Brock McGinn, in his first game back from injury, kicked off the scoring midway through the first, forcing a turnover then going coast-to-coast and sniping one past Stars netminder Jack Campbell. Recent ATO-signee Andrew Poturalski doubled up the Charlotte lead heading into the first intermission, but Texas responded in the middle frame, with Derek Hulak breaking the ice early and Curtis McKenzie evening things up later in the period.
But Justin Shugg regained the Checkers’ lead minutes later, sending them to the second intermission back up by one. Then, less than a minute into the third, Derek Ryan dropped a beautiful pass across the slot for Sergey Tolchinsky to finish and the Checkers took control. The home team would pot two into the empty net late in regulation and, despite one last tally by Texas, the Checkers rolled away with a 6-3 victory.
Despite the lopsided score, tonight wasn’t quite a flawless performance by the Checkers.
The captain, Ryan, agreed with his coach’s sentiment.
“It was a little choppy,” said Ryan. “They dominated us in our d-zone quite a bit. In terms of takeaways, we’re not going to win too many games in the playoffs 6-3 so we’ve got to tighten up defensively for sure.”
Even with the sloppy play, the Checkers’ showed flashes of a lethal offensive attack. McGinn, who had missed the last nine contests due to injury, set that tone early with his highlight reel goal, and continued to be a catalyst for the team.
“He had some jump tonight for sure,” said Ryan. “He was buzzing around and he looked good. He looked strong. He’s a dynamic player, and when he’s going like that he can be a game changer and it’s fun to play with him. He has a huge impact on our team.”
“When you’re sitting out, you’re feeling a little left out from the team so it’s nice to come back and contribute,” said McGinn.
After both played key roles Carolina’s win over the New York Rangers last night, Ryan and Tolchinsky found their way onto the scoresheet tonight for Charlotte. The boost that comes with that success at the next level (both recorded points in their NHL debuts), has helped propel them here as well.
“When you go up there and have success at the highest stage and the highest level of hockey, it gives you confidence and when you come here you obviously can think the game a little bit slower so you can make the better play,” said Ryan. “Confidence is the biggest thing. You feel stronger and you feel more confident in the plays you’re making. You see the guys up there, they’re making the right decisions 100 percent of the time, so you try in instill that as well. You see it in Tolchy and you see it in myself and whoever goes up there and has success.”
With the victory, the Checkers have put themselves into a playoff spot for the time being, as the San Jose Barracuda took the ice late Friday night in a game with implications for Charlotte. But with the schedule winding to a close, the Checkers can only control the games in front of them, the next of which is a rematch against this same Texas team Saturday night.
In order for the Checkers to extend this streak, the team knows they’ll need to clean up their play.
“If we can watch some video and correct those mistakes we’ll have a little bit more of a playoff mentality going forward,” said Ryan. “You can’t expect to score six goals every night.”
They’re also likely to run into a hungry, revamped Stars team, though the grind of the season seems to have caught up to every club.
“They’ve got their top goalie out with the flu, so you can bet that if he’s healthy they’ll be tougher in that area for sure,” said Morris. “They’ve got lots to play for but hopefully they’re fatigued as well.
“It’s just survival right now. You’ve got to do the best you can to execute and get the job done.”