Oil Kings square off against the Warriors; a WHL Eastern Conference final preview

The Western Hockey League's Eastern Conference final seems like it could be a nail bitter that could go the distance.

In one corner is the speedy and highly talented Edmonton Oil Kings, who are on a 19-game winning streak. In the other corner, there is the big and strong Moose Jaw Warriors.

The one aspect this series does not entail is history. The Oil Kings and Warriors have never met up in the post-season. This is because the Oil Kings have only been in the WHL for five years and had never even won a playoff game up until this year.

Nevertheless, even though these two clubs have never squared off in the playoffs, don't be surprised to see a toe-to-toe series full of emotion. Both dressing rooms have their fair share of truculence, more so with the Warriors, but both nonetheless.

Henrik Samuelsson has added some pugnacity to the Oil Kings' lineup since joining them in early January. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound centre plays, well, similar to how his father Ulf Samuelsson use to play on the back end. He finishes his checks, chirps, and often gets involved in altercations after the whistle.

Griffin Reinhart is easily the Oil Kings' toughest customer to play against on the blue line. The 6-foot-4, 203-pounder uses his size to his advantage, out muscling and pushing around opponents along the boards and in front of his net.

Wingers hate to line up next to him, defencemen hate to match up against him, goaltenders hate to see his number 16 in front of them — it's safe to say Moose Jaw 's Cody Beach isn't exactly on a lot of WHL players' Christmas card lists. The rugged 6-foot-6, 188-pound winger led the league with 229 penalty minutes. He isn't just a fighter, though. Beach can make an impact on the score sheet; he scored 15 goals and 56 points in 58 games. He is going to be on the ice in every situation for the Warriors. Don't be surprised to hear about a Cody Beach voodoo doll in the Oil Kings dressing room once the St. Louis Blues prospect starts to make some new Northern Alberta friends.

There is no tougher defensive duo than Warriors' Dylan McIlrath and Joel Edmundson in the Dub. They are towering, mean, and ruthless. The two blueliners each stand roughly 6-foot-5, weigh more than 200 pounds, and combined for 218 minutes in the sin bin this season.

(1) Edmonton Oil Kings (50-15-3-4, 107 pts, beat Kootenay 4-0 and Brandon 4-0) vs. (2) Moose Jaw Warriors (42-24-2-4, 98 pts, beat Regina 4-1 andMedicine Hat 4-0)

Season series: Edmonton 3-0-0-1. Odds favour: Edmonton 76 per cent. Prediction: Edmonton in 7.

Veteran leadership: There's no doubt the Warriors have more veteran leadership than

the Oil Kings. Their offence is built around 20-year-old Quinton Howden and 21-year-olds Cam Braes and James Henry. The trio has a combined 105 games of playoffexperience. These veterans lead by example; they've tallied 10 goals and 39 points throughout their first nine playoff showings.

Captain Mark Pysyk leads his Oil Kings' squad from the back end. The Buffalo Sabres first rounder isn't very flashy, but he plays a calm, cool, and collected game. He is Mr. dependable, a great veteran for younger players to look to for advice. Advantage: Moose Jaw.

Goaltending: Oil Kings puck-stopper Laurnet Brossoit has been lights out thus far. The Calgary Flames prospect has maintained a 2.47 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage throughout eight games. It's not like Brossoit hasn't been challenged either. He's been up against some of the league's top goal scorers such as the Brandon Wheat Kings' Mark Stone and Michael Ferland and Kootenay Ice's Max Reinhart.

Moose Jaw's Luke Siemens hasn't had a lot thrown at him. He faced 20 or fewer shots in five of his nine games between the pipes. Yet he has only maintained a .901 save percentage. He is the Warriors' biggest uncertainty. He isn't expected to single-handedly win a game, but he needs to hold his own. Advantage: Edmonton.

Special teams: This area is a tossup. Edmonton is given the edge on the penalty kill. They have held opponents 2-for-24 on the power play. Moose Jaw has not been bad either, allowing six goals on 27 penalties. At the other end of the rink, the Warriors' stats on the man advantage bested the Oil Kings. Moose Jaw netted 11 power-play goals on 44 chances (25%), better than Edmonton's 7-for-32 (21.9%). Advantage: even.

Why Edmonton should win: Moose Jaw's blue line is definitely big and lanky, but they aren't exactly speedsters. Edmonton's skillful, agile scorers could be able to capitalize on this. Edmonton has seven 20-goal scorers in their lineup that include New York Rangers prospect Michael St. Croix, overage Tyler Maxwell, and rookie Curtis Lazar. These scorers will be tough for Siemens to handle. This test could get the best of the Moose Jaw goaltender.

As mentioned above, Brossoit has been excellent between the pipes thus far. He could be Edmonton's biggest difference maker in this matchup. If this series comes down to a battle of the puck-stoppers, Edmonton should be headed to the WHL finals.

How Moose Jaw could win: The Warriors are built for this season. Howden and McIlrath will be heading to the pros next season, and trade-deadline acquisitions Braes and Henry will also be moving on. Therefore, there are no second chances. It is do or die for these grizzled veterans.

The Warriors' offence will be getting a boost in this series. Puck-moving blueliner Morgan Rielly is returning after missing nearly the entire season because of suffering a knee injury in early October.

"Morgan is ready to go," says Moose Jaw's director of hockey operations Alan Millar. "He felt he was ready against the Tigers, but we had a plan and a timeline and we stuck by that."

Moose Jaw will need to wear down Edmonton physically. If they consistently finish their checks and play hard-nosed hockey, Edmonton might be intimidated by the Warriors' belligerence and ultimately play with less confidence. Moose Jaw's truculent players need to control their tempers, though. Unnecessary penalties could shoot them in the foot.

Kelly Friesen is a Buzzing the Net columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KellyFriesen