Weekly Report: April 3, 2023

The Checkers continue to be mired in a winless skid, though they were able to claim a pair of points over their three-game set against the Thunderbirds.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Checkers 4, Thunderbirds 7

Checkers 2, Thunderbirds 3 (OT)

Checkers 5, Thunderbirds 6 (OT)

Three Stars Of The Week

QUICK HITS

PLAYOFF PICTURE

The Checkers’ slump currently has them sitting in fourth place in the Atlantic Division - one point behind Springfield and two points ahead of Lehigh Valley (although the Phantoms have one more game played). Claiming either the third or fourth seed would mean that the Checkers would get home-ice advantage during the best-of-three opening round of the playoffs - with the three-seed playing the six-seed and the fourth-seed playing the fifth-seed and the winners being reseeded before facing the first or second-place squads.

The Checkers’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot is five. That number could go down on Tuesday if Bridgeport were to lose to Springfield and again on Wednesday if the Checkers were to beat the Penguins.

ON THE SKIDS

The Checkers find themselves on a five-game winless streak - a run that matches their longest skid of the season. That whole stretch has come on home ice, and in fact Charlotte finished out the regular season on a six-game winless streak on home ice - the second-longest in franchise history.

The good news for the Checkers is that they’ll look to get things back on track with a six-game road trip to close the campaign, and this squad has been outstanding on the road. Charlotte is 18-9-2-1 away from home overall this season and 14-3-1-0 since Dec. 29.

CARLSSON KEEPS SCORING

Lucas Carlsson registered multi-point efforts in two of the three tilts against Springfield to keep his red-hot run alive. Since Jan. 14 the blue liner has posted 34 points in 31 games and ranks eighth in scoring in the AHL overall during that stretch. In fact, during that run Carlsson has more multi-point games (9) than scoreless games (7).

With six games remaining in the regular season, Carlsson sits at 48 points. The franchise single-season record for points by a defensemen is 50, set by current assistant coach Bobby Sanguinetti in 2011-12.

PENALTY TROUBLE

Over the last four games, the Checkers have faced a total of 24 times shorthanded - with their opponents earning at least five power-play opportunities a night.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

Gerry Mayhew came through in the clutch to force overtime and earn Charlotte a point on Saturday

WE'RE BACK pic.twitter.com/jqK9DXqfjj

— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) April 2, 2023

RANKS

• Lucas Carlsson leads all AHL defensemen in goals (18)
• Lucas Carlsson ranks fourth among AHL defensemen in points (48)
• Lucas Carlsson ranks eighth among AHL defensemen in plus-minus (+23)
• Lucas Carlsson is tied for fourth among AHL defensemen in shorthanded goals (1)
• Lucas Carlsson is tied for eighth among AHL defensemen in game-winning goals (2)
• Matt Kiersted is tied for fourth among AHL defensemen in shorthanded goals (1)
• Anthony Bitetto is tied for fourth among AHL defensemen in shorthanded goals (1)
• Johnny Ludvig ranks fifth among AHL rookies in plus-minus (+17)
• Johnny Ludvig is tied for eighth among AHL rookies in penalty minutes (68)
• Riley Bezeau ranks fourth among AHL rookies in penalty minutes (84)
• Justin Sourdif is tied for 10th among AHL rookies in shorthanded goals (1)
• Patrick Giles is tied for 10th among AHL rookies in shorthanded goals (1)
• Justin Sourdif is tied for eighth among AHL rookies in shorthanded assists (1)
• Patrick Giles is tied for eighth among AHL rookies in shorthanded assists (1)
• Justin Sourdif is tied for fifth among AHL rookies in shorthanded points (2)
• Patrick Giles is tied for fifth among AHL rookies in shorthanded points (2)
• Alex Lyon ranks seventh in the AHL in goals-against average (2.43)
• Mack Guzda ranks eighth among AHL rookies in goals-against average (2.86)
• Mack Guzda ranks eighth among AHL rookies in save percentage (.899)
• Mack Guzda is tied for sixth among AHL rookies in shutouts (1)

Transactions

Incoming

• March 29 - Josh Davies - Signed to ATO
• March 29 - Evan Fitzpatrick - Recalled from Florida (ECHL)

Outgoing

• March 29 - Mack Guzda - Recalled by Florida (NHL)

By the Numbers

CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK
Power play	19.0%	15th
Penalty kill	83.9%	5th
Goals per game	3.21	11th
Shots per game	31.65	5th
Goals allowed per game	3.05	t-14th
Shots allowed per game	28.08	4th
Penalty minutes per game	13.45	19th

LEADERS

CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Riley Nash (53), Lucas Carlsson (48), Aleksi Heponiemi (42)
Goals	Riley Nash (23), Gerry Mayhew (22), Zac Dalpe (20)
Assists	Lucas Carlsson (30), Aleksi Heponiemi, Riley Nash (30)
Power play goals	Gerry Mayhew (7), Riley Nash, Zac Dalpe (6)
Shorthanded goals	Riley Nash, Connor Bunnaman (2), Five tied (1)
Game-winning goals	Grigori Denisenko (4), Four tied (3)
Shots on goal	Lucas Carlsson (164), Riley Nash (150), Santtu Kinnunen (146)
Penalty minutes	Riley Bezeau (84), Anthony Bitetto (79), Johnny Ludvig (68)
Plus/minus	Lucas Carlsson (+23), Johnny Ludvig (+17), Riley Nash (+13)
Wins	Mack Guzda (14)
Goals-against average	Alex Lyon (2.43)
Save percentage	Alex Lyon (.910)