Notebook: Playoff Mode
April 30, 2025 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release
It took some waiting, but with Providence earning a Game 3 win over Springfield on Sunday, the Checkers finally know who they'll be playing in the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs.
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With an opponent now in their sights, the intensity turned up another notch for the already dialed-in Checkers team.
"It's a little bit of a different feel coming into this Monday than last Monday," said Checkers forward John Leonard.
"When you have an opponent now and it's getting close, the narrow focus was there today," said head coach Geordie Kinnear. "A little bit more intensity too, which is what we wanted."
The Checkers head into round two having earned a bye past the opening round - meaning Friday will be their first game in almost two weeks. After spending that time balancing rest and work, the team is ready to turn the page and ramp up for Game 1.
"Everyone in this organization worked extremely hard to get that bye," said Leonard. "It's key to use it to our advantage now."
Having an actual opponent on the schedule doesn't change what has been the team's approach all year, but it certainly lets them hone things in.
"When you have a week off like that, you want to make sure that your details are still there - whether it's systematically or just passing and execution," said Leonard. "So it's just about staying sharp. We're going to touch up a couple of things that we need to do specifically against them. We're excited."
AGAINST THE BRUINS
Despite being in the same division, the Checkers and Bruins only faced each other four times during the regular season. They're still fresh on each other's minds, though, as four of Charlotte's final 12 games during the regular season came against Providence.
"We saw them at the end of the year four times - two in our building, two in their building," said Kinnear. "Personnel has changed a little bit for them because they received a lot of players down from Boston, but that doesn't really matter, all the tendencies are the same."
The Checkers had success in the head-to-head matchups this season - posting a 3-1-0-0 record - but the two sides come into the series closely matched. In fact, Charlotte and Providence are two of just three teams in the AHL to finish the season in the top 10 for offense, defense, power play and penalty kill.
"The regular season is important because you want to find an identity in all assets of the game," said Kinnear. "Special teams has been really good, five-on-five has been really good, but if you look at the team we're playing, they've also been really good. It'll be a fun series for the guys. I'm looking forward to seeing the guys compete and I'm looking forward to getting back behind the bench in some high-stake games."
HITTING THE ROAD
The Atlantic Division Semifinal between Charlotte and Providence is a best-of-five series. By virtue of being the higher seed, the Checkers will have home-ice advantage, but due to AHL rules regarding the distance between the two cities coming into play, they will start off with Games 1 and 2 in Rhode Island before coming to Bojangles Coliseum for the remaining contests.
"Guys are used to it by now, guys that have played a couple of years," said Leonard of the unique scheduling. "You want that home-ice advantage, and to get three in front of a crowd like this, a fanbase that we have, it's something really special."
That format makes those first two contests even more important for Charlotte.
"The first shift, first 10 minutes, first period, that's a key part to every series," said Leonard. "We're going to come out flying for sure."
For Kinnear, it boils down to his season-long mantra of taking care of yourself.
"I think the most important thing for us is not whether we're at home or on the road, it's to get to your game as soon as possible," he said. "You don't want to have to chase your game. So we want to make sure we establish our game and then over the duration of the first game, second game, you're making sure that you're playing at a high level. The outcomes will take care of themselves if you're doing the right things and guys are stepping up and you get great goaltending."
On the topic of goaltending, the Checkers boast a trio of capable options between the pipes in Kaapo Kahkonen, Ken Appleby and Cooper Black. Kahkonen took the reins since joining the team at the trade deadline, though - starting 11 of the final 18 contests - and looks to remain in that position come playoff time.
"Obviously we have an experienced guy that I rode with at the end of the year, so there's no real secret who's going to be the Game 1 starter for us," said Kinnear. "Kaapo is going to get the opportunity. If you look at our group all year long, everyone stepped up in different situations. That needs to continue for us to be a really good hockey team."
ROSTER NOTES
The bye week let the Checkers fine tune their game, but it also allowed them some time to recover after the grind of a 72-game season.
"We're getting healthy," said Kinnear. "Those long-term injury guys, it's a tough situation. They've been out four or five months, to throw them in a game is probably not ideal. So we're going to be very patient with those guys. But some of the other guys got healthy. We're looking forward to having a healthy lineup."
The "long-term injury guys" that Kinnear was referring to are Ryan McAllister and MacKenzie Entwistle. Both have been pushing through a grueling rehab process but have hit the ice recently - though not as full participants.
"Those are experienced guys," said Kinnear. "They both have a different skill set - which in the playoffs you need. We're just going to take it day by day but I can tell you they both moved a lot closer to playing than not playing."
One player that took advantage of this break was Justin Sourdif, who missed the final seven games of the regular season but appears ready for the weekend.
"If you see him out there, he looks pretty good to me," said Kinnear. "We're excited, he's one of those guys that thrives in this time of year. He's a game breaker and we need him to be full go - and he's full go."
Regardless of lineup fluctuations, Charlotte's next-man-up philosophy remains ingrained in the team.
"We've done it with depth all year," said Kinnear. "That will continue. The coach has to make adjustments with personnel at times, and we have the depth to do that."
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