Tyler Pitlick scored the eventual winner as the Edmonton Oilers came away with a 3-2 victory over the winless Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.
Anton Slepyshev and Jordan Eberle also scored for the Oilers, who improved to 3-1-0.
Lee Stempniak responded with a pair of goals for the Hurricanes (0-1-2).
Slepyshev unleashed a wicked wrist shot that beat Carolina goalie Cam Ward glove-side for his first career NHL goal. 1:51 into the game.
Edmonton made it 2-0 midway through the first as Eberle’s backhanded pass attempt bounced off of Hurricanes defender Ron Hainsey and in to the net for his third of the season.
Pitlick added to the Oilers lead, picking the corner off a face-off win in the Canes’ zone.
Edmonton goalie Cam Talbot was sharp in making 20 saves through 40 minutes, including outright robbing Jeff Skinner in tight midway through the second period.
READ MORE: Edmonton Oilers’ goalie Cam Talbot finding ‘that balance’ day before twins’ birth
Watch below: Edmonton Oilers’ goaltender Cam Talbot will be between the pipes Tuesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes and he’ll have to keep his head in the game too, as he prepares to become a father. His wife, Kelly, is scheduled to have a C-section Wednesday morning, expecting twins.
Carolina finally got on the board three minutes into the third period as a big rebound from a Victor Rask shot gave Stempniak an empty net to score into, and then made it 3-2 just 56 seconds later as Skinner fed it in front for Stempniak’s third of the season.
The Hurricanes had some strong pressure late, but Talbot made several big stops and Edmonton was able to hang on for the win.
Both teams return to action on Thursday as the Oilers remain home to welcome the St. Louis Blues and Carolina plays the fourth of a six-game road trip to start the season in Calgary.
Notes: Both teams made changes to their lineups for the game, as Carolina defenceman Jakub Nakladal and LW Phillip Di Giuseppe played their first games of the season, while RW Martin Frk made his NHL debut. Edmonton inserted LW Slepyshev and D Mark Fayne, who later left the game with an injury, into the lineup, and called up Laurent Brossoit to serve as backup goalie after Jonas Gustavsson suffered an injury in Sunday’s 6-2 loss to Buffalo… Talbot’s wife is scheduled to give birth to twins early on Wednesday morning.
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