The Hurricanes, 1-3-0 in their past four games and 4-9-2 in their past 15, trail the New Jersey Devils by nine points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference with 10 games remaining in the regular season. Goaltender Scott Darling will start. The Oilers, 7-5-1 in their past 13 games, are 19 points behind the Anaheim Ducks for the second wild card in the Western Conference with 10 regular-season games to play. Goaltender Cam Talbot will start for the Oilers; he's 4-1-0 with a 1.58 goals-against average and .954 save percentage in his past five starts.
Players to watch
Oilers center Connor McDavid has five points (one goal, four assists) in his past four games and 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in his past 15 games. Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho has six points (two goals, four assists) in a five-game point streak.
They said it
"They force and pressure pucks all over the rink. They've got a relentless forecheck. It's always a tough team to play for us. They play with so much pace that you've really got to get your skating game going." -- Oilers coach Todd McLellan on facing the Hurricanes "They're quick in transition and they play fast. You got to be above people. They're going to be dangerous tonight. If they leave [Ryan] Nugent-Hopkins with McDavid tonight, then obviously we've got to come up with an answer there." -- Hurricanes coach Bill Peters on facing the Oilers
The Oilers lineup could be affected by two game-time decisions, coach Todd McLellan said. … Edmonton recalled Simpson from Bakersfield of the American Hockey League on Tuesday. … Hanifin was diagnosed with a concussion on Monday after leaving a 4-3 loss against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. … Zykov, who leads the AHL with 32 goals, was recalled from Charlotte on Monday and is expected to make his season debut.
Stat pack
The Oilers are 18-1-0 when leading after the second period this season. … Edmonton is 0-for-10 on the power play in its past four games.
