Oilers hold off winless Hurricanes
EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Edmonton Oilers found redemption Tuesday night in the form of a 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Oilers were trying to right their ship after an embarrassing 6-2 loss to the short-staffed Buffalo Sabres on Sunday, a defeat that prompted the Edmonton players and coaches to move a scheduled day off from Monday to Wednesday so they could fix their problems in time for this game.
It seems to have worked.
The Oilers (3-1-0) led 2-0 after 20 minutes and 3-0 after 40 before surviving a late scare from the Hurricanes (0-1-2).
Carolina didn't make it easy, though.
The Hurricanes, who are on the road for six straight games to start the season and play nine of their first 12 on the road, were desperate to get their first win of the season before the fatigue catches up with them, and it showed.
They built three-goal leads in their first two games of the season, only to lose both of them in overtime. This time they were on the other end of the comeback attempt, rallying from a 3-0 deficit to make a game of it in the third period on a pair of goals from Lee Stempniak.
The right winger scored at 3:18 and 4:14, but Carolina couldn't finish the job.
After slow starts in the first three games -- allowing a goal in the first three minutes of each one -- the Oilers opened the scoring this time. Anton Slepyshev scored the first of his NHL career at 1:51, and Jordan Eberle scored his third of the season at 9:22.
Edmonton went up 3-0 on a wrist shot from Tyler Pitlick 2:39 into the second period.
Oilers goalie Cam Talbot, whose wife is scheduled to deliver twins by caesarian section Tuesday morning, had a strong game despite the off-ice distraction, stopping 31 of 33 shots.
Cam Ward made 25 saves for the Hurricanes.
NOTES: Oilers D Mark Fayne will move into the lineup at the expense of Mark Gryba while rookie RW Jesse Puljujarvi is a healthy scratch. "Sometimes it's good for your development to watch a game," said Oilers coach Todd McLellan." ... Oilers C Drake Caggiula, LW Matt Hendricks, D Brandon Davidson and LW Iiro Pakarinen remain out "for weeks," while backup goalie Jonas Gustavsson is day to day with concussion symptoms. ... ... G Cam Ward of the Hurricanes is only player from either team left from the 2006 Stanley Cup final between Edmonton and Carolina. ... Hurricanes rookie Sebastien Aho scored a point in the first two games of his NHL career. ... After finishing 24th in power play percentage last season, the Hurricanes scored on three of their first six opportunities to start this season.