Oil Kings confident heading into weekend set
6 years ago
Don’t let their record fool you, the Oil Kings are playing some of their best hockey in recent memory right now. Yes, they’ve only managed to grab one win in their past five games but they’ve been going toe-to-toe with the WHL’s premier teams and, not only are they holding their own, but they’ve looked like the better team most nights.
“For us to not only be as competitive as we’ve been but to get ourselves in situations to push to win some games, I think it’s just critical from a confidence standpoint,” said Head Coach Steve Hamilton, following the OT loss to Victoria on Wednesday.
Edmonton will kick things off tonight against a Prince George team that’s 3-5-2 on the year and currently sitting fourth in the BC Division. Over the past five games, these two teams are sporting identical 1-2-2 records; but given the confidence that’s being shown by this young Oil Kings group, you can’t help but consider them the favourite heading into this matchup.
Offensively the Oil Kings have the edge, ranking sixth in the league with 38 goals for; while the Cougars sit in 14th with 31 GF. As far as keeping pucks out of their own net, the Oil Kings are dead last in the league, but given the solid play of Travis Child over his past few starts, that seems to be trending upwards.
Puck drop goes just after 7 pm tonight and I expect the Oil Kings to grab the two points in this one.
The team is off on Saturday but will take to the ice Sunday afternoon when the Spokane Chiefs come to town.
The Oil Kings may have caught a break in this one as Kailer Yamamoto is still up with the Oilers and won’t be reassigned in time for this match-up.
On paper, Spokane will be another tough test for Edmonton. They sit 7th overall in the WHL standings and are 6-5-0 as of right now. The Chiefs are in action tonight at home against Kamloops, so rest won’t necessarily be a problem.
On the ice, they are led by Ty Smith who has 12 points in his first 11 games. They also have 18-year-old Jaret Anderson-Dolan, who was selected in the second round by the LA Kings in the NHL Draft this past June.
Puck drop will be just after 4 pm and once again, we’ll see if the Oil Kings can keep up with one of the WHL’s best.
THE NUMBERS
- The Oil Kings offense continues to click, they’re currently tied for 5th in the WHL in GF.
- It may be a result of their speed and effort, but the OIl Kings draw an average of 4.3 power plays per game. However, their powerplay is just 3/16 over the past 5 games.
- Their penalty kill has been running at 75% over the past 5.
- Compared to last seasons first 11 games, the Oil Kings are averaging more than one goal more per game.
- Edmonton has given up the first goal in 4 of their last 5.
- Before these last 5 games, they had a faceoff% around 37%. During this 5 game streak, it’s up to 50%.
- Despite playing 5 very strong teams, the Oil Kings outshot their opponents 170-161 over the past 5 games.
GETTING A COMPLETE EFFORT
This isn’t a team that just features one scoring line and that’s a big part of the reason why they’ve been able to stay competitive with the big dogs of the WHL. Steve Hamilton has four lines that can all skate, sustain a cycle and put serious pressure on the opposition.
One group that stuck out was the team’s fourth line of Nick Bowman, Liam Keeler and David Kope. Hamilton was especially proud of the way that line played.
“Every time they were out there and they were able to sustain possession,” Hamilton said. “They meshed really well and had a real sense of what their purpose was. They went out there and gave us valuable, valuable minutes.”
They generated 5 shots on goal as a unit at even strength and in fact, against Victoria, every single Oil Kings forward generated at least one shot on net which was the first time they had done so all season.
That type of effort from every part of the lineup isn’t just noticed by the coaching staff, veteran Colton Kehler acknowledged the buy-in from the entire group, “We’re getting contributions from 20 guys, which is a real positive” he added. “We have 20 believers that are lacing up every night.”
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