EDMONTON — The Carolina Hurricanes really turned the tide in the third period on Tuesday night.
After going down 2-0 against the Edmonton Oilers, the Hurricanes mounted a third-period comeback and levelled the score. Sebastian Aho then put away the game-winning strike with just 6.1 seconds remaining in the overtime session to give Carolina a 3-2 win.
Martin Necas had a goal and two assists and Shayne Gostisbehere scored for the fourth consecutive game and added an assist for the Hurricanes (3-2-0), who have won three of their last four games.
“You need your best players to step up,” said Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “Look at their goals, who’s making the plays, right? The best guys have to do that, have to get on the scoresheet and our guys did tonight, which obviously was the difference.”
Frederik Andersen was rock solid in the Carolina net, making 32 saves, including several of the highlight reel variety. He improved to 18-2-2 in his career against Edmonton.
“He was great,” Necas said of his goalie. “There were a lot of chances back and forth and he made some huge saves, not just in OT, but in the second and third as well. He was amazing.”
Andersen said this year’s edition of the Hurricanes may well be defined by its work ethic.
“I think we have a good group in here, we’re just trying to play the way of our identity,” he noted. “It’s just hard work, really. Try to grind them down and eventually get rewarded with some good plays. Obviously, we still have tons of skill, but the work has to come first. We’re just happy we were able to claw back and get two points.”
In addition to his four-game goal-scoring streak, Gostisbehere now has three power play goals this season. That's already one better than the two he had in 81 games with Detroit during the 2023-24 campaign.
Connor McDavid had both goals for the Oilers (2-4-1) who have lost two straight.
“Give their goalie credit, I thought he made some huge saves coming down the stretch. It could have gone the other way,” McDavid said.
Despite giving up the lead, defenceman Mattias Ekholm feels things are starting to slowly come around for Edmonton.
“I am completely confident in our group,” he said. “I know it is early in the year, it is a matter of working through it. I wasn’t expecting everybody to be firing where we left off, it was going to take a bit of time. I do like our team and I think we are on the right track.”
Stuart Skinner also had a very strong game in the Edmonton net with 30 stops.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
Shane Jones, The Canadian Press