Florida Panthers hold full team practice at Amerant Bank Arena on April 10. Much like their NHL affiliates in South Florida, the Charlotte Checkers are ramping up for what they hope is a long and prosperous playoff run. Charlotte has been on a hell of a run over the past couple months. It started when teams resumed play following the AHL All-Star Game back in early February. Since then, the Checkers have points in 19 of 22, reeling of an impressive 16-3-3 run that has propelled Charlotte into a tie for third in the Atlantic Division. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNjE3OTM2NjIzMjQ4NDky/img_6014.jpg] Last week the Checkers also clinched their spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs. "We’re just taking it one day at a time," Charlotte Head Coach Geordie Kinnear said after Sunday's win over Hartford, per the Checkers. "This group has been unbelievable, each and every day trying to get better. When you do that and you focus on every moment that you’re in, whether it’s practice or a workout and just continue to get better, good things usually happen, but we still have a lot of work to do." Florida Panthers prospect Mackie Samoskevich has played a big part in Charlotte's success this season. He scored his 20th goal of the campaign over the weekend and is up to 48 points through 58 games in his first pro season. "It feels great," Samoskevich said Sunday. "It’s just something we’ve been working towards all year. When we don’t have it, we learn from it, and when we do have it, we just keep going. We’ve just got to keep it going and keep learning from these games so we can carry it into playoffs. That’s the goal." Now if you want to talk about a guy on a scalding hot streak, goaltender Spencer Knight has been on another planet lately. In the time since the AHL All-Star break, Knight holds a 10-1-1 record to go with a 1.49 goals against average and .937 save percentage. His shutout streak during the run set a new Charlotte franchise record, and he has currently allowed just five total goals over his last six starts. Knight and the Checkers will be back at it this weekend when they begin their final road trip of the regular season. Charlotte has five games in four different cities over the next eight days. After that, it'll be playoff time. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Three takeaways: Cats trending in right direction, Stolarz' value extends past on-ice performance [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-cats-trending-in-right-direction-stolarz-value-extends-past-on-ice-performance] Stolarz, Panthers shut down Ottawa with strong 2-0 win [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/stolarz-panthers-shut-down-ottawa-with-strong-2-0-win] Joel Quenneville speaks about Kyle Beach scandal, desire to return to NHL [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/joel-quenneville-speaks-about-kyle-beach-scandal-desire-to-return-to-nhl] Florida Panthers announce multi-year partnership deal with Hard Rock Bet [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/florida-panthers-announce-multi-year-partnership-deal-with-hard-rock-bet] Sergei Bobrovsky playoff preparation a priority as Panthers plan final goalie rotation [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/sergei-bobrovsky-playoff-preparation-a-priority-as-panthers-plan-final-goalie-rotation] Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNjQxMjA5NjI4NzMxMDIz/unnamed.jpg]
