Andrei Svechnikov recorded a hat trick against the Edmonton Oilers for the second time this season as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Oilers 7-2 Thursday night.
“This league is too hard to recover from self-inflicted wounds and I thought tonight there were a lot of self-inflicted wounds,” head coach Jay Woodcroft said after the game. “Pucks that were on our tape that we didn’t guarantee behind the other team’s defense and it ended up coming back and biting us.”
Rookie Dylan Holloway had a chance for his first NHL goal on a penalty shot halfway through the first period.
However, his backhand attempt trickled off his stick and wide.
The Hurricanes took the lead with 20 seconds left in the first, when Andrei Svechnikov’s pass ticked off Tyson Barrie’s stick and banked in off the post.
Brent Burns was responsible for a goal at each end in the second.
He rifled in a shot on a Carolina power play, then accidentally swatted the puck into his own goal on an Oilers man advantage. Zach Hyman got credit.
“If you’re playing against anybody and you turn the puck over the way we turned the puck over it’s not going to be good,” Hyman said. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, it just happens that we’re doing it against one of the better teams and that’s what happens — it’s 7-2 at the end of the game.”
Svechnikov struck again to make it 3-1 Hurricanes, powering a wrister through Jack Campbell’s glove. Jordan Staal beat Campbell with a backhand with one second to go in the second.
In third, Connor McDavid weaved through the Hurricanes defence and flipped in a backhand for his 15th.
“It takes a lot of energy to play catchup,” McDavid said. “It’s not easy on everyone. Obviously, we’ve got to do a better job of not letting that happen.”
While lying on the ice, Jordan Martinook batted a puck out of air, up and over Campbell to make it 5-2.
Svechnikov completed the hat trick with 4:11 left, deftly flipping the puck over Campbell’s left pad. Jesper Fast blocked Campell’s clearing attempt and slapped the puck into an open net to round out the scoring.
Svechnikov also had a hat trick in a 6-4 Oilers win at Rogers Place on October 20.
The Oilers, 8-7, will visit the Florida Panthers on Saturday. The 630 CHED Face-off Show at begin at 12:30 p.m. and the game starts at 2 p.m.