#LAKings Wednesday: Ontario Reign Projected Lineup vs SD Gulls, Alex Turcotte Out (MayorsManor

For the fourth time in April, and the second time this week, the Ontario Reign and San Diego Gulls will faceoff again — and why not, it’s widely recognized as one of the elite rivalries in the entire AHL.
After splitting the first two games earlier this month, Ontario fell to San Diego 7-4 on Tuesday. For the rematch at TSPC, the Reign will be without Alex Turcotte. LA’s prized prospect was dinged up in the last game when he slid into the boards (see video below via KingsGIFs). He is currently scheduled to miss tomorrow’s game vs. Bakersfield, as well. With a bye week coming, we’re told the tentative idea is to have Turcotte return on Saturday, April 24.

In goal, the Reign will turn to veteran JF Berube for the second straight game. We should have more on the situation with Matt Villalta post-game tonight. He is not injured. However, as we understand things, the staff is looking for him to fine tune his game a bit before his next start.
Although the forwards continue to shuffle around from game to game, the defensive pairings have largely stayed consistent over the past two weeks — partly due to the Reign only having six healthy players on the blueline. Even so, it’s worth noting, we continue to get rave reports about first-year pro Jacob Moverare. Read more about him here.
If things go according to plan, this will be Quinton Byfield’s second to last game in Ontario before he is recalled to the NHL early next week. We explained that whole situation in an article here, including his anticipated debut with the Kings.
After tonight, the only remaining game between the two teams will be a home-and-home series in early May.
Ontario Reign Projected Lineup vs. San Diego Gulls

Kaliyev – Byfield – Frk
Eyssimont – Thomas – Dudas
Johnson – Kupari – Fagemo
Imama – Sutter – Smith-Pelly
Moverare – Durzi
Brickley – Alt
Phillips – Strand
Berube (starter)
Villalta
It will be interesting to see if anything carries over from this play in the last Reign-Gulls game:
Other Roster Notes:
— Lias Andersson is up on the Kings taxi squad at the moment.
— Nick Halloran and Jacob Doty will be healthy scratches, while Blaine Byron is sidelined with an injury. All three players are on AHL-only contracts.
— Highly regarded LA prospect Tyler Madden remains out indefinitely due to this hit, with no timetable available yet regarding when he’ll resume skating.
Wednesday’s puck drop is scheduled for 6pm PST and can be streamed through AHL TV.




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Photo courtesy of AHL San Diego Gulls



https://mayorsmanor.com/2021/04/wedn...-turcotte-out/