The Carolina Hurricanes (39-16-6) are on the road tonight to take on the Edmonton Oilers (30-24-8) at 9 PM.
The Canes are fresh off a slightly underwhelming trade deadline, where their only move was acquiring winger Nicolas Deslauriers from the Philadelphia Flyers for a 2027 conditional seventh round pick.
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With center and goalie depth a need, and prospects that could have potentially been moved, it came as a bit of a surprise the Canes didn’t opt to hunt for any bigger fish on the market.
Deslauriers is known to be a tough guy and would most likely slot in somewhere in the bottom six. In 24 games with the Flyers this season, he tallied 1 point in 24 games.
Turning towards tonight’s matchup with the Oilers, the Canes are coming off a 6-4 win against the Canucks on Wednesday after dropping their previous two.
On the other side, Edmonton has gone 2-2 in the first four games after the Olympic break. Currently, they are third in the Pacific Division with 68 points, which would serve as a disappointing finish for a team that has lost in back-to-back Stanley Cups.
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Led by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who need no introduction, the Oilers have one of the most dangerous scoring attacks in the league. McDavid is once again in the running for the Hart Trophy, and is leading the NHL in points with 105 in 62 games. Draisaitl isn’t too far behind, coming in at fourth in the league with 90 points in 59 games.
On the back end, Edmonton has even more offense, with defenseman Evan Bouchard leading the league in points for a defenseman with 71 in 62 games.
The story of the Oilers this season, consistent with the last couple, has been on the defensive side and in net, though. They allow 3.34 goals per game this season, which is 25th in the NHL. While their 3.55 goals per game, which is second most in the league, helps make up for some of it, the Canes should be able to exploit a relatively weak defensive team.
In net for the Oilers tonight will be Tristan Jarry, who was traded earlier this season from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jarry has not been good this season, posting a 3.18 GAA and .890 save percentage, which rank 49th and 43rd in the league respectively.
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The Canes have no key injuries going into tonight’s game and will look to put another win-streak together.
In net for Carolina should be Brandon Bussi and the lines should look relatively the same.
Here’s how to catch the action:
Time: 9 PM
TV: FanDuel Sports Network
Streaming: FanDuel Sports Network App/ESPN+
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
Odds: Hurricanes -118 Moneyline, Hurricanes -1.5 at +205
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