each of their top six scorers on the season recorded at least a point across the two games.“It’s a cliche,” said Kinnear. “But ultimately you need your best players to be your best players. Those guys are rewarded with the points, but it’s how they play without the puck, how they compete.”
That’s not to say that group was the only source of action during the dominant weekend.
“You look at it, ice time went down for everybody because we stayed out of the box more,” said Kinnear. “We weren’t killing five, six, seven power plays and now those guys are taxed and now their five-on-five is a little more of a strain. We got more lines involved and it was a total team effort. Everyone did a great job.”
