Pluses, minuses for Stars-Panthers, Hurricanes-Oilers

NHL Network and ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes will offer his thoughts for big games each week throughout the season.

The Dallas Stars (14-6-3) visit the Florida Panthers (14-8-2) at Amerant Bank Arena on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; MAX, TNT). Then the Carolina Hurricanes (14-9-1) visit the Edmonton Oilers (9-12-1) at Rogers Place (9:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, SN1, TNT, MAX).

Here's my breakdown of the games.

Stars

Pluses: They had a big 8-1 win against the Lightning on Saturday before the Lightning had some payback with a 4-0 win Monday. The Stars have much more depth up front than they used to and aren't just counting on Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski. Miro Heiskanen is one of the top defensemen in the League and Jake Oettinger is one of the best goalies in the League. Overall, they are one of the most well-balanced teams in the NHL.

Minuses: Since starting the season 11-3-1, they're 3-3-2 and haven't strung consecutive wins together. I'm not too concerned since they made the Western Conference Final last season and are second in the Central Division this season, but it would be nice for them to get back on track against a good team like the Panthers.

Panthers

Pluses: It's really been an outstanding season given the injuries they had on the back end to start the season, especially to Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad. But they managed to get through that and sit third in the Atlantic Division. Sam Reinhart has been a scoring machine with 16 goals and 29 points. We're getting a semblance of what this team is; and imagine how much better they will be when Matthew Tkachuk (four goals) gets going. Sergei Bobrovsky has been solid with a 2.41 goals-against average and .912 save percentage. The Panthers are hard to play against and don't make it easy.

Minuses: They've lost four of six (2-3-1) and also three straight on home ice. The power play is lacking (17.5 percent; 24th). Other than that, as I mentioned, Tkachuk has had a slow start after scoring at least 40 goals and 100 points each of the past two seasons.

Hurricanes

Pluses: They've been better since their 3-4-0 start to the season, going 11-5-1 since. Sebastian Aho has been quietly good, leading them in scoring with 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) in 21 games. Andrei Svechnikov had a slow start after returning from his injury this season but has 11 points (one goal, 10 assists) in 15 games. They have good forward depth and three capable goalies, which is important since they haven't always been healthy at the same time. I would expect Pyotr Kochetkov to get more starts now with Frederik Andersen being out.

Minuses: On the back end, there are some questions about their depth pairings. But Brady Skjei, Brent Burns and Brett Pesce are solid for them. They've lost two of three and are on a tough six-game road trip right now. Other than that, they rank middle of the pack on special teams (16th on the power play, 21st on the penalty kill).

Oilers

Pluses: They need to start piling up points and have been doing that with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl back to being at the level they can. McDavid has 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) in his past six games and Draisaitl has 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) in 22 games. The Oilers have won a season-high four straight games, scoring 21 goals and allowing seven. Evander Kane has been great this season, scoring 11 goals and 20 points, and playing with physicality (team-high 46 penalty minutes and 86 hits). They have played better -- especially defensively -- under new coach Kris Knoblauch

Minuses: I still think they need to focus on defense. We know they can win those 6-5, 5-4 games but it would be nice for them if they could also win the lower-scoring games. The funny thing is, they started the season playing badly at home and now they're playing better at home and struggling on the road, so let's see if they can continue the momentum at home. The Oilers are seeking revenge after a 6-3 loss at the Hurricanes on Nov. 22.