The Carolina Hurricanes will play the Edmonton Oilers for the second game of their Western Canadian road trip.
The Hurricanes are coming off a 2-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets while the Oilers are winners in their last four.
Here are my thee keys to the game:
Find the Soft Areas
The Oilers have had some real struggles this season with defending, giving up the fourth most amount of goals per game in the league (3.59).
Carolina is the best team in the league in terms of offensive zone time and forechecking, so if they can utilize that strength to allow one guy to slip away to some soft areas, there could be quite a few chances for some easy goals.
The Hurricanes haven't seen that with enough regularity this year, typically with a lot of teams running a more zone-based, collapsing style, but a little movement and trickery could perhaps be the way to go.
Be Prepared to Potentially Give Up a Couple
When you're playing against the best offensive players in the world, they're going to get theirs.
You could be playing perfect coverage but one high-end pass or dangle and it's in the net. That will just happen when you face Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
The key is to not let it snowball.
It's a tall task, but just play them hard, keep the puck off their stick and don't give them space... as much as is possible.
And be quick to shake off those crazy plays.
Special Teams
This is a game where special teams matters more than ever.
Having a perfect penalty kill against the Oilers is a very tough challenge, but their penchant for offense can also leave them susceptible to things going the other way.
Be prepared to jump.
Also, the power play has to be ready to answer anything Edmonton gets.
It's been a bit of tough sledding minus the Buffalo game on Saturday, but the team has the talent to go on a run.
Recent Articles