2024-25 Regular Season, Game 60 Preview: Hurricanes vs. Edmonton Oilers

The Carolina Hurricanes celebrated Whalers Night on Thursday with the Buffalo Sabres in town. Jesperi Kotkaniemi set the tone four seconds in, dropping the gloves with Dylan Cozens to get the crowd going. The team responded, too, scoring three times in the first ten minutes to immediately put the Sabres in a tough spot. Jordan Staal legally redirected a shot off his skate to break the ice before Sebastian Aho buried a Mikko Rantanen pass after his pressure led to a turnover. Rantanen showcased his game-changing shot on the power play before the halfway point, going bar in against James Reimer, who replaced Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen after the second goal. The Sabres got one back on the power play at the end of the first period. Taylor Hall notched his first with the Hurricanes late in the second period after Jack Roslovic made a slick play to knock the puck down and slide it backward to the charging Hall. JJ Peterka got another for the Sabres 75 seconds into the third, but Seth Jarvis put it away by stripping Tage Thompson and scoring into the empty net. The Canes celebrated with Brass Bonanza five times in a 5-2 victory.

The Opponent: Edmonton Oilers (34-21-4, 74 Points- 2nd in the Pacific Division)
Last Meeting: The Canes traveled to Edmonton early in the season during their State Fair road trip. For two periods, it was all about Connor McDavid. He had the Oilers out to a 2-0 lead after scoring early in the first two frames, but the Canes started finding their game in the third. Just seconds after Stuart Skinner made an all-world stop, Shayne Gostisbehere popped his bubble by clapping a one-timer on the power play to get the Canes on the board with a power-play tally. Then, late in the period, the newly formed duo of Martin Necas and Eric Robinson connected for the tying goal as Necas buried a pass at the side of the net. This would force overtime, in which the Canes would prevail. In the dying seconds, Sebastian Aho got one past Stuart Skinner to steal the game and complete the comeback. 

Since We Last Met: After another very slow start by the defending conference champions, the Oilers started to find their stride after Thanksgiving. Between the major American holidays, Edmonton went 10-2-0, outscoring their opponents by 21 goals. They maintained their pace heading into the 4 Nations break, engaged in a title battle with Vegas for the top spot in the division. However, they lost their final game before the break and haven't won since returning. Since January 30th, the Oilers are 2-6-1 as they try to break out of a five-game skid. Raleigh is the fifth and final stop on their five-game road trip since the stoppage, on which they're winless. Fortunately, they have two of the best players in the world on their team. Leon Draisaitl has a stranglehold on the Rocket Richard this season, sitting 11 goals clear of second place. He's also nipping at Nathan MacKinnon's heels for the Art Ross, trailing by two points. Connor McDavid is fourth in the league in points and can make life miserable with even the slightest of inches given. Their problem is the same as always. It doesn't matter if the Top 2 are going if the other guys don't join in.

Stories of the Night
1. You've Gotten One. Get Another.
The Hurricanes got back on the horse on Thursday by beating the Sabres, snapping a two-game losing streak. Now that they've gotten that under their belt, it's time to turn it into something greater. They haven't been stringing wins together much lately. They've only won two or more in a row four times since the start of December, with four straight being their longest streak. Tonight's opponent is a little more lethal than Thursday's so this will be a very different game. There shouldn't be any excuses.

2. Edmonton is Going to be Mad
The Oilers are fighting it right now, which is something the Hurricanes are all too familiar with. Losing five in a row is never fun, especially when your defense and goalie look like Swiss cheese. The Oilers have allowed four or more goals in all five of their losses, including five or more goals three times. Their offense can't keep up with how much their defense is giving up. They have enough firepower to make any defense scared. Their defense brings it back down to Earth in a major way. I expect a motivated Edmonton team to take the ice on Saturday night, ready to head home to friendlier confines.

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