Game Preview: Checkers vs. Norfolk (Feb. 18, 2013)

The Checkers play their last home game until March 15 when they welcome the Norfolk Admirals to Time Warner Cable Arena tonight.

The Checkers are 3-1-0 against Norfolk this season, with each of the last three wins coming at home after the Checkers dropped the initial meeting between the two teams in their only trip to Norfolk on Nov. 27 (a scheduled game on Jan. 28 was postponed due to bad weather). With two of its wins coming in overtime, Charlotte currently has a 6-4 points lead over the Admirals in the GEICO Challenge Cup, which is awarded to the team with the better head-to-head record at the conclusion of the eight-game season series.

Following tonight’s game, the Checkers begin a franchise-record, 10-game road swing with games in Texas this Friday and Saturday.

Charlotte

It seemed as though the Checkers would be entering tonight’s match-up on a six-game winless streak, having found themselves in a 4-1 hole after one period against Abbotsford, the Western Conference leader, on Sunday. Their biggest comeback in over a year changed all that, giving the team some excitement and some momentum as it plays for the third time in four days.

“Guys battled, they played hard all night and I think that was the most positive our team has been in the locker room with having guys’ backs and picking guys up when they’re down,” said captain Brett Sutter, who scored the winning goal in overtime on Sunday.

“Now we’ve got to build off it,” said coach Jeff Daniels. “It was a big character win but we need to follow it up tonight against one of the tougher teams in the East.”

With the 0-4-1 winless streak now behind them, the Checkers hope to continue what’s been a streaky season, at least for now. Prior to that tough stretch of games that began in Abbotsford on Feb. 4, they had won eight of 10 games to get back into playoff contention and will need another such stretch to do so again as they currently sit eight points back with games in hand on several teams.

Tightening up defensively will still be an area of concern, with the Checkers extending their streak of giving up for or more goals to a franchise-record six games despite Sunday’s win. Daniels attempted to shake up his blue line over the past week by sitting veteran defensemen Mark Flood and Matt Corrente for one game apiece last weekend, a trend that will end tonight as rookie Keegan Lowe becomes the odd man out.

“I felt they needed to be better,” said Daniels of his previous decisions to sit Flood and Corrente. “They understand that, and as experienced guys we expect more from them. They just can’t afford to make mistakes that you can live with as a first-year player. On the other side of that, Keegan Lowe deserved to stay in the lineup because he’s played well for us.”

Daniels opted to continue the even rotation he’s used in goal for the last six games with John Muse getting the start tonight despite Mike Murphy getting the win on Sunday.

“Both guys have to be better and we have to better as a unit of five in front of them with being strong on the puck,” said Daniels. "Whether it's getting beat one-on-one or turning the puck over, it's something everyone can accept responsibility for and be better."

Forward Greg Nemisz is likely to miss at least one more game due to injury as he came out for the team for the morning skate but was the first player off the ice. The Checkers will still have one extra forward, with a decision on which player will miss out remaining unknown until game time.

Norfolk

Though Charlotte has shown signs of taking control of the season series against Norfolk of late, the games have certainly been close.

All three Checkers wins have come by one goal, including one by way of overtime and one by way of shootout. The shootout win came on the most recent meeting on Jan. 19, when Norfolk jumped out to a 2-0 lead before the Checkers rallied to tie it at 2-2 and 3-3 while firing a season-high 53 shots at Brad Thiessen, a former AHL goaltender of the year who has backed up for each of the team’s last five games behind rookie standout John Gibson.

The sixth-place Admirals are part of a tight race in the Eastern Conference, where four points separate the fourth and ninth seeds. They’ve managed to stay above the cutoff line by earning points in 17 of their last 21 games since Dec. 21 (14-4-3).

Anaheim first-round draft pick Emerson Etem continues to lead the way offensively with 31 points in 27 games, having just recently ended a cold streak (four points in 10 games) with a goal and two assists in his last two outings. Fellow Ducks prospect Rickard Rakell, Anaheim’s first-round pick in 2011, has two points in four games since returning from injury.

Gibson who would potentially be making his sixth straight start tonight, has two shutouts in his last four games, giving in an AHL-best five for the season, though he also made an early exit in favor of Thiessen during that stretch. He has a 2.27 goals-against average and .923 save percentage for the season but has  struggled against the Checkers, going 1-2-0 with a 3.61 goals-against average and .882 save percentage in three head-to-head meetings.

The Admirals are the AHL's best defensive team with an average of 2.48 goals allowed, including just four over their last four games.

The Checkers will face defenseman Steve Eminger for the first time this season as the 30-year-old veteran of 488 NHL contests joined the Admirals on an AHL after leaving his Russian club in January.

Checkers Notes

Against Norfolk

In 32 previous meetings between Charlotte and Norfolk, the Checkers have a record of 17-12-3, including a 3-1-0 mark this season. The teams were formerly East Division rivals in the Checkers' inaugural AHL season in 2010-11, with Norfolk just one of two Eastern Conference teams (Hershey) that the Checkers have played since moving to the Western Conference the following season.

In the two previous seasons of its existence, each team captured one GEICO Challenge Cup, which is awarded to the team that finishes with the most points at the conclusion of the eight-game season series. Charlotte won with a 5-3-0 record last season but went just 2-5-1 against the Admirals during their Calder Cup season in 2011-12.

Comeback Kids

Down 4-1 at the first intermission against Abbotsford on Feb. 16, the Checkers erased a three-goal deficit for the first time since Oct. 26, 2012, to win by a 5-4 score in overtime. By accomplishing the feat at Raleigh's PNC Arena, the Checkers erased a three-goal deficit at home for the first time since April 22, 2011.

All three of the aforementioned comebacks resulted in victories for the Checkers, who were also down 4-1 in their most recent three-goal charge in Grand Rapids. Chris Terry, who scored twice in the latest rally against Abbotsford, also scored twice in that previous game against the Griffins.

Terry Takes Charge

Checkers forward Chris Terry ended a 13-game goal drought that tied the longest of his career with two goals against Abbotsford on Feb. 16. He also added an assist, giving him a point on all three goals as the Checkers erased a 4-1 deficit before winning in overtime.

Terry, who leads both the Checkers and Carolina Hurricanes in shootout goals this season with two in each league (4-for-4), missed a chance at his first career hat trick on Charlotte's first penalty shot since Feb. 25, 2012, dropping him to 0-for-2 on career AHL penalty shots. Terry has scored two goals in a game on 14 separate occasions during his five AHL seasons, with the Feb. 16 game marking his first multi-goal outing of the season.

Murphy's Helping Hand

Since joining the Checkers from the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 24, Ryan Murphy has nine points, all assists, in nine games with Charlotte. That gives him the third-most assists by a Checkers defensman all season, just three away from the team lead held by Mark Flood. He has at least one assist in all five of his home games, which ties the second-longest active home assist streak in the AHL.

Murphy, the Hurricanes' first-round pick (12th overall) in 2011, now has 13 assists in 17 career AHL games dating back to last season, including five Calder Cup Playoff games. Nine of those assists came on the power play.

Bump in the Road

The Checkers' five-game winless streak that ended Feb. 16 was their second-longest of the season, trailing a franchise-record, seven-game regulation losing streak from Nov. 2-19. It was tied with Adirondack for the longest active winless streak in the AHL.

Defensive Lapses

The Checkers have allowed four or more goals in each of their last six games dating back to Feb. 4, marking the longest such streak in their four AHL seasons. They had previously not allowed four or more goals in more than four consecutive games, a mark initially set on Nov. 24-Dec. 2, 2012. The Checkers' 5-4 overtime win over Abbotsford on Feb. 16 improved them to 2-16-1 when allowing four or more goals this season.

During the current streak, in which they have a 1-4-1 record, the Checkers have allowed a total of 32 goals for an average of 5.33 per game. Their goals-against average for the season is now 3.29 (28th AHL), which is up from an even 3.00 on Feb. 4.

Working Overtime

Though the Checkers have gone to the extra session twice in their last three games, their six overtime games this season are still at least two fewer than any other AHL team. Their two shootout appearances are at least three fewer than any team in the league.

Charlotte has a 4-2 record in overtime games this season, including a 3-1 record in games decided during the five-minute, four-on-four period and a 1-1 record in the shootout.

Salvaging the Series

Charlotte's win against Abbotsford on Feb. 16 prevented them from going pointless in its four-game series with the Heat this season. The Checkers have only gone pointless in a season series once in their four AHL seasons, having posted an 0-4-0 record against Toronto during the current campaign. The win over Abbotsford also prevented the Checkers from going winless against Canadian teams this season (0-7-1).

Floodgates Open

Mark Flood scored his 11th goal of the campaign against Oklahoma City on Feb. 7 to set a new team record for most goals by a defenseman in a single season. Flood, who needed just 46 games to accomplish the feat, topped the old mark of 10 set by Bobby Sanguinetti in the 2011-12 season and tied his own career high set with Manitoba in 2010-11.

Flood, a 29-year-old veteran who scored just one goal in 52 games in the Russian KHL last season, ranks second in terms of goals by AHL defensemen and is tied for third among league blueliners with six power-play goals.

Boychuk Burst

Checkers forward Zach Boychuk has seven goals in his last nine games, including the second and third hat tricks of his career on Jan. 24 and Feb. 1. He leads the Checkers and is tied for fifth in the AHL with 22 goals, which are just one shy of his career high set last season. He has hit the 20-goal mark in the AHL in each of his four seasons with the Checkers.

Boychuk's 88 career Checkers goals are three short of tying Chris Terry for the franchise's all-time lead. He already leads the franchise with 40 power-play goals, including 12 this season that are tied for the most in the AHL and for the Checkers' single-season record.

Quick Hits

• Charlotte is one of two AHL teams (Texas) to feature three or more players among the league's top 16 scorers. Aaron Palushaj is 12th and Zach Boychuk and Chris Terry are in a four-way tie for 13th.
• The Checkers are 2-for-7 on penalty shots during their four AHL seasons, with their last goal coming from Jon Matsumoto on Dec. 20, 2011.
• Since going a season-high five games without a power-play goal, the Checkers have scored on the man advantage in three consecutive games (3-for-11: 27.3 percent)
• The Feb. 16 game against Abbotsford marked just the second time in team history that the Checkers had not given their opponent a power-play opportunity. The previous occurrence was a home game against Hershey on Dec. 10, 2010.
• After allowing a total of 16 goals in his last three starts, John Muse's goals-against average for the season has risen from 2.39 to 2.80.
• The Checkers are 11-7-1 against fellow West Division opponents this season, making it the only division they have a winning record against. The Feb. 16 win over Abbotsford broke a five-game losing streak against divisional opponents.
• Charlotte's two shorthanded goals are tied with Adirondack for the fewest in the league
• After falling behind 4-1 in the first period of their game on Feb. 16, the Checkers no longer have a positive goal differential in any period.

Player Streaks

• Ryan Murphy has assists and points in each of his last four games (Feb. 7-16: 0g, 5a)
• Chris Terry has assists and points in each of his last two games (Feb. 15-16: 2g, 2a)

Milestones

• Chris Terry is two shy of 350 AHL games
• Matt Corrente is three shy of 500 professional penalty minutes
• Rasmus Rissanen is four shy of 200 Checkers/AHL/professional penalty minutes
• Justin Shugg played his 150th professional game against Abbotsford on Feb. 16
• Aaron Palushaj recorded his 200th professional penalty minute against Abbotsford on Feb. 16
• Nicolas Blanchard played his 450th professional game against Abbotsford on Feb. 15
• Nicolas Blanchard recorded his 800 professional penalty minute with a fight against Abbotsford's Chris Breen on Feb. 15

Injuries

• Greg Nemisz - missed three games starting Feb. 9

Transactions

Incoming

• None

Outgoing

• Feb. 14 - (D) Beau Schmitz assigned to Florida (ECHL) from Charlotte