The glow from the 2013-14 Memorial Cup championship season has faded for the Edmonton Oil Kings faithful. The Western Hockey League club is headed to its second consecutive season of missing the post-season after two first-round playoff exits.
Yet the Victoria Royals, looking to extend their home winning streak to 10 games, would be well advised not to look past the Oil Kings tonight at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
Edmonton is only 16-32-7 but has won its last two games, including a 4-1 victory Monday in Kamloops against the Blazers.
The Oil Kings, whose general manager is former Victoria Cougars WHL goaltender Randy Hansch, took the Royals to overtime on Oct. 18 in a 3-2 Victoria win at Rogers Place and held Victoria to a one-goal victory in a 3-2 decision Nov. 10 at the Memorial Centre.
鈥淓dmonton has played us tough this season,鈥� Royals head coach Dan Price said.
鈥淭he standings don鈥檛 matter. The Oil Kings work hard and play a structured game.鈥�
The Royals (34-20-4) are coming off a draining three-games-in-four-days set, Friday through Monday, in which they went 2-1 against sa国际传媒 Division arch-rival Kelowna Rockets.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 get tired because we use the full depth of our lineup. All 12 forwards and six defencemen contribute,鈥� Price said.
鈥淭eam depth helps in rest and recovery.鈥�
Price touched on the nine-game home winning streak, which the Royals will get ample chances to extend with five consecutive games on Blanshard Street. Tonight鈥檚 game against the Oil Kings will be followed by visits from the Red Deer Rebels on Friday, Vancouver Giants on Saturday and Portland Winterhawks on Feb. 23-24.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got an energized fan base that gets the guys going, a great building to play in, and we take a lot of pride in playing at home,鈥� Price said.
But a coach must always take the broader view.
鈥淚n the playoffs, you must also win on the road,鈥� Price said.
If there is one thing he wants tightened up from the 5-4 loss Monday in Kelowna, it鈥檚 the march to the penalty box.
鈥淒iscipline is a key down the stretch,鈥� Price said.
鈥淲e had five penalties to kill Monday and that鈥檚 too much. Penalty kills are hard minutes that expend a lot of energy. We have to stay out of the box.鈥�
