The Carolina Hurricanes came out and played a solid game in all areas in route to a 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on the eve of Thanksgiving.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
EDM PPG (7:34) – Benoit Pouliot (5), assisted by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (10), Nail Yakupov (10)
The Oilers struck first on the man advantage thanks to a deflection in the slot by Pouliot.
CAR Goal (19:44) – Jordan Staal (4), assisted by Andrej Nestrasil (1)
A strong, late first period shift led to Staal carrying the puck around the Oiler net, then his pass intended for Eric Staal in front of the net deflected off of Griffin Reinhart‘s skate and into the goal to tie the game at 1.
2nd Period
CAR Goal (10:16) – Elias Lindholm (3), assisted by Eric Staal (9), John-Michael Liles (2)
Eric Staal hit Lindholm with a breakout pass that led to a 2-on-1 rush for him and Brett Pesce. Lindholm made a cut to the net and sniped it far-side on goalie Anders Nilsson to give Carolina a 2-1 lead.
CAR Goal (16:41) – Jeff Skinner (5), assisted by Justin Faulk (9), Kris Versteeg (12)
Another example of defensemen joining in on the offense, Faulk stepped to fire a loose puck on net, and Skinner was there in front of the net to deflect it into the Edmonton net to make it 3-1.
3rd Period
CAR EN Goal (19:10) – Andrej Nestrasil (2), assisted by Justin Faulk (10)
Nestrasil salted this game away with an empty netter late in the 3rd period.
Three Stars
1st Star – Cam Ward (CAR) – 30 saves, 1 goal against
2nd Star – Elias Lindholm (CAR) – 1 goal, 3 shots, 2 hits, 17:02 TOI
3rd Star – Jeff Skinner (CAR) – 1 goal, 5 shots, 3 takeaways, 15:42 TOI
Recap
The Carolina Hurricanes got the game that needed on the eve of Thanksgiving, finding a good mix of offense and defense in route to their 3-1 win against the Oilers on home ice.
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Period one was sloppy for the Hurricanes. They took a few penalties and were saved by a late tally from Jordan Staal in the opening frame, but things turned around in the 2nd period.
The Canes jumped ahead with a pair of goals, and they locked down the Oilers offense. Cam Ward made the saves he had to make as well, and that gave the club the confidence to go out and make plays offensively. A good 2nd frame put Carolina in the driver’s seat going into the final 20 minutes, and they played very well with the lead.
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Carolina continued to make plays and play well offensively in the 3rd period, and their defense and goaltending stayed in line as they put the game away. Nestrasil scored on the empty net as an insurance marker in the final minute of the game.
Justin Faulk had a rough go of it on Monday night against the Flyers, but he bounced back in a big way, assisting on 2 Carolina goals and earning a +3 plus/minus. He effectively shut down the Oilers offense from the opening faceoff, and didn’t make any mistakes with the puck on his stick.
Brett Pesce, once again, played very well. He didn’t crack the scoresheet, but he played a big role on starting the play that led to Lindholm’s goal. It was a big step for him as he proved that he can still be a very affective player, even when he doesn’t get on the scoreboard. He was solid all night.
The best forwards for Carolina came to play. Jordan Staal had a game-changing goal late in period one, made big defensive plays all night, and won key faceoffs. Jeff Skinner drove to the net and made a habit of going to the dirty areas. He was rewarded with a goal in the 2nd period.
It was an all-around solid effort from the Carolina Hurricanes. They played with a high compete level from start to finish, and the final score showed how well they played in all areas.
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The Carolina Hurricanes will get Thanksgiving off before they head out to New York to take on the Buffalo Sabres on Friday.