Three takeaways from Ontario Reign 8-2 win over Abbottsford

Newly minted Ontario Reign Captain T.J. Tynan leads the Reign to their first win of the season with three points.

Goal Breakdown

First Period

ABB: Justin Dowling (1) ASST: Linus Karlsson (1), Wyatt Kalynuk (1)

ONT: Taylor Ward (1) ASST: Alan Quine (1)

ABB: Arshdeep Bains (1) ASST: Linus Karlsson (2), John Stevens (1)

ONT: Samuel Fagemo (1) ASST: T.J. Tynan (1), Jordan Spence (1) – PP

ONT: Helge Grans (1) ASST : Akil Thomas (1), Jacob Doty (1)

Second Period

ONT: Lias Andersson (1) ASST: Jordan Spence (2), T.J. Tynan (2) – PP

ONT T.J. Tynan (1) UNASSISTED

ONT Tobias Bjornfot (1) ASST : T.J. Tynan (3), Jordan Spence (3)

Third Period

ONT: Akil Thomas (1) ASST : Alan Quine (2), Helge Grans (1) – PP

ONT: Aidan Dudas (1) ASST: Akil Thomas (2), Austin Wagner (1)

STATS

Goals

ONT: 8

ABB: 2

Shots

ONT: 46

ABB: 31

Powerplay

ONT: 3/6

ABB: 1/3

Here are three things that stood out.

1. The Reign are picking up where they left off

The scoring started for the Abbottsford Canucks just 1:50 into the first period. However, the Reign would then prove that they were exactly the same team from last year, locking the score at one just two minutes later.

After losing that tie shortly thereafter, the Reign didn’t look back as they potted two goals in 40 seconds to give themselves a two-goal lead that they never let go of – in fact improved upon. Ontario scored 3.8 goals per game last season and they are looking to continue that kind of scoring prowess as the 2022-23 season begins.

The #ReignTrain keeps rolling! pic.twitter.com/xJyKHwWlox

— Ontario Reign (@ontarioreign) October 15, 2022

The offense has been something that the organization as a whole has looked at as important since the drafting of Gabriel Vilardi back in 2017 and it’s becoming more apparent that the Reign are full of offensive talent and will continue to score at a ridiculous pace as the season goes on.

It sure looks like we can expect another fast, offensive team that really moves the puck well.

2. Lofty Expectations

The Ontario Reign went 41-18-5-4 last season, good for second in the Pacific Division. The problem is, of course, that nothing counts once the playoffs start and the Reign were ousted pretty quickly by Colorado in the second round.

If Ontario is going to continue to work through the things they need to do to start winning, it’s going to be about managing expectations. Pheonix Copley’s opening night didn’t start well but ended up being a pretty good game for him, making 29 saves.

Ontario put up a lot of goals in their season opener, but is this permanent? Are the Reign that team that scores 3.8 goals per game two years in a row? They still have a lot of the same defensive holes that they had last season and ten different players hitting the score sheet in the home opener isn’t going to change some of the bad habits the blueliners for the Reign picked up over last season.

There needs to be focus and grit on the blue line and the tendency to lean on the offensive game isn’t going to do the Reign well in the long term.

3. Decisions to be made

At the end of the day, the Reign is a team made up of a lot of very valuable prospects that could be shifted around. Something for the organization to think about is its depth. The LA Kings are deficient on the left side of the defense, and they could make a move to shore up this problem as the season goes on.

Certain teams are always willing to part with something that is very valuable, but of course, that really means that multiple people may be on the move away from the organization.

Ontario is going to have some tough decisions to make moving forward as they work on their way to getting back to the playoffs. There are always changes happening at the AHL level as a team moves from a build into contention and the scary part for the Reign is that the Kings may be looking to move forward in the rebuild into contender status.

If they do, we could see the Jakob Chychrun or other player rumors resurface and actually come to fruition. If that were to happen, Ontario is going to have to rely on its coaches and depth players to make sure that they are able to survive what will happen in the future.

Special shoutout

A quick fourth highlight and a special shoutout to T.J. Tynan. Congratulations, Captain, on your new position and all the good things to come!

The Ontario Reign are back in action on Sunday against Bakersfield.