WHL Conference Finals Breakdown: Offense

Today's WHL playoff breakdown takes a look at offense.

EDMONTON OIL KINGS

The fourth ranked offense in the regular season, the Oil Kings have 44 goals so far in the playoffs and are generally underrated when it comes to this category.  Led by the likes of Henrik Samuelsson, Michael St. Croix, and Stephane Legault (the team's leading scorer in the playoffs), it's easy to see why the Oil Kings had little trouble against Kootenay and Medicine Hat.

PORTLAND WINTERHAWKS

The Winterhawks led the league in the regular season in goals scored, and their playoff run (50 goals so far) mirrors that success.  In the regular season, the three leading scorers in the league were Winterhawks (Brendan Leipsic, Nic Petan, and Ty Rattie), yet there is so much more than that trio, as the likes of Oliver Bjorkstrand, Chase De Leo, Taylor Peters, and Taylor Leier provide secondary scoring.  Their defensemen are just as proficient at scoring as they are at keeping the opposing team from scoring, as Troy Rutkowski and Seth Jones put up great numbers.

KAMLOOPS BLAZERS

The Blazers boast some premier scoring with JC Lipon, Colin Smith, and Tim Bozon leading the way.  However, they are prone to streaky play, as 261 regular season goals can attest and 41 playoff goals at this stage is another indicator.  However, getting production from Brendan Ranford and Kale Kessy has helped offset some missed time from Smith and Bozon.  The Blazers will need to get continued production from players not named Lipon or Smith.

CALGARY HITMEN

The Hitmen were a few goals better than the Blazers in the regular season, but have only amassed 30 goals in the playoffs.  To be fair, they were Swift Current and Red Deer, two teams that were tough to score on.  While there is no go-to guy on the team, timely goals from the likes of Cody Sylvester, Brooks Macek, and Victor Rask put the Hitmen in position to knock off the reigning Ed Chynoweth Champions this series.