Oilers v. Hurricanes - Numbers 14:39-45

When MacTavish told his players the news, they were still in mourning over their most disheartening loss. But before the next season began, they arrived for training camp talking about making amends and pushing onward. MacTavish said, "Don't think that you can just make it happen. Don't talk big if you won't be able to follow through. If God is not with us, it won't just be the Hurricanes who cause us to bow down before them." Nevertheless, the team broke camp with confidence, this despite the fact that the Orbs of Power were no longer in their possession. When their enemies came to Edmonton, they defeated the Orbless Oilers, beating them mercilessly for seven years.

Carolina Hurricanes @ Edmonton Oilers

Rexall Place, 7:30 p.m. MST
Television: Sportsnet

Visiting Team Scouting Report: The Eastern Conference is a very different place. At the start of December, the Carolina Hurricanes were 10-12-5 with a -21 goal differential, the kind of performance that would normally see a team without much hope for the rest of their season. But after going 3-1-0 to start the month, the Hurricanes are now tied for the last playoff spot with a .500 points percentage. If they hope to maintain that position, they're going to need to be much better at even strength: the Hurricanes are currently 25th in the NHL with a Fenwick percentage of 45.6% with the score tied during five-on-five play.

Expected Lineups:

Edmonton Oilers (10-18-3):

Hall - Gagner - Yakupov
Perron - Nugent-Hopkins - Eberle
Jones - Arcobello - Hemsky
Smyth - Lander -Gazdic

Ference - Larsen
N Schultz - J Schultz
Marincin - Petry

Dubnyk

Carolina Hurricanes (13-13-5):

Skinner - E Staal - Ruutu
Gerbe - J Staal - Lindholm
Tlusty - Malhotra - Dvorak
Boychuk - Nash - Westgarth

Faulk - Sekera
Murphy - Hainsey
Gleason - Harrison

Ward

By The Numbers:

• Taylor Hall is one of eight Canadians (and fourteen players) to post a point per game or better over the last two seasons (i.e. 2012-13 and 2013-14). And yet I hear very few people in the national media giving Hall much chance at the Olympic team. Others on that list of eight who aren't locks to make the team include Martin St. Louis, Chris Kunitz, and James Neal.
  
• Ron Hainsey had a hard time finding work this summer, but ended up signing a one-year deal with the Hurricanes for $2M after Carolina was hit by injuries. Now? Hainsey is third on the team in time on ice per game, averaging 21:08. It's very strange that a player that valuable was left waiting for a contract for as long as he was.
• Have the Oilers found a really good defenseman in Philip Larsen? He has only played in ten games so far this season, but Dallas Eakins sure is playing him a lot. He played a season-high 23:42 against the Flames, and has played 21 minutes or more in seven of his ten games this season. With Dallas, he played 21 minutes or more just 10 times in 95 games.