RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes made their own luck Wednesday night and got plenty in return.
Elias Lindholm scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second period, Cam Ward made 30 saves and Carolina beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-1.
Jordan Staal had a goal that bounced off two skates, and Jeff Skinner added one on a skate deflection after Justin Faulk’s slide. Playing at home on the eve of Thanksgiving, the Hurricanes made it worthwhile.
“Whenever they’re scheduled I like to win them,” coach Bill Peters said. “You have to hate to lose. You’ve got to be competitive in this sport. Every game is a dogfight. Losing is a disease, and winning is an unquenchable thirst you have to have.”
Andrej Nestrasil, who had a goal and an assist, scored an empty-netter with 51 seconds left as Faulk picked up his second assist of the night.
Benoit Pouliot scored for the Oilers, the 100th goal of his career, and Anders Nilsson stopped 23 shots.
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“That’s a really, really disappointing performance by our hockey club,” Edmonton coach Todd McLellan said. “I still believe in our group, but we weren’t engaged physically.
“We were outworked. It’s the determination factor that I’m looking for and I didn’t think we were a very determined team.”
Carolina improved to 2-2-4 in its last eight by winning for the second time in three games. Ward upped his record to 7-6-3.
“We wanted to make sure we had a strong effort tonight,” Ward said. “Despite the Oilers’ record, they’re a strong team and a quick team. We showed up ready to go and got rewarded for it. Going into the second period 1-1 was huge. The guys were able to clog it up and make it an easier night for me.”
Edmonton forward Nail Yakupov, who got his 100th career point in the first period, left with an injury — apparently to his lower body — early in the second and did not return.
Pouliot got the Oilers on the board on the power play at 7:34 of the first, beating Ward on a tip-in. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had the primary assist, and Yakupov picked up his milestone point.
Staal, who finished with a goal and an assist, evened the score at 19:44 on a tough-angle shot from the right side that ricocheted off the skates of defenceman Griffin Rinehart and Nilsson. Nestrasil had the assist.
Lindholm beat Nilsson from the top of the left circle on a rush at 10:16 of the second, with Eric Staal getting the primary assist.
Skinner made it 3-1 at 16:41, deflecting Faulk’s pass with a still left skate past Nilsson on his glove side. The assist extended Faulk’s scoring streak to seven games.
“We got a couple of good bounces,” Skinner said. “Personally, I got a pretty decent bounce off my foot. Unless Faulk was trying to do that, it was a nice play. You’ve got to work for those, though. Keep working and sooner or later they even out. You probably practice it subconsciously.”
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