Game Preview: Checkers vs. San Diego (Feb. 13, 2016)

The Checkers’ 10th annual Pink in the Rink event concludes tonight as the team hosts a rematch with the San Diego Gulls.

Here are 11 things to know about the matchup at Bojangles’ Coliseum:

1. PRETTY IN PINK

The Checkers will again be wearing the special pink jerseys they debuted last night, with fans able to purchase them directly from the players at a live auction immediately following tonight’s game. Proceeds from the auction and from a portion of tickets sold over the weekend will benefit area non-profits and their fight against breast cancer. In the nine previous years of the event, the Checkers raised approximately $285,000 for the cause.

2. ON THE SKIDS

Friday’s 3-2 overtime loss to San Diego extended the Checkers’ winless streak to a franchise-record eight games (0-6-2). Not long prior to that, the team also set a new record for the longest point streak in their history as part of a 14-1-3 run starting Dec. 9. Charlotte’s current streak is the longest active streak of its kind in the AHL and marks the third-longest posted by any team in the league at any time this season.

3. IN THE STANDINGS

When the winless streak began on Jan. 27, the Checkers were second in the Central Division with a chance to overtake Rockford for the top spot that night but have since fallen to fifth. Though the top four teams in each division automatically qualify for the postseason, the Checkers would still make the cut on the crossover rule as of today as they hold a superior winning percentage (.573) than San Jose (.545), which occupies the fourth spot in the Western Conference’s other division, the Pacific.

4. AGAINST THE GULLS

San Diego, which currently sits fifth in the Pacific, is one of the teams that will attempt to prevent a Central squad from qualifying on the crossover rule. The Checkers have done their part to prevent that thus far, taking five of a possible six points in the season series, including regulation victories in the first two meetings between the two teams in San Diego on Jan. 8 and 9.

5. FORMER FOES

Though the Gulls are new to the AHL this season, the Checkers are no strangers to the Anaheim Ducks affiliate that formerly called Norfolk home. Last season, Charlotte went 4-2-2 against an Admirals team that boasted several current Gulls players including top-five scorers Mike Sgarbossa and Antoine Laganiere. Since then, the organization has added rookie Brandon Montour, who ranks second among all AHL defensemen in scoring with 36 points in 43 games, and former Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Anton Khudobin, who took both losses against the Checkers last month and backed up Matt Hackett on Friday.

6. SUCCESSFUL HOMECOMING

The Gulls have also added forward Bryan Moore, who is the first hockey player born and raised in the Charlotte area to play professional hockey. A teammate of the Checkers’ Sergey Tolchinsky and Tyler Ganly with the Ontario Hockey League’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Moore signed an AHL contract with the Gulls after attending rookie events with the Hurricanes and New York Rangers the previous offseason. Moore has seven points in 27 AHL games this season, including four in his last six games and a goal at Bojangles’ Coliseum on Friday that would have help up as the game-winner if not for a late power-play strike by Brendan Woods that sent the game to overtime.

7. OFFENSIVE ISSUES

One of the AHL’s top offensive teams for much of the season, the Checkers have scored just eight total goals in six games since Jan. 30. They have hit the three-goal mark just once in their last eight games, compared to an 18-game stretch immediately prior when they scored three or more goals 16 times.

8. POWERING UP

After going three straight games without a power-play goal, tying their longest such streak of the season, the Checkers are 5-for-22 (22.7 percent) in their last four games and now rank second in the league at 22.2 percent. Five of their last seven goals have come on the man advantage, with the team scoring just twice at even strength in its last five outings.

Tonight’s opponent, San Diego, is the second-most penalized team in the AHL.

9. NO LOVE IN FEBRUARY

The Checkers are off to a 0-4-1 start to February, which marks the third consecutive season that they have hit a rough patch during the month. In the last three seasons, the team has a combined record of 8-16-3 during the month.

10. ALL IN ON ALTSHULLER

Rookie Daniel Altshuller has seen a heavy workload since making his AHL debut on Dec. 17, playing 18 of a possible 21 games. Altshuller, who led the ECHL in goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts at the time of his December recall to Charlotte, ranks seventh in the AHL with a 2.35 GAA and .921 SV%, putting him first among rookies in both categories.

11. HERE AND THERE

The Checkers began the season by winning each of their first five overtime/shootout games but have since lost five of seven, including three straight … The 0-4-1 start to the Checkers’ six-game home stand has dropped them to 11-11-3 at Bojangles’ Coliseum this season … Brody Sutter (2g, 1a) and T.J. Hensick (3a) are on three-game point streaks ... The Checkers own a nearly even goal differential in the first period (-2) but are -14 in the second and plus-11 in the third … Charlotte has yet to lose in regulation when leading at either intermission this season … Brendan Woods’ goal on Friday was his 50th AHL/pro point, which came in his 150th AHL game … Kyle Hagel is tied for second in the league with 11 major penalties … Danny Biega has missed the last 16  games due to injury … Rasmus Rissanen is two shy of 50 AHL/pro points … Derek Ryan is three shy of 300 pro points … Jake Chelios is four shy of 50 pro points.