The Coquitlam Express are taking on the Powell River Kings tonight at Scotia Barn. The Express are coming off of a clutch overtime victory last night and are looking to go back-to-back with another win this evening. The Kings, on the other hand, haven’t played a game since they last played the Express – a game that saw them notch a 5-3 victory back on April 12. Puck drop is at 7:30 PM!
Last night, it was the Keeton Oakley show for the Express in their 4-3 overtime win over the Surrey Eagles, as he put up two goals and an assist – the Langley Rivermen asset has fit in nicely on loan with the Express, climbing the lineup and earning time with the first line. The rookie has hit the scoresheet five times in his last two outings and will look to add more this evening.
Another continually developing storyline to watch for tonight is that of Dylan Kruss. The Thornhill, Ontario native has progressively been improving as this pod season has gone along and is now up to 3-1-1 on the season. He’s gone 2-0-1 in his last three starts and posted a .939 SV% over that span. Additionally, he saved 124 out of 132 shots that he faced in those three contests. He has been stellar and the numbers do not lie.
The Kings have been a very solid team at five-on-five, but special teams are an area that the Express need to exploit. The Kings have the fourth-worst penalty kill in the league (75.9%) and the Express have gone 4/16 on the power play in their meetings with the Kings this season. On that note, the Kings have gone 0/11 on the power play over their last three games – this is good news for an Express team that is third in the league in times shorthanded (32).
Get off the tracks – a train is coming through!
#allaboard
