Game Preview: Checkers at Milwaukee (April 18, 2014)

The Checkers have ground to make up as they head into the final two days of the regular season - a stretch that starts with tonight’s game in Milwaukee.

They don’t necessarily have to win both of their remaining games, but there’s also a chance they could do so and still miss the playoffs depending on what Oklahoma City does this weekend. Along those lines, a loss could eliminate them as early as tonight, rendering tomorrow's finale against Rockford meaningless.

Tonight is the first meeting between the Checkers and Admirals since Dec. 27. Charlotte leads the season series with a record of 2-1-0, including a win in the only other game in Milwaukee.

Charlotte

After losing for the fourth time in five April games on Sunday, the Checkers entered the week knowing they would need some help to make the playoffs for the third time in four AHL seasons. They received some on Wednesday, when Oklahoma City lost to Texas to stay two points ahead of the Checkers heading into this weekend.

Had the Barons won that game, a single point earned in their two games against last-place Iowa would have eliminated the Checkers regardless of what they did this weekend. The margin for error is still quite small, but their chances are now more plausible.

That should give the Checkers a boost of confidence heading into the weekend, though they haven’t necessarily been disappointed with their recent play despite the lack of results. They came close to sweeping a two-game set against the Grand Rapids Griffins last week and could very well have done so if not for goalie Tom McCollum’s outstanding 35-save effort in Sunday’s 2-1 loss.

“You can’t sit here and say we wish we could have done this or that,” said coach Jeff Daniels. “We did everything but score goals.”

Coming off that disappointment, Daniels was encouraged by what he saw at practice earlier this week.

“(The players) understand the situation they’re in and they understand that we need some help, but at the same time the work was there,” said Daniels on Tuesday. “They’ve been a group that’s worked hard all year for me, and I know with the leadership in that locker room we’ll be ready to go Friday night.”

Having played in each of the Checkers’ last nine games, including eight starts, John Muse is highly likely to play both games this weekend. The AHL Player of the Week for the period ending March 30 stopped 55 of 57 shots in his last two starts, including a 30-save shutout of the Griffins on April 10.

Based on the week’s practices, Nicolas Blanchard is likely to return after missing the Grand Rapids series due to injury, though Daniels has ruled Philippe Cornet out for the weekend. If the Checkers were to dress 12 forwards, one of the two Hurricanes prospects on late-season tryouts, Phil Di Giuseppe or Sergey Tolchinsky, would draw into the lineup, though Daniels opted for seven defensemen to accommodate Ryan Murphy’s return on Sunday.

Milwaukee

A team that occupied the same eighth seed the Checkers are now chasing as recently as March 15, the Admirals went 10-3-1 from that point on, including wins in each of their last four, to clinch a place in the postseason for the 12th straight season.

With home-ice advantage for the first round out of the question, all the Admirals have left to play for is their potential match-up. They could remain in sixth and play Toronto, or they could climb to fifth and play the Midwest Division runner-up (Grand Rapids or Chicago).

With the parent Nashville Predators missing the NHL playoffs, Milwaukee will have top players usually in the mix for recalls at their disposal. Specifically, that means two of their top five scorers in Colton Sissons (44 points, including a team-high 25 goals) and Calle Jarnkrok (43 points), who each returned within the last two weeks.

Though Milwaukee’s numbers tend to skew more toward the defensive side, an offensive-minded rookie class including Sissons, scoring leader Miika Salomaki and Filip Forsberg, the 11th overall draft pick in 2012, have helped the team out-score its opposition 14-3 over the course of its four-game winning streak, including three or more goals in each game. Sophomore Austin Watson tied a league high with three power-play goals in a single game on Saturday, including his seventh game-winner of the season that ties him for most in the AHL.

Contributing to the stellar defensive numbers of late (excluding empty-netters, they have not allowed more than two goals in a game since March 28) are a pair of strong goaltenders in Marek Mazanec (17-10-3 with a 2.49 goals-against average and  .912 save percentage) and Scott Darling (13-5-2. 1.82 GAA, 938 SV%). Darling, who served as the Checkers’ backup goalie for a weekend road trip two seasons ago but did not play, is tied for the league lead with six shutouts despite playing just 25 games.

The Admirals are among the league’s best teams at home (23-9-5), where they rank in the top seven in both special teams categories (22.5 percent on the power play, 86 percent on the penalty kill).

Checkers Notes

Against Milwaukee

The Checkers have an all-time record of 9-9-1 against Milwaukee, including a 2-1-0 head-to-head record this season and a 5-4-0 record in Milwaukee. Since joining the Western Conference prior to the 2011-12 season, the Checkers have never won a season series against Milwaukee.

Charlotte's big four of Zach Boychuk, Aaron Palushaj, Brett Sutter and Chris Terry lead the team with three points each against the Admirals this season, with Boychuk's total (2g, 1a) coming in just two games. Zach Budish, who the Admrials have since assigned to ECHL Cincinnati, leads Milwaukee with three points against the Checkers.

John Muse earned both of Charlotte's wins against Milwaukee this season, posting a 1.50 goals-against average and .949 save percentage along the way. Mike Murphy has yet to face Milwaukee this season. Scott Darlling picked up the Admirals' win by stopping 17 of 18 shots, with Magnus Hellberg, who is no longer with Milwaukee, taking the two losses.

The Checkers are 2-for-12 on the power play against Milwaukee this season (16.7 percent). They are a perfect 11-for-11 on the penalty kill.

Playoff Picture

Playoff Scenarios
Checkers Record	What has to Happen
2-0-0	Oklahoma City earns no more than two points
1-0-1	Oklahoma City earns no more than one point
1-1-0 / 0-0-2	Oklahoma City earns no points AND Rockford earns no more than two
0-1-1 / 0-2-0	Checkers are out regardless

With two games left in their regular season, the Checkers are one of three teams fighting for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. To move above the cutoff line, the Checkers will need to earn two more points than Oklahoma City while earning equal or more points than Rockford. Charlotte holds the regulation/overtime wins (ROW) tiebreaker over both teams, which is factored into the above scenarios. All three teams play Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with Charlotte playing on the road in Milwaukee and Rockford, Oklahoma City playing two home games against Iowa and Rockford hosting Chicago before the head-to-head meeting with the Checkers.

The Checkers could not clinch a playoff spot until after all teams have concluded their games on Saturday. They could be elminated as soon as Friday night if they they lose to Milwaukee and Oklahoma City earns a point against Iowa.

Boychuk's All-Star Season

Checkers forward Zach Boychuk leads the league with 36 goals and 18 power-play goals and ranks tied for second with 72 points. All of those marks are career highs and franchise records, helping him earn a spot on the AHL's Second All-Star Team announced April 10.

Boychuk is in the driver's seat to earn an additional postseason honor as he has a four-goal lead in the race for the Willie Marshall award as the AHL's top goal scorer. He has 102 goals as a Checker, one behind Chris Terry's all-time record, and could potentially become the first 40-goal scorer in the AHL since Oklahoma City's Colin McDonald (42) and Hamilton's Nigel Dawes (41) both accomplished the feat in 2010-11.

Boychuk's previous career highs were 23 goals (2012-13), 65 points (2010-11) and 10 power-play goals (2012-13). He owned the previous franchise record for points, while his goal total surpasses Terry's 34 in 2010-11 and his power-play goals total surpassed Jacob Micflikier's 12, also in 2010-11.

Boychuk, who earned the AHL's Player of the Month award in March, has 27 points (13g, 14a) in 21 games since March 1.

Muse Shuts the Door

Checkers goalie John Muse earned his fifth shutout of the season with 30 saves against Grand Rapids on April 10. That puts him one shy of the team's single-season record set by Justin Peters last season and ties him for third in the AHL. With his seventh career shutout, all with the Checkers, Muse also tied Peters for most in team history.

Muse's win on April 10 also put him first on the Checkers' all-time wins list with 44, one more than teammate Mike Murphy. He has already set the team's single season record with 27 victories, five more than the previous record set by Justin Pogge in 2010-11 and tied by Peters last season. He is tied for fourth in the AHL in wins.

Floodgates Open

Mark Flood is enjoying the best goal-scoring season by a defenseman in Checkers history, with his 13 goals ranking fourth among AHL blueliners and breaking the old record of 10 set by Bobby Sanguinetti in 2011-12. Flood's eight power-play goals (third AHL defensemen) are also a new team record for a defenseman, breaking Sanguinetti's mark of seven also set in 2011-12.

Flood, who played his 500th professional game earlier this season, has already topped his previous AHL career high of 11 goals set with Manitoba in 2010-11. He scored just one goal in 52 games with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the KHL last season.

Power Players

Both Zach Boychuk (first AHL with 18) and Chris Terry (fifth with 14) have broken the franchise record for most power-play goals in a single season previously held by Jacob Micflikier (12 goals in 2010-11). Meanwhile, Mark Flood's eight power-play goals are the-third most by an AHL defenseman and are the most ever by a Checkers blueliner in a single season, breaking Bobby Sanguinetti's record of seven from 2011-12.

The 32 total goals by Boychuk and Terry are the most of any two teammates in the league, with Texas' Chris Mueller and Colton Sceviour coming in second with 28. Boychuk and Terry are responsible for 44.4 percent of the Checkers' 72 power-play goals this season. Terry ranks third in the league with 36 power-play points, while Boychuk is tied for fifth with 33.

The Checkers currently rank third in the AHL with a 22.3 percent success rate on the power play - a mark that, if sustained for the final two games of the season, would mark the highest of their four AHL campaigns. The team has never converted at a rate lower than 19.8 percent over the course an entire season.

Quick Hits

• Victor Rask has 10 points (5g, 5a) in his last 10 games since March 23, which mark identical totals to his first 10 games of the season. In between those scretches, he scored 18 points (5g, 13a) in 54 outings.
• Chris Terry ranks fifth in the AHL with 222 shots on goal. He has recorded at least one shot on goal in 111 consecutive games dating back to Dec. 28, 2012.
• Chris Terry is three away from tying the club record for assists in a single season (43) set by Zach Boychuk in 2010-11 and tied by Terry in 2011-12.
• Ryan Murphy has assists in seven consecutive road games, tying the second-longest active streak in the AHL.
• Charlotte's seven regulation losses when leading after the first period (17-7-1) are tied with Bridgeport and Portland for the most in the AHL.
• Brett Sutter has tied his career high of 29 assists set last season despite playing 10 fewer games.
• Rasmus Rissanen is tied for third in minor penalties by AHL defensemen (37). Matt Corrente is tied for third in major penalties by defensemen (12).
• The Checkers' 10 overtime games and six shootouts are the fewest in the league. Charlotte's .700 winning percentage in overtime (7-3) leads the league, as does its 41.9 shooting percentage in the shootout.
• The Checkers' three shorthanded goals are the fewest in the AHL. They have never scored fewer than six in a single season.
• Charlotte's final two games are against teams in the Midwest Division. It is 11-10-1 against the the Midwest, including a 2-1-0 record against Milwaukee and a 4-2-1 record against Rockford.

Player Streaks

• Victor Rask has assists and points in each of his last three games (April 6-13: 1g, 3a)
• Philippe Cornet has points in each of his last three games (April 6-13: 1g, 2a)

Milestones

• Matt Marquardt is one shy of 400 professional games
• Brody Sutter is one shy of 50 professional points
• Matt Marquardt is two shy of 150 professional points
• Chris Terry is two shy of 300 AHL points
• Chris Terry is two shy of 150 Checkers assists

Injuries

• Philippe Cornet - out this weekend
• Greg Nemisz - missed 18 games starting March 8
• Brendan Woods - missed 24 games starting Feb. 22

Transactions

Incoming

• April 12 - (LW) Zach Boychuk reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)
• April 11 - (LW) Sergey Tolchinsky assigned to Charlotte from Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)

Outgoing

• April 14 - (RW) Matthew Pistilli released from professional tryout contract