We’ve got an interconference battle on the ice as a pair of teams with high expectations for the season collide in the province of Alberta. The Carolina Hurricanes are on the road as they make the trip west to face the Edmonton Oilers Thursday night. Carolina comes in off a 5-1 road victory over Seattle Monday night in their previous contest. Edmonton fired a ton of rubber at the net in their last game but came up a 4-2 home loser to Buffalo Tuesday night in their most recent action. The Hurricanes own a solid 7-2-1 record in the last 10 meetings between the teams, including a 2-1 home victory in the most recent matchup on February 27, 2022.
Carolina took care of business in the Emerald City Monday night as they put the proverbial boots to the Kraken. The Hurricanes improved to 3-0-0 on the season and are in a three-way tie for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division standings. Carolina stands tied for 12th in goals per game as they put up 3.67 goals per contest on the year. The Hurricanes are tied for 1st in goals against by allowing an average of one goal per night. Carolina stands 17th in power play success as they cash in on 20% of their chances with the man advantage on the year. The Hurricanes are tied for 7th in the league in penalty killing as they have successfully navigated 91.7% of their shorthanded situations on the year.
Against Seattle on the road, Carolina’s tough defensive zone work, coupled with a solid offensive showing, was more than enough to deliver a victory. The Hurricanes held an 11-6 shot advantage in the opening period but went to the dressing room with just a 1-0 advantage on the scoreboard. Seth Jarvis opened the scoring with his second goal of the season at 3:35 with assists going to Sebastian Aho and Brady Skjei. In the second period, Carolina held an 11-5 shot advantage and a 3-1 bulge on the scoreboard to take a 4-1 lead after 40 minutes. Aho made it a 2-0 game with his second goal of the year, on the power play, at 12:11 off assists from Andrei Svechnikov and Brent Burns. After Seattle cut the deficit to one, Svechnikov tallied his second of the season, on the power play, at 13:24 off assists from Aho and Stefan Noesen to make it a 3-1 game. Svechnikov made it a 4-1 game with his second of the game and third of the year at 14:34 off assists from Martin Necas and Jesper Kotkaniemi. In the third period, the shots were even at 12 with the Hurricanes scoring the lone goal of the period to lock down the win. Jordan Martinook closed th e scoring with his first of the season at 14:41 off assists from Noesen and Jaccob Slavin. Frederik Andersen made 22 saves for the Hurricanes, who held a 34-23 edge in shots on goal, in the victory. He should be back between the pipes for this contest.