Game Preview: Checkers at Milwaukee (Oct. 16, 2015)

The Checkers started their 2015-16 campaign with a pair of victories over the Iowa Wild last weekend. Tonight they kick off an eight-game, 18-day road swing with a tilt against their division rivals, the Milwaukee Admirals. Below are 8 things to watch for.

1. BEST START … EVER?

After defeating Iowa 4-1 on Saturday, the Checkers moved to 2-0 to start the season for only the second time in the team's six-year AHL history, with the other instance coming in 2013-14. They have a chance to make history tonight, as the Checkers have never won three in a row to start a season.

2. AGAINST THE ADMIRALS

The Checkers have an 11-12-1-0 record all time against the Admirals, with Milwaukee taking seven of 12 contests on their home ice. The two squads split last season's four-game series, with the home team winning every game. Trevor Carrick led all Checkers with four points in the four contests, while Kyle Hagel and Keegan Lowe racked up 24 and 17 penalty minutes, respectively.

3. HIGH-FLYING OFFENSE

The Checkers were only able to score four or more goals on the road five times last year. They have reached that mark in each of their first two road contests this season. Similarly, they only fired 40 or more shots five times all last season, with the first such instance coming in January. The Checkers registered 43 and 45 shots in their first two games, respectively.

4. LINEUP SHUFFLE

With Brock McGinn and Brett Pesce in Carolina, the Checkers will field a new-look lineup for tonight's game. McGinn was logging top-line minutes, so look for another forward to be bumped up and see an increase in playing time. Up front, either Carter Sandlak or rookie Erik Karlsson will make their season debut (or in Karlsson's case their pro debut), while on the blue line Tyler Ganly or Jake Chelios will draw into the lineup, likely on the bottom pairing alongside Jaccob Slavin.

5. SHUGG STAYS HOT

Coming off a season where he led the team in scoring with career highs in goals and points, Justin Shugg has started off his fifth pro season with the same scoring prowess. Shugg has notched three points in the Checkers' first two games, leading the way once again. He has also been a force on the power play, where he has continued to man the point on one of the units, a position that he moved to in the middle of last season.

6. BOYCHUK ON THE CUSP

With a pair of helpers in his first two games, Zach Boychuk is three points shy of passing Chris Terry and becoming the franchise's all-time scoring leader. Additionally, he is tied with Terry for the all-time lead in power-play points and is 17 away from becoming the leader in games played.

7. MORRIS CLIMBS THE LADDER

Head coach Mark Morris is one win shy of claiming sole possession of ninth place on the AHL's all-time wins list. Morris currently sits at 340 victories, tied with current Anaheim Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau.

8. Streaking

Five players enter tonight's game having recorded points in each of the team's first two contests- Justin Shugg, T.J. Hensick, Sergey Tolchinsky, Phil Di Giuseppe, Zach Boychuk.