Edmonton's last game was a typical Oilers win. They beat Minnesota 4-3 in overtime with 3 of their 4 goals on the power play. The Wild came back from 3-1 down with 2 late goals, then got caught with too many men in OT, and Evan Bouchard won it on the 4-on-3 with 1:28 left. Connor McDavid had 2 assists and kept his point streak going. Through 9 games, special teams have carried this group in the tight ones.
The Oilers have help on the way. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (lower body) has been skating with the team and was reported on track to return either Thursday or Saturday, so he could be back for this one. That matters with Jason Dickinson out and Matt Savoie and Mattias Janmark both on IR. Goaltending is the long-term worry: Frederik Andersen (knee) isn't expected back until "maybe" December, per Mike Babcock.
So the matchup is Carolina's structure against Edmonton's power play. The Hurricanes have held almost everyone to 2 goals, but a short-handed center group means more defensive-zone draws for players who don't usually take them. The Oilers have split their 2 games with Utah and won 4 of their last 5, and they don't need many chances to score. Puck drop is 7:00 PM MT.