The Coquitlam Express are ready to clash with the Powell River Kings in this tail end of yet another back-to-back situation. Last night, the Express fell short in a meeting with the Surrey Eagles, so they’ll playing with something to prove this evening. Puck drop is 7:30pm.
The Express and the Kings haven’t seen each other since the 24th, when the Kings took a close hockey game 4-3 in overtime. The Kings have taken the last three games of this season series, but are coming off of two losses to the Eagles and will be undoubtedly hungry to get back in the win column tonight.
Following seven straight losses, the Express are coming into this one with a very different-looking lineup. It appears that the Express’ coaching staff intend to spread the wealth a little bit in terms of veteran distribution – notably, Danny Pearson and Sam Marit are being deployed on the third line tonight. This is a welcomed change, considering the depth of their opponents has proven to be too much to handle at times for this young Express team. This move allows three very solid pairings to occupy each of their top three lines – Ryan Tattle and Keeton Oakley are headlining the first line, Christian MacDougall and Tyler Schleppe are holding down the second, and Pearson and Marit are beefing up the third.
The Kings have been given a plethora of power play opportunities against the Express, as they’ve gotten 19 looks in their last three meetings – they’ve tallied six power play goals on those opportunities and go ahead and guess what the goal differential has been over those three meetings…
To Powell River’s credit, they’re fantastic at moving their feet and forcing their opponents out of position and into penalty-taking territory. In fact, they’ve garnered the most power plays in the entirety of the BCHL (67).
It’s been a tough stretch for the Express team, but they’ve shown shades of their true potential. It’s just a matter of time before we see this team in full form, performing for a full 60 minutes. Is tonight the night?
Get off the tracks – a train is coming through!
#allaboard
