The biggest game of the year? Yeah, probably.
At least Everett Silvertips alternate captain Remi Laurencelle thinks so as the U.S. Division-leading Tips play host to second-place Seattle tonight at 7:30 at Xfinity Arena.
“Probably as of right now it’s the biggest game of the year, this year,” Laurencelle said after practice Thursday. “Last year we had the same thing with Portland… Fortunately they lost their last three games, but we can’t count on that this year. I think Seattle is a very good team and coming out tomorrow we have to play really hard.”
The Tips (36-21-4-2, 78 points) have led the division since beating Kelowna on New Year’s Day. Yet Everett is just 4-4-2 in its last 10 games while Seattle (37-23-3-0, 77 points) is riding a five-game winning streak and has won nine of its last 10.
The Thunderbirds were picked by most to win the division this year, but the Tips have held onto the lead thanks primarily to a 6-1-1 mark against Seattle this year. The T-Birds knocked off Everett 2-0 last Saturday in Seattle to move within three points, and Seattle’s 7-2 win over Tri-City Tuesday drew the T-Birds to within in one.
Mathew Barzal has been the X-factor, or the glue guy, or the appropriate hockey equivalent in Seattle’s two wins over the Tips. He went coast-to-coast for the overtime game-winner on Jan. 9 and scored both goals in last Saturday’s 2-0 win.
How do the Tips stop him?
“You don’t,” Everett head coach Kevin Constantine said. “He’s too good of a player to stop. You have to hope he doesn’t turn it up against you. You’re always trying to minimize how much damage he does, but he is too good to stop.”
One thing to note is that both of Seattle’s wins have come at the ShoWare Center in Kent. Everett is 4-0 this season at Xfinity Arena with victories of 2-0, 5-1, 2-1 and 4-3. The Tips also have a pair of 4-1 wins at ShoWare Center.
Barzal has seven goals and five assists in Seattle’s current winning streak, and was one of two T-Birds to record a hat trick in the win over Tri-City. Ryan Gropp had the other hat trick that night.
“(Barzal) is a very good player. Dynamic. He’s a great passer,” Laurencelle said. “It’s just kind of not pressuring too much, but making sure he doesn’t have all the time in the world to do whatever he wants. Obviously he’s a key part of their team.”
Check out Seattle beat writer Tim Pigulski’s story for perspective from the T-Birds camp. If you want something completely different you can read a feature about Tips center Matt Fonteyne.
Now, for practice notes:
– Tips defenseman Brycen Martin left Saturday’s game at Seattle following a second-period check along the boards and didn’t return. He missed Sunday’s game against Tri-City and is officially listed as “week-to-week” with an upper body injury. I haven’t seen him all week so I assume he won’t play at all this weekend.
– Tips forward and captain Dawson Leedahl still has a cast on his right hand, but did skate on his own at practice Thursday. Leedahl is still listed as out “four-to-six weeks” on the injury report, but that’s been the timetable since he was injured on Feb. 6. For those scoring at home, that means Saturday is four weeks from the initial injury, so we’ll continue to pay close attention to that development.
– D-men Cole MacDonald and Lucas Skrumeda were each listed as “day-to-day” on the injury report, but both have practiced all week and should play this weekend.
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