The Edmonton Oilers lost their third game in a row Wednesday night, falling 6-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes throttled the Oilers with four goals in a span of 5:31 in the first period. Jesper Fast, Jack Drury, Teuvo Teravainen and Seth Jarvis did the damage, chasing goaltender Stuart Skinner from the Oilers’ net after allowing four goals on 12 shots.
“We were just slow with the puck, slow with our feet,” Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said after the game.
“It’s tough to get behind two, three goals on a team like this and expect to come back.”
“No energy. They were faster. They kept it simple. We couldn’t handle that pressure,” explained Edmonton forward Evander Kane.
Zach Hyman got one back for the Oilers late in the period, converting a power-play pass from Leon Draisaitl.
Martin Necas made it 5-1 Carolina early in the second. Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm tapped in a pass from Ryan McLeod for a shorthanded marker with 2:12 to go in the frame.
Hyman chipped in a pass from Connor McDavid to pull the Oilers within two 3:46 into the third.
Calvin Pickard, who replaced Skinner in the Oilers’ net, made a stretching right-pad save on Jesperi Kotkaniemi with Carolina on the power play with 1:45 left.
The Oilers went on the man advantage late, but Brent Burns put it away with a long shot into the empty net.
“I see a lot of guys who are working hard, (who) do care, are so worried about making mistakes, and ultimately it’s paralyzing us and holding us back,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch.
“We’re just not playing with our instincts.”
“We’re just not finding ways to get the job done,” said Nugent-Hopkins. “There’s not a lot to say. Just have to have a good skate tomorrow and try to have a big win on Friday.”
Darnell Nurse joined the Oilers’ bench partway through the first period after being hit with a puck during warmup. He had a bandage over his right eye and gauze in both nostrils.
The Oilers (5-12-1) will visit the Washington Capitals on Friday. You can listen to the game live on 630 CHED, beginning with The Faceoff Show at 11:30 a.m. The actual game starts at 1 p.m.