Game Preview: Checkers vs. Iowa (Dec. 17, 2015)

After seeing their win streak against the Iowa Wild snapped on Tuesday, the Checkers will look to get back in the win column in the fifth meeting of the season between the two Central Division clubs tonight.

Here are 10 things to watch heading into the matchup:

1. WELCOME BACK MJ

Playing his first hockey game in nearly one full month and his first in the AHL since February, Michal Jordan quickly made his presence known in the first game of his conditioning stint from the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. In the first period, the former Checkers captain opened the scoring with the second shorthanded goal of his career, capping off an end-to-end rush and give-and-go with Derek Ryan.

Jordan, one of just three players to play at least one game with the Checkers in all six of their AHL seasons (Zach Boychuk and Rasmus Rissanen), is now just two away from becoming the second to play 300 games as a Checker following Boychuk, who did so on Nov. 28.

2. DEFENSE GETS OFFENSIVE

With Jordan and Rissanen each netting their first goals of the season on Tuesday, nine different defensemen have now scored at least one goal for the Checkers this season. Led by Trevor Carrick’s six goals that tie him for fourth among AHL defensemen, Charlotte blueliners have now combined for 20 goals, which is a league-leading 26.3 percent of the team’s total.

Last season, eight different defensemen combined for just 19 goals, which was 11 percent of the team’s total.

3. BROCK SOLID

Reigning AHL Player of the Week Brock McGinn scored his 10th goal of the season on Tuesday, giving him six points (4g, 2a) in three games since returning from his second NHL stint of the season with Carolina. His three-game goal streak is tied with two other players for the longest active streak in the league

Dating back to Nov. 24, McGinn has eight goals in his last seven AHL games. He has recorded four multi-goal outings this season and is now tied with Derek Ryan for the team lead in goals despite playing just 13 of the team’s 25 games. McGinn ranks third in the AHL with a shooting percentage of 28.6.

4. RYAN ON A ROLL

Checkers captain Derek Ryan has recorded three consecutive multi-point outings for a total of seven points (2g, 5a). The 28-year-old playing his first professional season in North America after winning the Swedish Hockey League’s MVP award last season, Ryan leads Charlotte with 24 points, which is eight more than second-placed Trevor Carrick. He is tied for seventh in AHL scoring and is just four points away from second place.

5. IOWA STRIKES BACK

Tuesday’s overtime loss to Iowa ended the Checkers’ eight-game winning streak against the Wild. The Checkers have still earned points in nine straight meetings since their last regulation loss on Dec. 8 of last season and hold an all-time mark of 12-4-1 against Iowa.

Tuesday’s game marked Iowa’s fifth win of the season and second in its last 19 games. The Wild rank 30th in the AHL with a winning percentage of .259.

6. MURPHY’S LAW

Checkers defenseman Ryan Murphy has two games remaining on a three-game suspension for a clipping incident that at Texas on Dec. 11. Murphy, an AHL All Star last season who has six points in six AHL games this season and 47 points in 56 career AHL contests, is eligible to return Sunday, Dec. 20, against Lake Erie.

7. BETWEEN THE PIPES

Drew MacIntyre has played in seven of the Checkers’ last eight games, going 4-2-1 over that time period, and now ranks third in the AHL with 1,133 minutes played this season. He ranks eighth in AHL history with 221 victories, while Daniel Altshuller, who the Checkers recalled from their ECHL affiliate in Florida on Monday, has yet to make his AHL debut.

Altshuller, the Hurricanes’ third-round draft choice in 2012, currently leads the ECHL with a 1.58 goals-against average, .941 save percentage and three shutouts.

8. POINT STREAK

Despite allowing Iowa to tie the game twice in the third period of Tuesday’s eventual overtime loss, the Checkers’ current three-game point streak is their first since starting the season with three consecutive victories on Oct. 10-16 – a stretch that included a pair of wins against the Wild.

Charlotte has not put together a four-game point streak since Nov. 29-Dec. 6 of last season (3-0-1).

9. FREE HOCKEY

Tuesday’s loss marked the Checkers’ first overtime loss of the season, dropping their record to 5-1. After seeing each of their first four overtime games of the season go to a shootout, each of Charlotte’s last two games, including the win against Texas on Dec. 11, have been decided during the five-minute, three-on-three period.

10. RANDOM STATS

Every member of the McGinn-Ryan-Justin Shugg line has an active three-game point streak. They have combined for six goals during that time … Tuesday marked the first time that the Checkers have lost a game when leading at either intermission … The Checkers are 4-6-1 at home and 9-5-0 on the road. They have an active three-game winless streak at home (0-2-1) and an active three-game winning streak on the road … Despite ranking 13th in the AHL with an average of 28.4 shots allowed per game, Charlotte ranks 26th with an average of 3.24 goals allowed per game … Brendan Woods has missed each of the Checkers’ last four games due to injury and is likely to remain out tonight.