Edmonton Oilers stymied by Hurricanes

Curtis McElhinney made 40 saves as the Carolina Hurricanes downed the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 in Raleigh Friday night.

The teams combined for three goals in 1:39 early in the game. The Hurricanes’ Nino Niederreiter opened the scoring at the 37-second mark. Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl finished off a two-on-one with Zack Kassian 55 seconds later. Carolina’s Lucas Wallmark completed the outburst to make it 2-1 Hurricanes at the 2:16 mark.

“It’s not a very good start obviously,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said after the game.

The Oilers outshot the Hurricanes 17-5 in the second period but couldn’t find the tying goal. Oilers forward Alex Chiasson was wide open for a one-timer from the slot but was denied by McElhinney. Edmonton’s Ty Rattie had a late chance in tight on the power play but was turned away.

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The Oilers had more pressure in the third but couldn’t beat McElhinney. Niederreiter added an insurance goal for the Hurricanes with 3:37 left.

“You have this many scoring chances, you work this hard, and you’d expect a better reward for it,” said Oilers head coach Ken Hitchcock.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "You have this many scoring chances, you work this hard, and you'd expect a better reward for it," said Oilers head coach Ken Hitchcock.

“We’re chasing the game too much,” he said. “We’re getting down early in games or we’re chasing the game halfway through, and that takes a lot of energy out of you.”

“I think if we got a lead, we might be able to be even better, but we’re chasing games a little bit too much.

“That puts a lot of pressure on playing one line. I thought again today, the line was excellent but we made a tired mistake on the 3-1 goal.”

The Hurricanes have scored in the first minute in three of the last four games against the Oilers.

McElhinney improves to 7-0 in his career versus Edmonton.

The Oilers (24-28-5) have just one win in their last ten games. They’ll visit the New York Islanders on Saturday.

Watch below: Some videos from Global News’ coverage of the Edmonton Oilers’ 2018-19 season.

0:56 Hitchcock impressed with Oilers practice

• Hitchcock impressed with Oilers practice
• Klefbom returns to Oilers lineup after injury
• Oilers’ Ken Hitchcock explains connection with legendary hockey coach Clare Drake
• Twitter reacts to Nicholson’s ‘something in water’ comment
• Shaye Ganam and Bryan Hall debate how to fix the Edmonton Oilers
• Edmonton Oilers fans wonder what’s next for the team after Chiarelli fired
• Timeline: Peter Chiarelli’s time with the Edmonton Oilers
• Edmonton Oilers fans on GM Peter Chiarelli being fired: ‘It was about time’
• Edmonton Oilers part ways with general manager Peter Chiarelli
• Ken Hitchcock will be Edmonton Oilers head coach until end of season
• ‘Our best fans in the league are frustrated right now,’ Nicholson says
• Nicholson says ‘something in water’ in Edmonton
• Edmonton Oilers looking for GM who can assess talent
• ‘He was disappointed,’ Nicholson says of Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli being let go
• How will management fix the Edmonton Oilers?
• Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli was fired after 2nd period against Red Wings Tuesday night
• Peter Chiarelli did not make Mikko Koskinen deal on his own, Nicholson says
• ‘We had to make this change’: OEG CEO Bob Nicholson on firing Peter Chiarelli
• Edmonton Oilers have fired Peter Chiarelli

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