Ontario Reign

The Ontario Reign went 3-0 over the past week, extending their winning streak to eight-straight. At 9-0-1, they sit atop the AHL.

By now, we’re all aware of the blazing hot start the Ontario Reign are on: 9-0-1 to begin the season. Here is a look back at the last week of action in which they had wins over the Henderson Silver Knights (5-2), Bakersfield Condors (6-3), and the Colorado Eagles (4-3).

Top Performers

Martin Frk

Martin Frk was flat-out awesome in these three games. He scored four goals and added six assists for 10 points, earning himself the AHL Player Of The Week:

In the last two games of the week, the 28-year-old Czech winger did most of his damage with two goals and two assists. These were his first two games without T.J. Tynan, whom he’d played with every game up to that point. The veteran leads the AHL in goals (8) and is tied for the lead in points (16) and has been a consistent threat for the Reign. He’s been lethal on the power-play, but also at even strength as six of those 10 points in this three-game stretch did come at 5-on-5 (as well as one on a 6-on-5 due to a delayed penalty).

Vladimir Tkachev

This past week was the first AHL action of Vladimir Tkachev’s career and from a production standpoint, it couldn’t have gone much better. He’s picked up five assists in three games with two of those coming on the power-play where he’s looked the most dangerous. With Tynan’s call-up, the Reign lost their top playmaker, so they were going to need some other players to chip in. The Russian winger has done just that.

We expect him to look and be comfortable on the power-play, but his 5-on-5 game left a lot to be desired in his first game against Henderson. He’s settled in since that game, and making plays like this:

He sure didn’t come to North America to play in the AHL, so it’s in his best interest to continue to put points on the board to get back to Los Angeles.

Jaret Anderson-Dolan

With five points in the past three games, Jaret Anderson-Dolan is starting to insert himself back into the conversation of players that are hoping for a look back in the NHL. Three of those points were goals and he’s now second on the team with five. The first four of those came with the man-advantage. This one, in particular, came at 5-on-5 and it was a heck of a shot:

He’s been playing a third-line center and with his play really all season could be making a case to move up the lineup.

Alex Turcotte

It seems Kings fans are waiting with bated breath for the Alex Turcotte breakout. I don’t think anything this past week necessarily suggests that is coming, but he did pick up two goals and an assist over these three games. He’s moved up to play with Brayden Burke and Frk and should conceivably be there as long as Tynan is in L.A.

The two goals he scored weren’t anything fancy, but they could be the type of goals we see him score. He’s a hard-working player who isn’t afraid to get to the crease to score his goals, and that’s where both of them came from. The first was a rebound, the second was a little nicer, knocking it out of midair:

I don’t think Reign or Kings fans care where they come from, as long as they come.

Matt Villalta

The play of Matt Villalta continues to be among the brightest spots this season. He started two of these three games, going 2-0 with a .932 save percentage. On the season, he leads the AHL in wins (6) and, among goalies with at least three games played, is 11th in save percentage (.927). Villalta made 37 saves against Bakersfield on Saturday and was crucial in not letting the Condors back into the game.

He came up big early in the second period on Saturday, maintaining the Reign’s 2-0 lead:

 

Special Teams

The power-play went 3-for-10 (30%) and has been pretty consistent all season. I’ve mentioned Tynan a lot, and he led the team in power-play points. So, it is encouraging to see the Reign haven’t missed a beat in his absence.

On the season, the penalty-kill is just 76.3% but in the past week, did kill off 12-of-15 (80%). The PK was going along just fine up until the two third-period power-play goals Colorado scored on Sunday.

Shot Attempts

Despite winning all three games, the Reign really struggled at times. The worst of the play from a possession standpoint came in the first periods where they were out-attempted 67-40 (-27, 37.4% CF). Fortunately, the play of Villalta and Garret Sparks helped weather the storms and the offense was opportunistic.

11/3 – 11/7 Shot Attempts For Shot Attempts Against CORSI CF%
All Strengths 127 150 -23 45.8%
All Strengths HD 41 51 -10 44.60%
5v5 96 115 -19 45.5%
5v5 HD 31 36 -5 46.3%

Reign Drops

  • The possession numbers weren’t great, but the special teams were overall positive. It’s also worth noting that Ontario did outscore their opponents 10-5 at 5-on-5 in the past week.
  • Sean Durzi could have gotten a mention among the top performers had I not arbitrarily decided to end the list at five. He had a goal and two assists and leads all Reign defensemen on the season in goals (3), assists (6), and points (9). The nine points are third among AHL defensemen.
  • Aidan Dudas has goals in back-to-back games. He’s a sneaky prospect with a great work ethic but an underrated release to his shot.
  • Pretty much as soon as I put the keys in the ignition of the Tyler Madden hype train, it’s stalled at the station. It wasn’t a total loss this past week as he did pick up an assist, but he had just three shots on goal and his game was much less impactful. We’ll see if that turns around this weekend.
  • Prospect winger Samuel Fagemo also had a fairly quiet week, picking up just one assist himself. A goal-scoring winger, he only managed four shots on goal in the past three games.
  • Stick-taps to Helge Grans for picking up his first AHL goal this past week with a wrister against Henderson.

Three Surprising LA Kings’ Players Thus Far in 2021-22

Tags:

2 thoughts on “Reign Recap: A look back at the Ontario Reign’s 3-0 week”

  1. I think your assessment is harsh but straightforward. I believe the talent on this team is so vast that some players perceived lack of production is a result of spreading the wealth. Just because some players had “quiet” times on the scoreboard, it doesn’t mean they did not perform. They seem to be an unselfish group meshing nicely together.. Coach Wrobo has the guys playing the Kings system, 200′ game, aggressive forecheck and an intense backcheck. Finally, the Reign doesn’t seem to be affected by call ups. Lest I forget, the goaltending has also been outstanding.

    Reply

    1. I appreciate the feedback! I felt it was a pretty positive review overall. As far as Madden and Fagemo, production isn’t everything, but it needs to be acknowledged both when things are going well and not going well. Villalta was in my Top Performers section and mentioned Sparks as well, the goaltending has been awesome!

      Again, appreciate you reading and the comment. Go Kings and Go Reign!

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *