Hurricanes at Oilers
The Carolina Hurricanes look to reach the .500 mark for the first time this season when they begin a quick two-game road trip against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday. The Hurricanes, who also visit Vancouver on Wednesday, have earned points in four of their last five contests (3-1-1) after dropping a 2-1 overtime decision to Nashville on Saturday.
Carolina, which started the season with three consecutive losses, has surrendered 14 goals in its last eight contests and must be sharp against Edmonton’s talented young forwards. The Oilers, who suffered a 4-1 loss on Nov. 25 at Carolina, won for only the second time in nine games (2-6-1) Saturday with a 4-3 shootout triumph at home against Arizona. Taylor Hall and Leon Draisaitl, who were scorching hot during a six-game winning streak to begin December, have cooled off a bit of late. Hall, who is among the league leaders with 41 points, has scored one goal in his last eight games while Draisaitl has 10 assists but no tallies in the past 11 contests.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Carolinas, Sportsnet West (Edmonton)
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (16-17-6): Captain Eric Staal is beginning to warm up with three goals and four points in his last three games for Carolina, which continues to improve offensively. Jeff Skinner has slowed down in the goal department with one in his last eight contests after a red-hot stretch but has contributed four points in as many games. Checking center Jay McClement was a late scratch Saturday due to illness while Phillip Di Giuseppe also is questionable to face Edmonton after suffering an upper-body injury versus Nashville.
ABOUT THE OILERS (16-21-3): Edmonton still is within striking distance of a playoff spot in the tightly-packed Pacific Division, and the comeback victory on Saturday could ignite another run. “It was great to see us stick with it after getting down by a goal in the third,” center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins told reporters. “We really wanted to come back and get that one and play with some desperation.” Jordan Eberle ended a seven-game drought with two goals against Arizona, including the tying tally in the third periiod, and Nugent-Hopkins has notched four points in four contests.
OVERTIME
1. The Hurricanes are 0-for-11 on the power play over their last six contests and the Oilers have converted just two of their 26 opportunities with the man advantage in a 10-game span.
2. Carolina D Justin Faulk has been blanked in the last three games but leads the team with 14 goals and 30 points.
3. Hall is second in the league in shots with 167 – trailing only Washington captain Alex Ovechkin (190).