Coming off four straight wins, the Ontario Reign will try to keep their streak alive when they open a two-game set at Bakersfield on Saturday afternoon. For the first contest, coach John Wroblewski is expected to make several changes to his lineup, beginning with Lias Andersson slotting in at 2C. The 22-year-old forward has split time between the Kings and Reign this season and was just returned to the AHL. In three previous games for Ontario, Andersson recorded three points (1G, 2A).
Also of note, recently signed veteran Devante Smith-Pelly will sit out tonight. At the moment, it is unclear if he is a healthy scratch or nursing an injury. We’ll attempt to gather more information later. DSP made his debut with the team on Tuesday and then also played again on Wednesday in Tucson.
Defenseman Cole Hults, who was scratched last game to make room for the returning Jacob Moverare (who had been out since the first weekend of the season), will draw back in vs. the Condors. A first-year pro after playing at Penn State, Hults has appeared in 10 games thus far in 2021.
AHL STATS CHECK
Since Wrobo put the Turcotte – Kupari – Kaliyev line together four games ago, they've scored 7 goals… And at least one goal per game.
2 vs TUC 3/12
1 vs HSK 3/13
2 vs TUC 3/16
2 vs TUC 3/17— John Hoven | The Mayor (@mayorNHL) March 19, 2021
Ontario Reign Projected Lineup for Sat. 3/20 at Bakersfield
Alex Turcotte – Rasmus Kupari – Arthur Kaliyev
Blaine Byron – Lias Andersson – Sammy Fagemo
Mikey Eyssimont – Quinton Byfield – Akil Thomas
Boko Imama – Brett Sutter – Aidan Dudas
Kale Clague – Mark Alt
Jacob Moverare – Austin Strand
Cole Hults – Sean Durzi
JF Berube (starter)
John Lethemon
Saturday’s puck drop is scheduled for 3pm PST and can be streamed through AHL TV.
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