Oil Kings Look To Finish Regular Season Strong

The Edmonton Oil Kings are starting what may be classified as the home stretch of their 2018-2019 regular season. With 14 games remaining, the Oil Kings sit at the top of the Central Division with 68 points. The Oil Kings last game, against the Regina Pats was a 5-2 victory. The Oil Kings are set to start a three game road trip against opponents from the Eastern Division in the coming week. They will then welcome the Medicine Hat Tigers – who thanks to recent strong performances – find themselves just one point behind the Oil Kings for first in the Division. The Oil Kings game against the Tigers will be a Family Day matinee at Rogers Place.

The Oil Kings have only 14 games remaining and nine of them are against divisional opponents. This is both good and bad news for the Oil Kings as the Central Division has been one which has seen a great deal of variability during the last season. This variability has been partially due to the fact that several Central Division teams have had up and down swings, including the Oil Kings. This makes the remaining games against divisional opponents even more interesting as there is a more direct effect on the standings. A series of bad games from the Oil Kings while another team is on a winning streak could completely change the playoff picture.

The Oil Kings next series of games will provide a good measure of the Oil Kings preparations for the final stretch of the season. The Moose Jaw Warriors are the middle game on the Oil Kings road trip. Moose Jaw currently has 68 points, is third in the Eastern Conference, and has a win-loss record very similar to Edmonton’s. The Warriors seem like an excellent test of post-season readiness.

The Oil Kings also have Medicine Hat to consider. The Tigers are their Family Day matinee opponents in one of the Oil Kings marquee games of the season – Star Wars Night … or Day more correctly. The event will feature a specialty jersey and family friendly fund with a Star Wars theme. The Oil Kings will be competing against the Oilers to draw families in on Monday, however, as the Oilers host an autograph session at West Edmonton Mall. Perhaps, not the Oilers Entertainment Group’s most understandable scheduling conflict. Two marquee events for families at the same time doesn’t seem well organized.

The Oil Kings will be in action at Rogers Place at 2pm on Family Day (February 18th) against the Medicine Hat Tigers. The game has implications for first place in the Central Division and playoff seeding. Beyond that, the Oil Kings welcome recently traded forward Brett Kemp back and Josh Williams (acquired in the Kemp trade) will face his old team at Rogers Place for the first time. There’s lots of elements of an intense hockey game coupled with some Star Wars family fun thrown in to make things even more interesting.