Stanley Cup Storylines: Oilers Top Line is Unstoppable, Hurricanes Need Road Luck

Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

The Battle of Alberta returns and expect much of what we’ve seen already, while the Metro fight sees the New York Rangers looking to knot things back up at home.

Get ready for Tuesday’s action:

Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Rangers

Beating the road curse is crucial for Carolina

The Carolina Hurricanes haven’t lost a game at home yet, showing how hard it is for opponents to play at PNC Arena.

But somehow, the Hurricanes haven’t won a game on the road yet. And after giving up Game 3, they’re not going to want to extend this series any further with a 2-1 series lead with a loss tonight.

You can’t win a Stanley Cup without winning games on the road. And while, for the most part, it’s a coincidence that they haven’t won on the road, they can’t have another stinker, and the Madison Square Garden faithful are not a crowd you want to play against when you’re in a bind.

Statistically, Antti Raanta (.971 SP, 3.11 GSAA) has an advantage over Igor Shesterkin (.961 SP, 2.62 GSAA) at 5-on-5, but it’s not a huge one. Raanta has been fantastic for Carolina, but he has to keep that up because Shesterkin is still Shesterkin – the favorite to win the Vezina Trophy.

Carolina has done a good job of limiting New York’s offense – Mika Zibanejad (two) is the only multi-point scorer for the Rangers – but New York will take advantage of missteps and that’s what happened in Game 3. Carolina has to play a near-perfect game before heading to the arena where they’ve had so much success this year.

Calgary Flames vs. Edmonton Oilers

Can Edmonton’s top trio keep flying?

Between Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evander Kane, the trio has combined for 55 points in 10 games. McDavid, in particular, has been extra unbelievable with 23 points, highlighted by 17 assists, while Kane is the only forward with at least 10 goals.

When players of their caliber – especially McDavid and Draisaitl – play as good as they have, there’s only so much defending you can do. Those two are two of the best in the NHL for a reason, and they’re carrying this group against the higher-ranked Flames team.

Calgary played good shutdown defense against Dallas, and the Flames have peppered Mike Smith with shots throughout the series. Getting quality chances to actually go in, though, has been a bigger challenge. Calgary can’t keep letting Edmonton get back into these games, and Markstrom needs to stay relaxed and focused in his crease and not have any mental lapses. Many of his goals have been with him out of position – when it comes to the crease battle, Calgary needs their guy to be THE guy.