Nikolaj Ehlers has started to find his rhythm at just the right time for the Carolina Hurricanes. After going scoreless through his first eight games, Ehlers has five points in his past four games heading into Thursday night’s matchup with the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place.
The game is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET and brings together two of the NHL’s top teams early in the season. Carolina enters at 8-2-1, while Edmonton is 7-1-1, so this one carries plenty of weight even before the opening faceoff.
Ehlers is settling in after a slow start
Ehlers, who is in the second season of a six-year, $51 million contract with Carolina, said this week that the team has not fully reached the level it wants yet. That does not mean the Hurricanes are unhappy with their start. It does mean they believe there is still room to sharpen the details.
“The way we play is simple and we want to play the right way and do the right things every single game, but I don’t feel we’ve fully gotten to that point yet,” Ehlers said after practice Wednesday.
That assessment fits the broader picture. Carolina has scored 3.82 goals per game this season and allowed 2.45 goals per game, a strong foundation for a team that still expects more from itself. Ehlers said the Hurricanes’ effort level has been there, but the execution in the defensive zone and in transition still needs to improve.
“Absolutely, but it takes all five guys on the ice to make sure you play well in the D-zone and get the puck out from there and then get the puck into the O-zone the right way,” he said. “When we do that, it’s a very fun and easy way to play. But when we don’t do that and don’t play the right way, don’t get pucks out, don’t help each other out and don’t get pucks deep, that’s when we create turnovers that come against us and odd-man rushes. We’ve given up way too much of that.”
Recent production is matching the opportunity
After a quiet opening stretch, Ehlers has turned in a strong week. He scored the winning goal in Saturday’s 3-2 victory against the Winnipeg Jets, then followed it with two goals and an assist in Tuesday’s 6-3 win at the Vancouver Canucks. For a player Carolina added to help drive offense, that kind of response matters.
Rod Brind’Amour pointed to that upside after the team acquired him, saying, “He’s dynamic. That was a key acquisition that we added to our group.”
That dynamic element has already shown up in flashes. Ehlers said going back to Winnipeg was meaningful, and this time it felt more relaxed.
“This time it was a little bit more fun, there were no nerves,” he said. “It was just fun to be able to come out and play in front of that crowd again and against guys you played with for 10 years. I loved it, it was a lot of fun.”
The Hurricanes are only 10 games into the season, so there is still plenty of time for their identity to sharpen. But Thursday’s trip to Edmonton offers a useful test. Carolina has the record, the scoring depth and the defensive profile to be taken seriously. If Ehlers keeps producing, that case only gets stronger.
