Gold: 3-0 Canes head to Edmonton with McDavid, Draisaitl waiting
Posted October 20, 2022 5:54 p.m. EDT
Updated October 20, 2022 7:54 p.m. EDT
The Carolina Hurricanes on-again-off-again start to the season resumes tonight in Edmonton against Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the rest of an explosive Oilers squad smarting from back-to-back losses. Meanwhile the Canes are 3-0 after Monday night’s 5-1 win in Seattle.
On more than one occasion Carolina head coach Rod Brind’Amour has expressed his dislike of the schedule that has seen the Canes have two days off between each of their last two games. However, it sure hasn’t impacted the quality of Carolina’s play.
The Hurricanes are an Eastern Conference-best +8 and have allowed a league-low 3 goals thus far. Granted, it’s not like they’ve played the 1982 Islanders every time out. But, 1 goal allowed per game is great work against anyone.
We can talk all day long about goal-scoring and offense and the power play being keys in the postseason. But, Carolina’s identity is goal prevention. Ultimately, frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta won the Jennings Trophy because the Canes allowed the fewest goals in the league not because they were the best goaltending tandem.
Last year, that plan worked against the Oilers as Carolina went 2-0 with a combined score of 5-2 over Edmonton.
A secret to that success is keeping the Oilers’ stars in check. In the the two games last year McDavid and Draisaitl were shut out. Specifically to McDavid, the betting favorite to be the league’s mvp every year, there are only 2 teams against which that he’s under a point a game, St Louis and Carolina.
Just 1 goal and 7 assists in 9 career games against the Hurricanes. In contrast, Carolina’s Sebastian Aho has 9 goals and 17 points in 10 games against the Oil. Stars being stars is the key to winning big in the NHL and so far so good for the Canes.
Andrei Svechnikov and Martin Necas lead Carolina with 5 points each, Aho is next with 4. Andrei has a team-leading 3 goals with Aho, Necas and Seth Jarvis one behind with 2. Check, check and check.
Edmonton is 1-2-0 on the year and while the offense isn’t necessarily clicking — just 10 goals in 3 games — it’s the other end that has been the issue. The Oilers have conceded 11 goals and new netminder Jack Campbell has been victimized for 7 of those on just 47 shots. He’ll start tonight looking to improve on his .851 SV% and 5.98 goals against average.
McDavid leads Edmonton with 4 goals and 6 points. Draisaitl also has 6 points thanks to a team-high 5 assists.
Edmonton’s power play is 4 for 11 (36.4%) while they’ve killed off 13 of 16 (81.3%) man advantage tries against. The Canes are 2 for 10 (20%) on the power play and 11 out of 12 (91.7%) on the kill so far.
One change to the Hurricanes lineup from Monday’s match against the Kraken. Calvin de Haan draws back in on defense with Dylan Coghlan coming out of the top 6 on the blue line. Freddie Andersen back in net and why not. The Great Dane has allowed 2 goals on 55 shots for a .964 save percentage.
Stormwatch begins our coverage of the Hurricanes and Oilers at 8:30 on 99.9 the Fan. Mike Maniscalco and Tripp Tracy are along with the play-by-play just after 9:00. Don’t forget to follow the Canes Corner Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. A new episode is available the #MorningAfter every Hurricanes game.
Also, for those history buffs, there’s a special 25th Anniversary Canes Corner Podcast series which focuses on the team’s move from Hartford and some early stories surrounding the team. It’s available wherever you get your podcasts.
