2019 playoff preview: 1C) Edmonton Oil Kings vs. 1E) Prince Albert Raiders

Franchise playoff history: 2014 Opening Round Edmonton 4-0, Oil Kings outscored Prince Albert 18-9 in four game sweep on their way to the 2014 WHL Championship, as well as winning the Memorial Cup, the last team from the WHL to do so.

2018-19 head-to-head:

Prince Albert: 3-1-0-0

Edmonton : 1-2-1-0

Noah Gregor (Ed Kaiser/Postmedia)

Prince Albert played really well in the season series while at Rogers Arena in Edmonton. The Raiders came away with the win in both games, outscoring the Oil Kings 11-4. Ian Scott was stellar in those two games stopping 56-of-60 shots. Dylan Myskiw and Todd Scott each started one game a piece in Edmonton and they did not fare well.

It was another story in Prince Albert. The Raiders needed overtime to win a shootout with the Oil Kings 6-5 in mid-December. Edmonton’s win on the first of February in Prince Albert was just one of four regulation losses on home ice for Prince Albert. Ian Scott allowed five goals on 27 shots in that game and was pulled after 45 minutes between the pipes, in his worst start of the entire season.

Both teams spread around the offense in the series. San Jose Sharks prospect Noah Gregor led all players with two goals and six assists. 2019 NHL Draft eligible Brett Leason (1G-6A) and Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Trey Fix-Wolansky (5G-2A) each added seven points. Max Martin and Conner McDonald led the offense from the back end with six points each.

Both teams landed in the top half of the league in power play percentage with Edmonton holding a slight lead. The Oil Kings also held a slim lead in the season series with the man-advantage going 4-for-16 (25%) compared to 4-for-19 (21.1%) for the Raiders.

Vince Loschiavo (photo-Andy Devlin)

Storylines to watch: 

The Prince Albert Raiders have not lost at home in the playoffs. The team has a combined 33-4-2-0 record on the ice at the Art Hauser Centre this season (.872 points pct) When the rink is sold out and the team is playing well, they are nearly unbeatable. Only the Raiders and Vancouver Giants have 30 or more home-ice wins this season and playoffs.

Can the Edmonton Oil Kings offense keep up with the vaunted Prince Albert Raiders offense? The Raiders have three players in the top five in playoff scoring (Dante Hannoun 14 points, Gregor 12 and Leason 12) The closest Oil King is Vince Loschiavo with 10 points in 10 games. Eight Oil Kings players have at least 0.5 points per-game though and they have a very balanced attack, getting offense throughout their line up. The Raiders also have eight players with at least 0.5 points per game.

What storyline can Prince Albert Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid come up with for this series? With the Red Deer Rebels it was the Leason suspension for a bad looking hit. In second round with the Blades, it was a war of words over diving and dangerous play with their head coach Mitch Love. What attention grabbing headlines will he cook up this time? The Oil Kings have been a pretty under the radar team for a division winner and Brad Lauer is not nearly as outspoken as the wily vet, Habscheid.

Dylan Myskiw (Andy Devlin)

How they match up:

These teams have identical records heading into the Eastern Conference Championship series. Edmonton has won seven games in-a-row, following a rough start against the Medicine Hat Tigers. They swept the Calgary Hitmen in round two.

Prince Albert had arguably the toughest series in the second round, facing off against a feisty Saskatoon Blades squad. The Raiders lost back-to-back games on the road. It was the first time they had lost consecutive games since February 15-16 – the only time it happened in the entire regular season. They handled the Rebels in four games in the first round.

Both teams are deep. The offense comes from the first line right on through the fourth line. All six defenders are capable of moving the puck up ice and collecting assists in the process.

Ian Scott (photo-Darren Steinke)

It really comes down to the netminders and on paper it isn’t even close. Ian Scott is NHL drafted, had the second most regular season wins (38) and has backstopped the Raiders in all eight wins in the playoffs. He leads the league in goals against average in the second season at 1.81.

Dylan Myskiw played a platoon role in Edmonton, with the team seemingly riding the hot hand all season. Myskiw was more often the hot hand and did win the team 28 games. His playoff goals against average is 1.93 but he has provided just five of the Oil Kings eight wins.

DubNetwork prediction: Raiders in 5.