Curtis Lazar, Edmonton Oil Kings fly into February: CHL Hot & Cold

A Battle of Alberta II might be brewing, although its not the greatest sign for competitive balance in the WHL.

The two big market teams east of the Rockies, the Edmonton Oil Kings and Calgary Hitmen, are 10 points clear of all the franchises who aren't owned by a NHL franchise. People being natural-born complainers, the two meeting once in the penultimate round of playoffs was a great launch point for nostalgia trip to Flames-Oilers series of yore. Twice means it's a frightening sign. That's just the way it works.

Here is a look at who is flowing and ebbing entering the first full week of February.

OHL

Hot: Windsor Spitfires

Perhaps it will not advantageous for a Western Conference power to draw Windsor in a 4 vs. 5 first-round series instead of finishing third and facing Saginaw with Jake Paterson in goal. That might be a wink-wink statement.

The Spitfires aren't as physical as the Spirit and are counting on less seasoned goaltending in Dalen Kuchmey and Alex Fotinos, but it is on a six-game win streak. With Tampa Bay Lightning first-rounder Slater Koekkoek leading the OHL in plus/minus, Windsor is already in playoff mode. It might not be sustainable over the long term, but the Spitfires have won 14 of their past 23 games during a season in which they were off-loading graduating players.

"We know we’re going to have to keep it a close game and play it 2-1 or 3-1," is how Kuchmey describes it. It might not be enough to beat a team four times in seven games or fewer but Windsor should be a tough out in late March.

There Not: Sudbury Wolves

The Wolves might have deserved more when it mustered 38 shots and got shut out for the first time all season in an interconference tilt vs. Sault Ste. Marie and Pittsburgh Penguins goaltending prospect Matt Murray. That was one-half of a 0-2 week that left the Wolves, who were without Buffalo Sabres-drafted wing Nick Baptiste vs. the Soo, just 3-5-0-2 since the trade deadline three weeks ago.

Sudbury looked impressive when it swept a recent home-and-home series with the Barrie Colts. Other than that, it hasn't defeated a team that is above .500 since making a big deadline trade for Dallas Stars first-rounder Radek Faksa.

Canadian NHL team prospects

Michael McCarron, London (No. 25 by Montreal Canadiens in '13) — The big man had three points in as many games during London's sweep of a road trip through the Central Division, including a breakaway goal in a win at Barrie. It's fair to be full of anticipation over what impact the 6-foot-6, 238-pound wing will have for London by the playoffs.

Carter Verhaeghe, Niagara (No. 82 by Toronto Maple Leafs in '13) — Verhaeghe is up to a tie for 10th in OHL scoring after a hat trick on Saturday. Granted, both of his hatters have come vs. teams that are out of the playoff picture, but Niagara was missing five regulars last week and put a lot on the centre's shoulders.

Ryan Rupert, London (No. 157 by Toronto Maple Leafs in '12) — London's own little ball of hate has picked up the pace since Christmas, with 19 points in 15 games in the second half (compared to 31 in 35 before the break).

QMJHL

Hot: Victoriaville Tigres

The Tigres came back from the East Coast on Sunday with three wins and one 19-year-old goalie. Brandon Whitney, the Chicago Blackhawks pick who suffered a fractured larynx during a practice four weeks ago, is back with the team and could play again by March. During Whitney's absence, François Tremblay has a 2.44 average and .929 save percentage over 11 games, but will probably need some nights off.vil

Victoriaville, which has won 10 in a row to move up to the 10th overall, might have won the trade period. Its other veteran pickup, overage Jean-François Plante has 10 goals and 19 points in his first 11 games with the Tigres. Plante has more assists in a month with Victo than he did in 3½ with Sherbrooke. It's great to have better passing options.

Not: Rimouski Océanic

No one can afford a stumble in the packed top half of the Q standings and Rimouski gaffed big-time by losing 6-4 to cellar-dwelling Shawinigan for its second loss in a row. Océanic coach Serge Beausoleil pulled a few punches in his postmortem, falling back on the old saw about how it wouldn't be fair to ream out one star when he could go "one by one" through the whole team. Rimouski's leading scorer, undrafted 18-year-old Anthony DeLuca, is pointless in the past three games. It sounds like several Océanic players were trying to take shortcuts to offensive nirvana, which boomeranged on them against the desperate Cataractes.

The Océanic (.637 point pct., sixth in the Q) has a 3-in-3 Maritimes road trip to sort itself out.

Canadian NHL team prospects

Zach Fucale, Halifax (No. 36 by Montreal Canadiens in '13) — The Habs second-rounder is second in the league with a 2.44 average despite giving up nine goals over 105 minutes in his past two starts. Fucale was strong in an eight-round shootout with Blainville-Boisbrand, but the Armada's Étienne Marcoux was a little better and luckier.

Charles Hudon, Baie-Comeau (No. 122 by Montreal Canadiens in '12) — Hudon had a nice homecoming to Chicoutimi, where he spent 3½ seasons. His three-point effort, which ran the QMJHL-leading Drakkar's win streak to 10, gave him 12 points in seven games since his move to the north shore.

Ryan Culkin, Drummondville (No. 124 by Calgary Flames in '12) — The puck-moving defenceman scored his first goal in four weeks during the Voltigeurs' nationally televised shootout win over Gatineau on Friday. He also had three points, bringing him up to 42 on the season, as he kept Drummondville's forwards' plates piled high with scoring chances.

WHL

Hot: Edmonton Oil Kings

Goalie Tristan Jarry came up large when confronted by fellow 18-year-old second-round NHL pick Eric Comrie of Tri-City last week. As a result, Edmonton's win streak is extant at eight and it has a five-point cushion over Calgary atop its conference. The Oil Kings' balance is evidenced by the fact that (a) it's scored the Dub's third-most goals even though Henrik Samuelsson is the team's only top 25 scorer (b) and 19-year-old leader Griffin Reinhart actually has the fewest points among any of the regulars at the back end. (Reinhart has 15 in 31 games.)

Ottawa Senators first-rounder Curtis Lazar and Edmonton Oilers second Mitch Moroz have given Edmonton a steady 1-2-3 punch offensively.

Not: Calgary Hitmen

The Eastern Conference is very stratified, what with the Edmonton-Calgary race for top spot, the "suffocating state" of the rest of the race, and three playing-out-the-stringers. Normally a defensively taut outfit, coach Mike Williamson's Hitmen let their guard down and allowed at least four goals in all three of their games last week; it's now 3-6-1-0 in its past 10 games. Sometimes issues with continuity don't crop up until injured/ill players make it back into the lineup. Calgary had five regulars out when Edmonton wrested away the conference lead. It's healthier now but isn't thriving. The upshot is that usual suspects offensively such as Greg Chase, Jake Virtanen and Pavel Padakin are still getting their chances, indicating there is time to recover.

Keep an eye on how Calgary handle its two-game trip to Victoria early on this week.

Canadian NHL team prospects

Nic Petan, Portland (No. 43 by Winnipeg Jets in '13) — Petan's space is practically boilerplate. The centre had seven points (2G-5A) during three Winterhawks wins, giving him multiple points in six of his last eight games. The Winterhawks haven't lost in regulation in their last dozen games although league-leading Kelowna might be out of reach with its 10-point lead.

Eric Comrie, Tri-City (No. 59 by Winnipeg Jets in '13) — The signed prospect has had an L next to his name only twice so far in the second half. One was a 4-2 game with an empty-netter, the other a 3-1 decision against aforementioned Edmonton where Comrie made 35 saves. Forget Western league goalie of the year, who about the whole CHL?

Tim Bozon, Kootenay (No. 64 by Montreal Canadiens in '12) — The 19-year-old kept up his unfluctuating production for the Ice; his double on Saturday vs. Calgary gave him 11 goals in 12 games since the calendar turned.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.