Pre-Game Report: Edmonton Oilers vs Carolina Hurricanes

Pre-Game Report: Edmonton Oilers vs Carolina Hurricanes

Hello Oilers fans. Austin here and welcome to today’s pregame report for the Emmonton Oilers against the Carolina Hurricanes. It is a 5:00 PM local time start hockey night in Canada. We love these early start times. Love these Eastern Conference road trips, but I would like this Eastern Conference road trip a little bit more if the Oilers could get back to their winning ways. They won game one on the road trip against Philly in overtime, lost game two against Columbus, which was, you know, I I I expected a better effort against the Columbus Blue Jackets. And now the Oilers are going up against a very very tough team in the Carolina Hurricanes. So in today’s pregame report, I’ll go over the projected lineups, the stats for both teams, keys to the game, players to watch and score prediction. Make sure you let me know all of your thoughts in the comments section below. And friendly reminder to everyone, I will be doing a live stream tonight. So if you are looking forward to that, just make sure that you are subscribed to the channel. You hit the little bell so that you’re notified when I go live. Thank you all so much for 8,000 subscribers. We hit 8,000 subscribers yesterday. Thank you all so much. I did a little skit in my video. I hope you all liked that. I I plan to do a little bit more fun things in videos in the future. Uh but I I was trying to flex my creativity a little bit there and I had some fun. I’m glad a lot of you enjoyed it. Some of you didn’t enjoy it and that’s also okay. You don’t have to. Let’s get into the projected lineups, folks. I think you’re all going to like what you’re about to see here. On the top line, Matthew Seavoy gets to stay with Conor McDavid. And guess who is back in this lineup, folks? Zack Heyman is back and he is on the top line with Conor McDavid and Matthew Seavoy. That looks like a fantastic first line. Matthew Seavoy has three points in his last two games. He has a couple of goals or at least one goal and he’s been looking really good. I’ve been really liking Seavoy’s game. Uh he looks very comfortable next to Conor McDavid. And it’s incredible what happens when you give a youngster a little bit of time in the top six to find his game and look good next to a skilled player. Matthew Seavoy is a skilled player. He needs to play with skilled players. On the second line, you have Pud Coulson with Dry Cidle and Rosik. Uh, of course, that is a terrific second line. Rosik’s been looking good. Dry Cidle continues to play the way he does. Pud Coulson, great complimentary piece to that line. I should say with Zack Heyman, by the way, this is the first time that Heyman will be in the lineup since game four of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars. So, for Zack Heyman, we are very excited for him. Don’t expect a whole lot right away. It’s like Jack Rosik, right? Heyman has not had a training camp. This is his first game of the season. If Hyman looks a little off, uh I’m willing to give him probably five or six games to, you know, get his legs going and look comfortable. But this this makes I mean, he automatically makes this lineup better like just with his presence. So on the third line you have Mapani with Adam Henrique and Tren Frederick. That is an awful third line. Map Japani has been terrible. Adam Henrique adds nothing offensively. Trent Frederick is a black hole. Maybe that’s the line that somehow scores one or two goals and helps the team win the game tonight though. I’m a little bit cynical about that third line. Not a big fan. On the fourth line you have Yanmark with Philp and Lazar. And then of course the extra skater is David Tomasek. They put Ike Howard in Bakersfield yesterday. They loaned him to Bakersfield. And they also put Troy Stetcher on waiverss as of the recording of this video. Do not know if Troy Stetcher has cleared waivers or if someone has picked him up or if the Oilers have facilitated a trade or not. It is 10:05 a.m. local time where I am. I won’t know for another couple of hours after this video has been posted. On defense, you have Ekholm with Bard. That is the top pair. Uh Ekholm has not looked very good this season. It really does look like Father Time is catching up to him or he’s dealing with some kind of injury. Don’t know what the case is, but they need a lot more from Echome. They need more from Bousard. Although Bouch, I would say, has started to find his offensive game. It’s just the defensive game that we need a little bit more from from Evan Bousard, but at least the offense is starting to arrive here for Evan. And hopefully he can continue that play as well. On the second pair, you have Nurse with Wman. Now, I thought Jake Wman looked a little shaky against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Darnell Nurse has been a loose cannon all season long. I don’t know what to say about Darnell Nurse’s game. He has been all over the place. Some nights he looks like the best defenseman in the league and most nights he looks like one of the worst defenseman in the league. All we need is that defense bear to just be average. Just shut down a couple lines. Just be average. You don’t have to do all the offense. You don’t have to do all the defense. But please, for the love of God, and this goes for everyone in the Oilers defensive group here, box your man out. Box a guy out. Take a body. Tie up his stick. There are so many goals that are happening because defensemen are just standing around watching the puck in their feet instead of taking a body, taking a man in the blue paint. Take a man in the blue paint. Do not give the Carolina Hurricanes anything easy tonight. On the third pair, you have Koulak with Regula. Looks like Regula is back in the lineup after missing a couple of games. Gave them a couple nights off. They were getting Emerson another look. Emerson is the extra Dman here. And Stewart Skinner gets the start tonight. Oh boy, what are we going to get from Stu? Hopefully we get something good from Stu. Hopefully we’re uh we’re going to get what we got from the Philly game. He played pretty good against Philadelphia Flyers. Hopefully he can uh you know translate that momentum into today against the Hurricanes who are one of the league’s best teams. Taking a look at the stats for both teams. First we’ll take a look at the Carolina Hurricanes. They are 125 and0 on the season. They they are second place in the Metropolitan Division. They are six and four in their last 10 games. and they’re coming off a victory against the Vancouver Conucks last night in overtime on home ice. So, Carolina second half of a backto-back, the Oilers, fourth game in six nights. I imagine these two teams may look a little shaky. Uh you might not have the greatest flowing game to start until they both get their legs out from under them. Uh Carolina this season on the power play, they are abysmal. They only have 14% conversion rate, which ranks 31st in the league. Their penalty kill though is much better. 80.7% which ranks 14th. Goals per game. The Carolina Hurricanes are an absolute wagon. This team generates offense like no other in the league. There’s only two other teams that generate offense at a higher rate. Carolina 3.71 goals per game ranks third. Goals against per game, they rank ninth at 2.88. Expected goals forward percentage at five on five. They rank third 56.09%. They control possession. They control play. They control the high danger chances, scoring chances, all of all the good stuff here. The Carolina Hurricanes, they are a wagon. This is going to be a very tough matchup for the Edmonton Oilers. Shots four percentage for the Carolina Hurricanes, they rank second, 56.65% and team save percentage at five on five. They rank 17th at 90.48% or a 904 save percentage. Now, when you look over on the Mton Oilers side, they are 87 and four on the year. They are fourth in the Pacific Division. They are 43 and three in their last 10 games. Their power play, fantastic, ranks third in the league, 30%. Their penalty kill also fantastic. Ranks ninth in the league at 82%. But if you take a look at the rest of their stats, they’re pretty middling, if not downright awful. Goals per game, they rank 19th. Goals against per game, they rank 26th. Expected goals for percentage at five on five is nowhere near good enough. They rank 23rd. Shots forward percentage, they rank eighth. So expected goals percentage is very low, but the shots for percentage is top 10, which means the Others are taking a lot of low danger shots. It’s a lot of shots from distance, a lot of shots from the point. Uh they’re not generating enough inner slot shots. They’re not generating enough off the cycle. It’s not good enough for the Oilers, but Zack Heyman should help with those inner slot shots that he should help with driving the blue paint tonight. Team save percentage at five on five. I think you already know what this is. Dead last in the NHL. 87.43% or an 874 at five on five. Most of that, of course, is Calvin Pickard playing at way below replacement level. Calvin Pickard’s time in the NHL is probably this close to being over. And it’s a shame. I like Calvin Pickard. Uh he’s had some he’s created some great memories for me as a fan, especially his playoff performances. But Calvin Pickard completely unplayable. They have to ride with Stu and then hopefully they can find an upgrade on picks in the next few weeks here. Keys to the game for the Edmonton Oilers. Number one, they have to establish their game early. What is the Oilers game? Well, I don’t know, but whatever it is, please establish it early and take control of this one. score the first goal, too. That would be lovely. They need to roll all four lines because the Oilers are playing their fourth game in six nights because Heyman is in the lineup for the first time all season long. Um, you you can’t just keep running McDavid and Dry Settle into the ground. They have to roll all four lines except that third line, which is a black hole. Maybe you don’t roll them as much depending how that game is going. And number three, they need a save or many. The Carolina Hurricanes, they generate a lot of shots. They are a high volume shooting team. They are a fast team and they are going to be all over Em right from puck drop. They are going to need some saves early. The Oilers that is if they’re going to have a chance to win this one for the Carolina Hurricanes, their three keys to the game. Number one, skate the Edmonton Oilers to death. The Oilers have a pretty fast team, but they do look slow based on the system that they play. The Carolina Hurricanes, they are go go go all the time. Rod Bridmore has that team as one of the best teams in the league in terms of their uh ability to skate, their speed, and utilizing that speed in efficient ways that just completely tires out their opponent. They want to skate Emmonton to death tonight. So, keep an eye on the Hurricanes. They may just skate with the puck a lot and force to chase them a lot before they actually start generating shots and chances on net. So, keep an eye out for that with the Hurricanes. Number two, attack off the rush. The Oilers not a great rush defending team. Although that’s something that their system should be able to limit is rush rush chances. But for the Carolina Hurricanes, if they are able to attack Edmonton off the rush, they’re going to pressure the defenseman. They’re going to pressure Steuart Skinner into having to move laterally in his crease, which we know that’s his weak point. If the Hurricanes get at least a few uh rush attacks tonight, it’s game over. It’s this game’s going to be over pretty quickly. Now, a game note before we head into tonight’s game. Zack Hyman has scored 27, 36, 54, and 27 goals over the past four seasons. He had five goals, six assists, 11 points in 15 games with 111 hits in last year’s playoffs with a 67% expected goals forward percentage. That is unbelievable. Zack Kimman, if he can produce even half of that with the Oilers this season, uh the Oilers are in good shape. Um we’re not looking for 10 hits a game from Zack Heyman right now. We’re looking for some offense truly and just round being able to round out this lineup more uh effectively. Now, my players to watch, of course, with Zack Heyman in the lineup. We are going to have Zack Heyman as the player to watch. And the other player to watch is going to be the former Edmonton Oiler in Taylor Hall. We love Taylor Hall here in Oil Country, although a lot of us don’t, but a lot of us do. Taylor Hall will be the player to watch for the Hurricanes. And my score prediction, oh my goodness gracious, what is the score prediction going to be today? I don’t feel good about the game. I think Carolina is going to take this one six to three, but I do think Zack Heyman’s going to come out with a goal or two. He’ll be effective on the four check. He’ll be effective at five on five. Let’s see if the Oilers can find a way to steal one. See if you can go into Carolina and beat a very good team. We talk about measuring stick games. I know the Oilers are supposed to be a contending team, but based on how this season is played, this is a measuring stick game. The Oilers other measuring stick game came against the Colorado Avalanche and they failed miserably. They lost 9-1. This is another similar team in in terms of the speed and offense that Carolina can generate just like Colorado. Let’s see what the Oilers can do against the Hurricanes tonight. I will be live here on the Austin Hockey YouTube channel doing play-by-play and reaction commentary. So, if you look forward to that, hit the like button, subscribe to the channel, tell someone that you love him before the game, and as always, fight like a kid, fight like Ben. Let’s go Oilers. I’ll see you all later tonight. Take care.

Zach Hyman is expected to make his season debut when the Edmonton Oilers continue their seven-game road trip against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night. Hyman will join Connor McDavid and Matthew Savoie on the top line for Edmonton, while Ike Howard has been loaned to Bakersfield. Austin Hockey has you covered with today’s Pre-Game Report, including projected lineup, keys to the game, stats, players to watch and more! Let me know YOUR thoughts in the comment section below! #oilers #edmontonoilers #nhl

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