A pair of playoff contenders meet when the Charlotte Checkers visit the Toronto Marlies this Saturday afternoon in the FloHockey AHL Game of the Week (1:30 p.m. ET).

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The game, which will be held at Scotiabank Arena, opens a two-game weekend series between the teams. They met twice in November in Charlotte when the Marlies dropped the opener there before taking an overtime win the following day.

Charlotte (32-17-3-3, 70 points) goes into Saturday’s matinee fourth in the Atlantic Division with 17 games to go. The Checkers are also only two points out of first place and have games in hand on the three teams ahead of them in the division. A 4-3 win at Rochester this past Wednesday opened up a six-game North Division road trip, and they are in the middle of a stretch of 16 games in 31 nights.

Toronto (30-17-3-6, 69 points) has settled into third place in the North Division, seven points behind second-place Rochester. After a 1-4-1-1 stretch, the Marlies have won back-to-back games, including a 4-2 win against Providence at Coca-Coliseum this past Wednesday. They will host the Checkers again on Sunday afternoon at Coca-Cola Coliseum.

Charlotte Checkers at Toronto Marlies

Saturday, 1:30 p.m. ET* – Scotiabank Arena

Where to Watch: Subscribers can continue to watch via FloHockey.tv or the FloSports app.

Free Streams: Follow the game across FloHockey's social channels including YouTube, Facebook and X. More details below.

Charlotte Checkers (Florida Panthers)

Kaapo Kähkönen had 21 saves and stopped a penalty shot in his Checkers debut Wednesday night. Florida acquired him from the Winnipeg Jets for Chris Driedger on March 6. The Checkers are his third AHL club this season. He is joined by Ken Appleby, whose five shutouts tie him for most in the AHL, and prospect Cooper Black. Each goaltender has taken a start in Charlotte’s past three contests, and the Checkers are tied for second in the league at 2.60 goals allowed per game.

AHL All-Star defenseman Trevor Carrick’s 41 points (10-31-41) in 51 games have him third among AHL defensemen. He won the hardest shot contest at the AHL All-Star Classic last month, hitting 100.9 mph on the radar gun. He is joined by a deep group in Marek Alscher, Mike Benning, Tobias Bjornfot, Mikulas Hovorka, Matt Kiersted, and Jaycob Megna. Head coach Geordie Kinnear dressed seven defensemen against Rochester.

Injuries have hit the Checkers hard up front, but they have managed to get balanced production to offset those losses. John Leonard, who had a pair of 17-goal seasons earlier in his AHL career, is now up to 27 goals, including four in his past three games. He is tied for third in the AHL. Rasmus Asplund and Kyle Criscuolo each have 17 goals, while first-year AHLer Oliver Okuliar has 13 tallies. Criscuolo and Leonard are both playing on AHL contracts. Justin Sourdif, who has missed the past two games, has broken out with 14 goals in only 34 games for the Checkers as a third-year pro.

Charlotte owns the AHL’s second-best power play (22.3 percent), striking twice against Rochester, and has the league’s top penalty kill (86.5 percent). 

Toronto Marlies (Toronto Marlies)

The Marlies made one move at Friday’s AHL roster deadline, acquiring hard-nosed forward Brandon Baddock from the Rockford IceHogs for future considerations. Baddock had 3-4-7 in 38 games for Rockford. They also added Iowa Wild forward Reese Johnson at the NHL trade deadline on March 7, and he made his Marlies debut in the win against Providence.

However, the Marlies lost a pair of strong forward prospects at the NHL deadline as Fraser Minten was sent to the Boston Bruins while Nikita Grebenkin went to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Dennis Hildeby has taken four of the past five starts for the Marlies and had 24 stops Wednesday. The AHL All-Star is 12-6-2 | 2.64 | .905 in 21 games for the Marlies. Artur Akhtyamov has a team-leading 22 appearances in net and is 10-6-4 | 2.77 | .903 in his first AHL season.

William Villeneuve leads all Marlies blueliners with 2-25-27 in 40 games, including two assists against the P-Bruins. The 22-year-old went to the Leafs as a 2020 NHL Draft. Another member of that 2020 draft class is third-rounder Topi Niemelä, who is in his second season with the Marlies and has 19 assists through 50 games. Veteran Dakota Mermis is also on the Toronto blue line, but Mikko Kokkonen has missed the past five games while Matt Benning, an early-season addition from the San Jose Sharks, has not appeared since Feb. 21. Rookie Cade Webber has played 50 games, tying him with Niemelä for the team lead among defensemen.

Forward Alex Steeves scored his league-leading 32nd goal in Wednesday’s win and is tied for seventh in AHL scoring with 50 points through 44 games. He had 2-4-6 in the opening two games of the teams’ season series in November. Jacob Quillan has a four-game point streak (3-2-5) and is up to 12-15-27 in 51 games as a rookie out of Quinnipiac. Roni Hirvonen, a 2020 second-round pick, had a goal Wednesday to break into double-digits (10-11-21).

Toronto is 10th in the AHL on the power play (20.0 percent) and ninth on the penalty kill (84.1 percent).

How To Watch AHL Free Stream On YouTube

On Saturdays throughout the season, the AHL and FloHockey will present a free Game of the Week on YouTube. The home team's broadcast will be shared as a free stream on FloHockey's YouTube page. The free broadcast will begin shortly before puck drop. Check FloHockey and AHL social channels to see which game will be streaming each week.

WATCH HERE

How To Watch AHL Free Stream On X

On Saturdays throughout the season, the AHL and FloHockey will present a free Game of the Week on X (formerly known as Twitter). The home team's broadcast will be shared as a free stream on FloHockey's Twitter page. The free broadcast will begin shortly before puck drop, posted on FloHockey's X feed. Check FloHockey and AHL social channels to see which game will be streaming each week.

WATCH HERE

How To Watch AHL Free Stream On Facebook

On Saturdays throughout the season, the AHL and FloHockey will present a free Game of the Week on Facebook. You can access the game multiple ways on the Facebook. FloHockey will stream both home and road (if available) broadcasts on its Facebook page. The game can also be found live on the AHL's Facebook page.

WATCH HERE

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The AHL is streaming on FloHockey and the FloSports app. Live games, replays, highlights and breaking news will be on both platforms. 

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