Which Charlotte Checkers team will show up after the AHL all-star break?
The Charlotte Checkers were 16-5 in December and January heading into last weekend and had climbed from eighth in the American Hockey League’s Atlantic Division to third.
Then came a pair of home losses to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and suddenly the Checkers are in fifth place — one notch out of a playoff berth.
What happened to the red-hot team that was surging out of the AHL cellar?
Most of the team had a week to ponder that, as the Checkers and the rest of the AHL had their all-star break. Charlotte resumes play Friday night, playing at Toronto.
Checkers coach Ryan Warsofsky attributed the lapse before the break to a lack of leadership.
“Our best players, our leadership, need to step up,” Warsofsky said “We need some guys to step up and be our leaders.”
The two losses to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, coached by former Checkers’ bench boss Mike Vellucci, were Charlotte’s first back-to-back setbacks since Nov. 30-Dec. 1.
It appears as if the third and fourth of the AHL Atlantic’s four playoff berths will be hotly contested. Coming out of the all-star break, Providence is third with 55 points. Springfield is fourth with 52 points. Charlotte and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton are tied for fifth with 51 points apiece.
The Checkers have played fewer games than any of their playoff challengers, thus giving them more time to make up ground, but Toronto is a tough place to break a losing streak. The Marlies are in the midst of their own playoff battle in the AHL North Division.
Warsofsky said he hopes the break will give his team a fresh start.
“Clear your minds, get away from the game for three or four days, regroup, and get back to work,” he told the team after Saturday’s loss.
All-Star report: The Checkers’ two representatives in the AHL All-Star Challenge in Ontario, Calif., fared well. Alex Nedeljkovic tied for the Top Goaltender Award in the skills challenge. He shared that honor with Connor Ingram (Milwaukee) and Vitek Vanecek (Hershey).
In the round-robin all-star games, the Atlantic Division took first place. In the finals, against the Central Division stars, Charlotte defenseman Jake Bean had three assists, and Nedeljkovic made 20 saves.
Last Friday: The Checkers fell behind Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3-0 early, but came back to tie the game in the second period. The Penguins pushed back out to a 5-3 lead before Charlotte’s Dave Gust got the final goal in the 5-4 loss. Penguins’ defenseman David Warsofsky, brother of Charlotte’s head coach, had a goal and three assists. A crowd of 7,150 saw the game at Bojangles’ Coliseum.
Last Saturday: A near-capacity crowd of 8,310 at Bojangles’ Coliseum watched the Checkers lose 4-2 to the Penguins. Julien Gauthier and Morgan Geekie scored for Charlotte.
What’s ahead: The Checkers play at 7 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday in Toronto. After that, they’re off then until Feb. 7 when they open a six-game homestand at 7 p.m. against Hartford.
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle