Talbot, Oilers hold off winless Hurricanes
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[October 19, 2016]
EDMONTON, Alberta -- The
Edmonton Oilers found some much-needed redemption Tuesday night in
the form of a 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.
The red-faced Oilers were trying to right their ship after an
embarrassing 6-2 loss to the short-staffed Buffalo Sabres on Sunday,
a defeat that prompted the players and coaches to move a scheduled
day off from Monday to Wednesday so they could fix their problems in
time for this game.
It seemed to work.
They led 2-0 after 20 minutes and 3-0 after 40 at Rogers Place
before surviving a late scare from the Hurricanes to improve to 3-1.
"It wasn't pretty," Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. "To get up
three and give it back to them was not part of the game plan.
Neither was giving up a number of free looks at our net in the first
seven minutes of the game, but we had a good bounce-back night from
(goalie) Cam (Talbot).
"If he wasn't the first star, he should have been. We're really
happy for him."
Carolina certainly put a scare into the hosts.
The Canes, who are on the road for six straight games to start the
year, were desperate to get their first win before the fatigue
catches up. And it showed.
They launched a furious comeback attempt, rallying to make a game of
it in the third period on a pair of goals from Lee Stempniak.
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The right winger scored at 3:18 and 4:14, but they couldn't finish
the job and fell to 0-1-2.
"We were right there. We had some chances, good chances throughout
the game, and just never really finished up with them," Stempniak
said. "It's a matter of keep applying the pressure and try to find a
way to get one and get back in the game. We had two and we were
pushing right to the final buzzer."
After slow starts in their first three games -- allowing a goal in
the first three minutes of each one -- the Oilers drew first blood
this time. Winger Anton Slepyshev scored the first of his NHL career
at 1:51 and winger Jordan Eberle scoring his third of the season at
9:22.
They went up 3-0 on a wrist shot from Tyler Pitlick 2:35 into the
second period.
Then they withstood the Carolina assault.
"I like the way our group picked up after their second one," Eberle
said. "We played in their end a bit more and weathered the storm.
Any time you're up three goals, sometimes the game gets into a bit
of a lull, the losing team kind of picks up. We've been on the other
end of it. You start getting tons of shots and think you're going to
come back."
Talbot, whose wife is scheduled to deliver twins by C-section
Tuesday morning, had a strong game despite the off-ice distraction:
He stopped 31 of 33 shots after allowing six goals in the Buffalo
game.
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![](../images/101816pics/sports86.jpg)
Hurricanes players celebrate after a goal against Edmonton Oilers
oalie Cam Talbot (33) during the third period at Rogers Place. The
Oiles won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-USA TODAY Sports
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"I needed a big bounce-back game after the game I had last time," he
said. "As a team, we've kind of let losses snowball in the past, and
this time we came out hard. We talked about being a tough, resilient
group, and that's what we were tonight."
He said he was able to put his family situation aside for just long
enough to get the win.
"I tried to leave that at home for the three hours I was here," he
said. "I knew I had a job to do tonight before that. I knew I'd feel
much better going in there in the morning with two points, so that
was my focus coming to the rink tonight."
The Canes, meanwhile, are still searching for that elusive first
win.
"It's tough to go down," center Jeff Skinner said. "When you go down
early on the road, you want to show some composure. We had a little
miscommunication on some of the goals. We did a good job battling
back and we put ourselves in a good situation with a power play with
three minutes left. You'd like to capitalize and tie the game
there."
NOTES: Oilers D Mark Fayne moved into the lineup at the expense of
Mark Gryba, but played just 2:27 before leaving the game with a
lower-body injury. ... Oilers rookie RW Jesse Puljujarvi was a
healthy scratch. "Sometimes it's good for your development to watch
a game," coach Todd McLellan said. ... Oilers C Drake Caggiula, LW
Matt Hendricks, D Brandon Davidson and LW Iiro Pakarinen remain out
"for weeks," while backup goalie Jonas Gustavsson is day to day with
concussion symptoms. ... Hurricanes G Cam Ward is the only player
from either team left from the 2006 Stanley Cup final between
Edmonton and Carolina. ... Canes rookie Sebastien Aho scored a point
in the first two games of his NHL career. ... After finishing 24th
in power-play percentage last season, the Hurricanes scored on three
of their first six opportunities to start this season.
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