The Kings return to Rexall Place tonight for their first matchup with the Prince George Cougars. Edmonton comes in after losing Sunday afternoon in Calgary, 4-3 to the Hitmen. The Oil Kings looked like a tired team coming off a Saturday night 3-2 overtime win against Kootenay. Curtis Lazar, Tyler Maxwell, and Mitch Moroz tallied for the Kings in Calgary, Tristan Jarry faced 38 shots.
The Cougars kick off a three game Alberta road trip tonight. Coming off a successful weekend where they downed Lethbridge in back to back games, the Cougars are in a battle for the playoffs in the Western Conference. They come into action tonight a point behind Victoria for the final playoff spot in the West, and have a couple games in hand on the Royals.
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| Photo: Andy Devlin/Edmonton Oil Kings |
The Cougars made a few signifigant moves at the trade deadline with an eye towards the future. They dealt Oilers draft pick Martin Marincin to the Pats for Ricard Blidstrand and a package of picks, and sent the rights to Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brett Connolly to the Tri City Americans for a 5th round pick and conditional picks if he is sent back to the WHL. Prince George is a very young team featuring seven 16 year olds on their roster, including 2010 first overall pick in the Bantam Draft, Alex Forsberg. Tonight will mark the first matchup between him and second overall pick, Curtis Lazar.
Season Series: This is the first of three games this season between the two clubs. Last year Edmonton was 3-1 against the Cougars including a pair of tight games won by Dylan Wruck. He scored the OT winner with no time on the clock in a wild 8-7 win at Rexall Place, and tallied a late third period goal for Edmonton in a thrilling come from behind win. The teams will play a pair of games in Prince George next month.
Next Up: The Oil Kings hit the road for a pair of games after tonight. They face the Broncos in Swift Current on Friday night, then play their second game in Prince Albert on Saturday. The Cougars play Friday in Calgary before wrapping up their Alberta swing Saturday in Red Deer.
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| Photo: Andy Devlin/Edmonton Oil Kings |
Leaders:
Goals- EDM- Michael St. Croix (25)
PG-Greg Fraser, Alex Forsberg (11)
Points- EDM- St. Croix (67)
PG- Troy Bourke (33)
Wins- EDM- Laurent Brossoit (25)
PG- Drew Owsley (14)
PIMS- EDM- Keegan Lowe (95)
PG- Campbell Elynuik (106)
Drafted:
EDM- Mark Pysyk-Buffalo Sabres (1st Round, 2010), Kristians Pelss- Edmonton Oilers (7th, 2010), Keegan Lowe- Carolina Hurricanes (3rd, 2011), Travis Ewanyk- Oilers (3rd, 2011), Michael St. Croix- New York Rangers (4th, 2011), Martin Gernat- Oilers (5th, 2011), Laurent Brossoit- Calgary Flames (6th, 2011)
PG- Ricard Blidstrand- Philadelphia Flyers (7th, 2010)
Injury Report:
EDM: #8, Griffin Reinhart, Upper body, day to day
#21, Travis Ewanyk, Upper body, 1 month
#22, Ryan Dech, Lower body, 1 month
PG: #2, Dan Gibb, Lower body, day to day
#4, Linden Springer, Upper body, day to day
#17, Caleb Belter, Upper body, day to day
#21, Shane Pilling, Upper body, day to day
#26, Campbell Elynuik, Lower body, day to day
Notes: Oil Kings forward Michael St. Croix is tied for 7th in league scoring (67), Dylan Wruck is10th (57). Defenceman Martin Gernat is 11th in rookie scoring (26) and he is tied for 18th in scoring amongst defencemen. Curtis Lazar is tied for 19th in rookie scoring. Oil Kings netminder Laurent Brossoit is 4th in GAA (2.47), and is 2nd in wins (25). The Oil Kings have the second rated PK in the league, their PP is also 2nd. For Prince George, Alex Forsberg is tied for 9th in rookie scoring (29). Drew Owsley is 13th in GAA (2.94), he is also tied for the league lead with 22 losses. The Oil Kings will be without Henrik Samuelsson tonight as he received a one game suspension for charging last time out in Calgary. This is the first of three meetings between the two clubs this year. Pregame show at 6:45, the puck drops at 7:00 on the Team 1260.
