The Edmonton Oilers will look to avoid going winless on this five-game road trip through the Eastern Conference when they face the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday evening.
1. This will be our first look at Mikko Rantanen as a member of the Hurricanes and it might also be our last. Carolina acquired the star forward from the Colorado Avalanche back in late January and the two sides aren’t any closer to a contract extension, so the Hurricanes could look to flip Rantanen before the trade deadline on March 7.
Adding fuel to the fire when it comes to these trade rumours is the fact Rantanen hasn’t hit the ground running with the Canes. The Finn broke the 100-point plateau in 2022-23 and 2023-24 with the Avs and was on pace to do so again with 64 points in 49 games before the trade. Through nine games with Carolina, Rantanen has just two goals and five points and the Canes have gone 3-5-1 with him in the lineup.
On the other side of the deal, Martin Necas has 13 points in 12 games with Colorado and Jack Drury has chipped in three goals in the same amount of games. Since moving Rantanen for Necas and Drury, the Avs have gone 7-5-0.
2. The Hurricanes have a 34-21-4 record on the season, good for second in the Metropolitan Division. They’re 12 points back of the Washington Capitals with the same amount of games played and they’re only two points up on the New Jersey Devils with one game in hand.
Carolina ranks ninth in the league with 192 goals and they’re seventh with 164 goals against. The team’s power play is below average, scoring on 19.8 percent of opportunities, while their penalty kill percentage of 84.0 is second in the league behind only the Dallas Stars.
3. Strong team defence and a deep offence are the key aspects of Carolina’s roster. The Canes don’t have a star forward in the mix for the NHL scoring lead and they don’t have an elite goaltender but they can win games in a variety of different ways.
Nobody in the NHL has better underlying numbers than the Hurricanes do. They have the league’s top shot attempt differential at even strength at 59.6 percent and they lead the way with a shot on goal share of 55.9 percent even strength.
4. Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho are leading the way offensively for Carolina with 23 and 21 goals while Jack Roslovic and Andrei Svechnikov are nearing the 20-goal mark with 19 and 18 goals. Eric Robinson, Jordan Staal, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Jackson Blake, and Jordan Martinook have each chipped in between 10 and 12 goals this season.
Carolina’s top defensive pairing of Jaccob Slavin and Brent Burns both have 21 points and are logging an average of just under 22 minutes per game. Shayne Gostisbehere, who plays the point on the Canes’ top power-play unit, leads the team’s defencemen in points with 32.
5. The Hurricanes have used five different goaltenders this season because Frederik Andersen had knee surgery back in November. Pytor Kochetkov has a .901 save percentage in 36 games, Andersen has a .903 save percentage in 10 games, Spencer Martin has a .846 save percentage in nine games, Dustin Tokarski has a .902 save percentage in six games, and Yavin Perets allowed one goal on seven shots in a relief appearance.
Since coming back from surgery in late-January, Andersen has made six appearances and has posted a .876 save percentage. Kochetkov started Carolina’s most recent game against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday and it appears likely that Andersen will start against the Oilers.
6. The Oilers are slipping in the Pacific Division standings and the team is badly in need of a win to stop the bleeding. Edmonton is now four points back of the Vegas Golden Knights with the same amount of games played and they’re only two points up on the Los Angeles Kings, who have two games in hand.
Playing in Carolina has been a challenge for the Oilers in recent years. The Hurricanes have won their last three games against the Oilers at home by a combined score of 15-to-6. Edmonton’s last victory in Raleigh was a 4-3 overtime win back in February of 2020.
