The Carolina Hurricanes dominated from start to finish at Rogers Place on Monday night, beating the Edmonton Oilers 6-2 in NHL pre-season action.
“Those are dangerous words when you say it’s only a pre-season game,” Oilers head coach Todd McLellan said after the game. “We were outworked tonight. It’s as simple as that. They had a lot more interest in the game and it showed tonight.”
“I think sometimes games like this can be a blessing in disguise,” Oilers forward Milan Lucic added. “I know we’re going to learn a lot from this game.”
The Hurricanes controlled the first period, outshooting the Oilers 15-4 and getting two power play goals from Teuvo Teravainen. The first one came on a two-man advantage. Ryan Strome had a goal sandwiched in between, banging in the rebound of an Oscar Klefbom shot.
Carolina went up 3-1 with 8:51 left in the second while killing a penalty. Oilers goalie Cam Talbot tried to pass the puck up ice, but it was intercepted by Josh Jooris. Jooris fed Lucas Wallmark for a goal. Janne Kuokkanen scored Carolina’s third power play goal of the night two minutes later.
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“You give up three power play goals and one shorthanded,” Lucic explained. “Our power play was a weapon for us last season, so we need to clean that up. We have eight days, starting tomorrow now, to clean that up.”
Kailer Yamamoto scored with the man advantage later in the session, tipping home Matt Benning’s point shot. Yamamoto, taken in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft by the Oilers this summer, has five goals in four pre-season games.
READ MORE: Yamamoto strikes twice as Edmonton Oilers down Vancouver Canucks
“He was one of our best players once again tonight,” McLellan said of Yamamoto. “The 18-year-old isn’t supposed to step in and play, but he continues to open eyes.”
“He deserves the opportunity to keep on going. I don’t care who plays on our team. We need 23 guys to wear jerseys. Whether he’s 18 or 38, we want to win.”
Jordan Staal added two more for the Hurricanes in the third period. The final shots were 29-21 in favour of the Hurricanes.
It’s the Oilers’ first loss of the pre-season. They’ll meet Carolina again on Wednesday in Saskatoon.
Watch below: Some videos from Global News’ coverage of the Edmonton Oilers 2017 training camp.
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