The Carolina Hurricanes continue their trip around Canada as they head to Alberta to face the Edmonton Oilers. It was not too long ago since the teams faced-off in Raleigh as the Canes were victorious by the score of 6-3.
The Canes were successful and took advantage of a team that was down in the dumps. A new coach in Edmonton and a team playing well below expectations was a great formula for the boys in red and white. Since that last meeting, things have turned around in Edmonton.
The pre-season Stanley Cup contenders have righted the ship and won the next 4 games. The streak will be tested this evening against the team that was last to defeat them.
The scoring has come back in a big way for the Oilers as they have scored 21 goals during the current winning streak. As impressive as that is for Edmonton, the goals against has been a much needed turn, having given up just 7 goals in 4 games. One of those matches was a shutout against the Washington Capitals.
Another impressive performance in this streak was defeating the reigning Stanley Cup champion, Vegas Golden Knights, in a shootout. Included in the victims of the Edmonton streak was the Canes opponents on Monday. the Winnipeg Jets.
The usual suspects lead the way for the Oilers in the resurgance. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl lead the team in points with 29. In fact, McDavid has 11 helpers in the 4 game win streak.
The real story is the man behind the mask, Stuart Skinner. The Edmonton native has been in the crease for all 4 victories. At 6/4 , the 25-year-old has found his game and will present a difficult assignment this evening for the Canes.
The overall stats are not great for Skinner with a 3.16 GAA and .881 save percentage but he has 8 wins and hot. The Canes have had scoring issues of late and it will not be getting any easier this tonight.