Carolina Hurricanes at Edmonton Oilers: Game Preview, Notes, How to Watch, Storm Debris

Carolina Hurricanes (0-0-2) at Edmonton Oilers (2-1-0)
October 18, 2016 - 9:00 p.m. Eastern
Rogers Place - Edmonton, Alberta
Fox Sports Carolinas | 99.9 The Fan
SB Nation rival blog: The Copper and Blue

Game Notes

• Say, did you know these two teams faced each other in the 2006 Stanley Cup Final? It’s true! I mention this first because it’s so unlikely you’ll hear anything about it tonight.
• It’s a good thing that the Canes have had little issue scoring goals, because the Oilers have been dreadful at preventing them. Despite a 2-1 start to the season that included a Battle of Alberta home-and-home sweep over the Flames, the Oilers have conceded 13 goals in three games.
• Bill Peters said after Sunday’s loss in Vancouver that the Canes were likely to make some changes for tonight’s game, including bringing in the three healthy scratches: Phil Di Giuseppe, Martin Frk and Jakub Nakladal, the latter making his Hurricanes debut tonight. Joakim Nordstrom is likely to sit in favor of Di Giuseppe, and one would think Klas Dahlbeck will make way for Nakladal. Lines and rosters will be out later this afternoon.
• Cam Ward played both games last season against his hometown team, and despite Eddie Lack’s standout performance on Sunday it would stand to reason that Ward will get the call tonight, with Lack likely to go on Thursday in Calgary.
• Last season, the Canes and Oilers split the season series, each team winning on its home ice. In the Canes’ only visit to Edmonton last season, old friend Andrej Sekera broke a scoreless tie three minutes into overtime to hand the Oilers a 1-0 win. Three Hurricanes finished with two points to lead the team in the season series: Andrej Nestrasil and Jordan Staal both posted 1-1-2 lines, and Justin Faulk pitched in with two assists.
• Tonight will be the Canes’ first up-close-and-personal look at last year’s first pick, Connor McDavid, who missed both matchups with Carolina last season while recovering from a fractured collarbone.
• It’s not quite as much a house of horrors as the other Rogers-branded arena (the one in Vancouver), but Edmonton hasn’t been too hospitable to the Canes either: since the 2005 lockout, the Oilers are 7-2-0 at home against the Canes, including their 2-1 record in the 2006 Final. In the franchises’ NHL histories, dating back to the WHA merger in 1979, the Oilers are a staggering 26-9 at home against the Hurricanes franchise, with five ties.

Storm Debris

• Chip Alexander argues the early trends are not good for the Hurricanes. [N&O]
  
• Rolling Stone on how Connor McDavid deals with being the youngest captain in NHL history. [Rolling Stone]
• Las Vegas season ticket holders don’t have a team name yet, but they have begun to select their seats. [Review-Journal]
  
• Speaking of Vegas, yesterday they snapped up Tom Poraszka, better known as the founder of the now-departed General Fanager, as a hockey ops analyst. Never fear, though; CapFriendly and NHL Numbers are still in business. #fornow. [Vegas Is Hockey]
• Five NHL Games to watch this week. [Fansided]
  
• Cheaters Never Win podcast with the return of Mike Maniscalco. [Section 328]
  
• Jared Clinton calls out Jake Virtanen for his dirty hit Sunday on Nordstrom. [The Hockey News]
• The Canes’ new additions bring diversity to the roster. [NSJ]
  
• A roundtable of NHL media discusses their hot topics to start the season. [Sports Illustrated]
• Coughing up a lead? The Canes have been there and done that, and did it more times than you might realize last season too. [Today's Slapshot]
  
• Thanks to the generosity of area fans, the Canes and PNC Arena sent a big shipment of supplies to neighbors in need of support after Hurricane Matthew: