Game Previews: Checkers at Texas (Feb. 21, 2014)

The Checkers begin a 10-game road swing by making their first visit to Texas to face the division rival Stars tonight.

Tonight’s game – the first of a back-to-back set between the two clubs – is actually the fifth in the eight-game season series. The teams split four previous games in Charlotte, all of which were played in a two-week span between Jan. 2 and 18.

Following this weekend’s games, the Checkers return home for a few days before departing on a four-game trip to Norfolk and Hershey followed immediately followed by another four-game journey with two games apiece against San Antonio and, once again, Texas.

Charlotte

Since the Checkers followed a five-game winless streak with their second consecutive win, a 4-3 victory over Norfolk on Tuesday, the biggest news surrounding the team was the return of veteran goalie Justin Peters from Carolina. The two-time AHL All-Star, who has not played for the Checkers since the first game of the season, is on a conditioning stint from the Carolina Hurricanes.

Aside from the Hurricanes having three healthy goalies in Peters, Cam Ward and Anton Khudobin, the reasoning behind the conditioning stint is that Peters hasn’t played since Jan. 21, with practice time also limited by the crowd in Carolina’s net and the NHL’s Olympic break. Because of that, it sounds like Peters may not suit up for the Checkers until Saturday’s rematch against the Stars.

“We want to make sure he’s ready to go mentally and physically and give him the best chance to do what he does in the net,” said coach Jeff Daniels. “If that’s not tomorrow, it’ll be Saturday.”

If Peters is held out tonight – he will have only had one practice and one morning skate under his belt at that time – the Checkers will turn to Mike Murphy. Murphy won his last start, a 5-4 overtime win against the Abbotsford Heat on Sunday, and hung on after entering Tuesday’s game in relief of Muse, with the Admirals storming back from a 4-1 deficit to get within a goal after Murphy entered the game.

Daniels said that Muse is expected to miss this weekend’s games, with the team planning to reassess him when it returns home on Monday. Greg Nemisz is likely to miss his fifth consecutive game due to injury, while Chris Terry, who has five points in his last two games, should be in the lineup after missing Thursday’s practice due to a personal matter.

The Checkers are seven points out of a playoff spot as they begin their 10-game road swing, which is the longest in their four AHL seasons.

“We’re in a playoff push right now and the way the schedule sets up the next 10 are on the road and we’ve just got to deal with it and make do with it,” said Daniels. “I think we’re a team that is probably a little more comfortable on the road for some reason and it’ll be a great test this weekend against, for me, one of the top teams in the league, in their building, back-to-back. It’ll be a fun stretch.”

Texas

After a few close games when the teams first met in early January, their follow-up series ended up being quite strange, with the Stars starting things off with a 7-1 victory only to see the Checkers rebound with a 6-1 win less than 24 hours later.

In all but that final game, the Texas offense, which leads the Western Conference with an average of 3.62 goals per game, was on full display, which should present a challenge for a Checkers team that has averaged 4.75 goals allowed in its last eight games. The Stars are also far and away the AHL’s best on the power play with a conversion rate of 27.4 percent.

Tonight’s game features seven of the league’s top 14 scorers, four of which belong to Texas (Travis Morin leads the AHL, Colton Sceviour ranks third, Chris Mueller and Curtis McKenzie are tied for sixth) and three of which belong to Charlotte (Zach Boychuk is 12th and Terry and Aaron Palushaj are tied for 13th). Charlotte and Texas are the only teams with three players inside the league’s top 20.

Veteran forward Dustin Jeffrey, historically a point-per-game player in the AHL during his time with Wilkes-Barre in previous years, is currently with the Stars, though he has just one assist in seven AHL games this season.

Texas has been in a season-long battle with Abbotsford, with whom the Checkers split a pair of games at Raleigh’s PNC Arena last week, for the lead in the West Division and the Western Conference. The Stars, who are just 3-5-2 in their last 10 games, are currently two points behind the Heat.

The Stars enter tonight’s game having lost each of their last two in Rochester and Toronto on Sunday and Monday, respectively. Goalie Cristopher Nilstorp, who has started six of the team’s last eight games with top Dallas Stars prospect Jack Campbell injured, made 27 save on 29 shots in the loss to Toronto. Josh Robinson, who has split the season between Texas and ECHL Idaho, has given up four or more goals in each of his last five Stars starts dating back to Jan. 24.

Checkers Notes

On the Road Again

The Checkers' 10-game road swing that begins tonight is the longest in the team's four AHL seasons, narrowly eclipsing a pair of nine-game segments from Oct. 28-Nov. 13, 2011 (5-4-0) and from Oct. 13-31, 2012 (6-2-1).

Charlotte, whose 20 road games to date are the fewest of any AHL team, is 10-9-1 on the road this season.

Against Texas

The Checkers have an all-time record of 5-4-1 against Texas over the last three seasons, including a 2-2-0 record to start the current eight-game series. Tonight marks the first of four visits to Texas' Cedar Park Center, where the Checkers have an all-time record of 2-2-2.

The Big Three

Along with Texas, the Checkers are one of two teams to feature three or more players among the AHL's top 20 scorers. Zach Boychuk leads the Checkers and ranks 12th in the league with 45 points, while Aaron Palushaj and Chris Terry are tied for 13th with 44 points apiece.

Boychuk Burst

Checkers forward Zach Boychuk has eight goals in his last 10 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 fourth in the AHL with 23 goals, which ties 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 13 power-play goals lead the AHL and are a new record for the most scored by a Checkers player in a single season.

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. He then went on to score two points (1g, 1a) in the team's next game against Norfolk, giving him 11 points (3g, 8a) in eight games during the month of February.

Murphy's Helping Hand

Since joining the Checkers from the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 24, Ryan Murphy has 10 points, all assists, in 10 games with Charlotte. That ties him for the second-most assists by a Checkers defensman all season, just two away from the team lead held by Mark Flood. He holds an active five-game assist streak dating back to Feb. 7 (6a) that marks the longest by a Charlotte defenseman this season.

Murphy, the Hurricanes' first-round pick (12th overall) in 2011, now has 14 assists in 18 career AHL games dating back to last season, including five Calder Cup Playoff games. Ten of those assists came on the power play.

Defensive Lapses

The Checkers have allowed three or more goals in each of their last eight games dating back to Feb. 1. During that time, in which they have a 3-4-1 record, the Checkers have allowed a total of 38 goals for an average of 4.75 per game and have seen their goals-against average for the season rise from 3.00 (20th AHL) to 3.28 (t-27th AHL).

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.

Quick Hits

• Charlotte is one of two AHL teams (Texas) to feature three or more players among the league's top 20 scorers. Zach Boychuk is 12th with 45 points and Aaron Palushaj and Chris Terry are tied for 13th with 44.
• Since going a season-high five games without a power-play goal, the Checkers have scored on the man advantage in four consecutive games (5-for-14: 35.7 percent)
• The Checkers are 11-7-1 against fellow West Division opponents this season. 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

Player Streaks

• Ryan Murphy has assists and points in each of his last five games (Feb. 7-18: 0g, 6a)
• Chris Terry has assists and points in each of his last three games (Feb. 15-18: 3g, 3a)
• Zach Boychuk has assists and points in each of his last two games (Feb. 16-18: 1g, 4a)
• Justin Shugg has assists and points in each of his last two games (Feb. 16-18: 1g, 2a)
• Aaron Palushaj has points in each of his last two games (Feb. 16-18: 1g, 1a)
• Brett Sutter has points in each of his last two games (Feb. 16-18: 1g, 1a)

Milestones

• Chris Terry is one shy of 350 AHL games
• Michal Jordan is three shy of 250 professional
• Brett Sutter is five shy of 500 professional games
• Matt Corrente is five shy of 250 professional games
• Justin Shugg is five shy of 100 professoinal points
• Matt Corrente recorded his 500th professoinal penalty minute against Norfolk on Feb. 18

Injuries

• Greg Nemisz - missed four games starting Feb. 9
• John Muse - injured in last game vs. Norfolk on Feb. 18

Transactions

Incoming

• Feb. 19 - (G) Justin Peters assigned to Charlotte on conditioning stint from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

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