The
Carolina Hurricanes (1-1-1) are set for their second of four straight road games tonight against the
Edmonton Oilers (1-3-0). The Hurricanes come into this game with three areas that grossly need improvement – get more traffic, get to the net more, and score more goals.
While the Hurricanes scored four goals in their season opener, the last two games have only produced a measly two goals – none of which came at 5v5. It isn’t for a lack of shots either, as they posted 39 against the
Columbus Blue Jackets and 29 against the
Winnipeg Jets.
It is early, but it is concerning that the offense is struggling to find goals and consistency. The most frustrating part of the early struggles is that defense and goaltending have done their part. Outshooting an opponent and losing is a trend that reared its ugly head a lot last year – the Hurricanes lost the most games in the NHL with 25 when out-shooting an opponent.
Looking at the stats this year, the Hurricanes have won the shot advantage in all three games. Not just by a little either, the Hurricanes are averaging 36.3 shots while only surrendering 25 shots per game – one of the most significant shot differentials in the NHL.
The reality is that the Hurricanes are a slim margin from coming into tonight 3-0-0 instead of 1-1-1. The 25 shots allowed per game ranks the Hurricanes first in the NHL – this indicates once the offense gets rolling that the Hurricanes should be a force to deal with in the league.
The most telling quote regarding the offensive performance by
Coach Bill Peters noted, "We've got to get to the net. There’s too many times where (the goalie is) seeing it. If you're shooting from distance with no traffic, they're going to make the save, and there's nobody there for seconds and thirds. That's what that is."
This issue should come to no surprise to anyone familiar with the Hurricanes. The net-front presence and goals were an issue last year and consistently stymied games where they controlled puck possession, shot advantage, and much of the play throughout the game. The Hurricanes are tied for second to last in the NHL with goals per game (GF/GP) at two, only ahead of
Montreal Canadiens.
It is a bit surprising to see how much the Hurricanes are struggling offensively when looking at the NHL goal production; the scoring is significantly up around the league. Last year, only seven teams had an average of more than three goals, with the
Pittsburgh Penguins first in league with 3.39 GF/GP. This year, sixteen teams are sitting over a 3 GF/GP – five of which are above 4 GF/GP and the Leafs are first with 5.20 GF/GP.
Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the Hurricanes have played the least amount of games of any NHL team to date. The Hurricanes are playing their fourth game of the season compared to twelve teams have played six games—taking it further, almost all have played at least five and no NHL team has fewer games played than the Hurricanes.
Looking at tonight’s game, there are some similarities between the two teams. The Oilers also are having some scoring woes, but more noticeable has been their recent defensive woes. Despite getting a shutout in their first game, the last three games they have allowed fourteen goals.
Similarly to the Hurricanes, the Oilers are tied with them for 28th in the NHL with 5v5 shooting percentage and are only scoring on 4% of their shots. It should be just a matter of time before both teams begin finding the twine more consistently, especially the Oilers with their offensive weapons.
Beyond shot totals, it isn’t like either team isn’t getting plenty of offensive starts and opportunities for goals. The Hurricanes and Oilers are the top two teams at garnering offensive zone starts at 5v5, and that should be an interesting statistic to watch. The Oilers are first in the NHL with 61.42% of their 5V5 zone starts (5v5ZS%) coming in the offensive zone – The Hurricanes are second with a 58.43 5v5ZS%.
Looking between the pipes tonight, this will mark the third game this year that the Hurricanes will get the backup goalie as
Laurent Brossoit gets the nod (
Steve Mason was starter over
Connor Hellebuyck at start of season).
This is also a trend that occurred a lot last year, which may signal that most NHL coaches see the Hurricanes as a safe opponent to get their backup starts. Until the Hurricanes can show they can score more consistently, this could be a trend throughout the year.
It’ll be interesting to see if Coach Bill Peters will rearrange the line-up some tonight. Three players may get their first looks this season:
Josh Jooris, Martin Necas, and Trevor Carrick. Carrick played two games in the 2015-16 season, Jooris was brought in this summer as a UFA, and Necas would be making his NHL debut after being selected 12th overall this past summer.
The Hurricanes may have a little bit more of an advantage tonight as the injury bug has bitten the Oilers – the most notable is
Leon Draisaitl, who will miss his second straight game. He is a significant contributor for the Oilers and was eighth in the NHL with points last year (29g, 48a – 77 points).
Puck drop is set for 9:00 PM ET and is on FSCR and RSNO.
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
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