Edmonton Oilers Must Step Up Against Hurricanes

The Edmonton Oilers are off to a rough start. After an outstanding performance in their season-opening 3-0 victory over Calgary, they’ve lost three straight games and have been outscored dramatically.

Coming into their Tuesday game against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Oilers need to recharge, and fast. Because while it is still early, they could find themselves missing out on important points later in the season.

Edmonton will be without forwards Leon Draisaitl and Drake Caggiula, who are both on the injured reserve. Draisaitl is experiencing concussion-type symptoms following an injury to his eye, and Caggiula is out with an undisclosed injury. With both of these players sidelined, the team will need their wingers to step up and fill that void on offence.

Here are the projected lines for Edmonton:

Forwards:

Patrick Maroon-Connor McDavid-Kailer Yamamoto

Milan Lucic-Ryan Nugent-Hopkins-Ryan Strome

Jujhar Khaira-Mark Letestu-Zack Kassian

Jussi Jokinen-Ryan Malone-Anton Slepyshev

Defence:

Oscar Klefbom-Adam Larsson

Darnell Nurse-Kris Russell

Yohann Auvitu-Eric Gryba

Laurent Brossoit will get the start in

Edmonton Oilers

goal, and Cam Ward starts for the Hurricanes. Matthew Benning is out with an illness, and Iiro Pakarinen will be a healthy scratch. Nugent-Hopkins will be playing in his 400th career game Tuesday.

Yamamoto is the player to watch for Edmonton against Carolina. He recorded his first NHL point in Saturday’s loss to Ottawa, and also had six shots on goal and plenty of scoring opportunities. And as he becomes more accustomed to the NHL style, he is becoming more comfortable and confident.

The Oilers will also look to Strome to step up and contribute, as he remains scoreless so far this season. They will also look for the defence to provide more help and assistance in their own zone and not have a repeat of their 6-1 loss to the Senators.

Next: Edmonton Oilers: Draisaitl on the IR

Overall, this is an important game, and for the team to get back on track, they will have to step up. While this isn’t a must-win game, considering it’s only the fifth game of the year, they need to snap a skid and prove that they are ready to be tough competitors from the get-go.