The Edmonton Oilers hope to end their five-game road trip on a positive note Saturday when they play the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C.
The defending Western Conference champions have lost a season-worst five straight, with the last four coming since play resumed a week ago. That includes a 4-3 road loss Thursday to the Florida Panthers in a rematch of last season’s Stanley Cup Final.
Coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters afterward that he felt it was the team’s best performance over the past five games. However, he didn’t mince words regarding effort.
“I thought we had some pretty good performance by some guys, but to get out of funk like this, where things aren’t going well and guys are really feeling it or really squeezing their sticks, we need everybody,” he said. “I felt that there was a few passengers. There were some guys that just didn’t put in the effort that we needed.”
Defense has been an issue during the skid as the Oilers have been outscored 26-14. The defense could be an even bigger issue after Darnell Nurse missed Thursday’s game with an undisclosed injury. According to Oilers TV, the 10-year veteran did not participate at the beginning of the team’s practice Friday afternoon in Raleigh, but he did skate toward the end.
Leon Draisaitl, who leads the league with 44 goals, has scored six during the losing streak, which has coincided with the forward’s seven-game goal streak. That is tied for the sixth-longest run in team history. It’s also part of a 10-game overall point streak.
Even with the losing streak, the Oilers remain in second place in the Pacific Division, and with 72 points, they’re only four points behind the division-leading Vegas Golden Knights entering Friday.
Saturday’s game could be a preview of who will be playing in June, as Edmonton remains the consensus favorite among sportsbooks to win the Stanley Cup, and Carolina, which snapped a two-game losing streak with a 5-2 home win Thursday over Buffalo, is the second choice to win it all at several.
Thursday’s victory may have been a breakout game for Mikko Rantanen, who scored a goal and added an assist. It was the winger’s first multi-point game since he was traded from Colorado to Carolina in late January.
After scoring 64 points (25 goals, 39 assists) in 49 games with the Avalanche, Rantanen — who remains the subject of trade rumors as the NHL’s March 7 trade deadline draws near — now has two goals and three assists in nine games with the Hurricanes.
Taylor Hall, whom the Hurricanes acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks as part of the three-way deal involving Colorado, also scored his first goal and second point in nine games with his new team.
While seeing the two newcomers break through Thursday may have made some Carolina fans feel better, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour told reporters it wasn’t as much of a concern for him.
“When you’re settling in, and there’s so much expected, it’s just the only way you really feel like you’re doing stuff is if you’re contributing that way,” he said. “And they both did (Thursday) in the win, so I think that that hopefully will ease their minds a little bit so they can just free up and go play.”
–Field Level Media
