Oklahoma City Barons: A few Barons might threaten to crack 100-point barrier

Rookie defenseman Justin Schultz on pace to score 121 points, Jordan Eberle 105. OKC visits San Antonio this weekend for two game series. The Barons return to the Cox Center at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Peoria Rivermen.

 
By Michael Baldwin | Published: December 7, 2012    Comment on this article Leave a comment
photo - Justin Schultz of the Oklahoma City Barons tries to keep the puck away from Mike Sgarbossa of the Lake Erie Monsters during AHL hockey game at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, October 23, 2012. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Justin Schultz of the Oklahoma City Barons tries to keep the puck away from Mike Sgarbossa of the Lake Erie Monsters during AHL hockey game at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, October 23, 2012. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

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Barons at San Antonio

When: 7 p.m. Saturday, 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio.

Radio: KXY 96.1 FM, Jim Byers play-by-play.

Scouting report: Following an eight-day layoff, the Barons close out a season-long, seven-game road trip. The South Division rivals have split two games this season. ... The Barons (11-6-3) are tied with Houston for second in the South Division. San Antonio (8-11-3) is in the cellar. ... OKC rookie defenseman Justin Schultz (31 points) and Jordan Eberle (27) lead the AHL in scoring. The Rampage is led by Jon Rheault (18 points) ... Oklahoma City's power play (22.5 percent) ranks second in the league. San Antonio is 18th (15.7). The Rampage, though, is sixth (85.6 percent) in penalty kill while the Barons are 28th (77.9 percent).

There will be a change this weekend. Nugent-Hopkins won't play for the Barons the next month. Nugent-Hopkins stayed in Edmonton this week to undergo treatment for a sore shoulder. Next week the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft is expected to join Canada's junior world team.

Mark Arcobello will fill Nugent-Hopkins' center spot on the No. 1 line.

“It's like when somebody gets called up,” Nelson said. “You have to find the right combinations again. But we'll have guys coming back like Josh Green (and others). Obviously, Ryan is a great hockey player and will be missed. But we have some other parts we can insert as we move along.”

It's uncertain whether the Oilers' young stars will remain in OKC all season. NHL contract negotiations were making progress this week but hit another snag on Thursday. In the meantime, they're compiling insane stats for the Barons.

“They're going good right now,” Nelson said. “They're using each other real well in the offensive zone. They're getting their chemistry back to where it was last year in Edmonton. They're fun to watch.”

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