The Carolina Hurricanes notched a run of four straight goals in the first and second periods to knock the wind out of Edmonton in a 5-3 victory that snapped their seven-game losing streak on Wednesday.
The triumph was the first for new Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller, who was hired on Nov. 28 after Paul Maurice was fired.
“It feels good,” Muller told reporters. “You have nights you want to forget and nights that are fun. To get the first win is nice, and I’m really proud of the way the guys played hard after last night [a 7-6 loss in Calgary].”
Photo: Reuters
Jeff Skinner netted his team-leading 12th goal of the season to tie the game 1-1 with 38 seconds left in the first, before Carolina powered ahead with scores from Jamie McBain, Patrick Dwyer and Chad Larose.
Edmonton battled back with a wrist shot from Ben Eager in the second, and after Carolina’s Tuomo Ruutu stretched the lead back to three early in the third, the Oilers’ No. 1 overall draft pick, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, capped the scoring with 6:39 remaining.
The Hurricanes (9-17-4), last in the Eastern Conference, earned their first win since Nov. 21, while the Oilers (13-12-3) dropped their second straight game and are now 1-3-1 during their current six-game homestand.
Edmonton got off to a hot start this season, but has fallen back to the middle of the Northwest Division.
“We’ve got expectations inside of being a real good team,” Oilers coach Tom Renney said. “This one really hurts, it hurts everybody. The players are really disappointed in themselves.”
FLYERS 5, SABRES 4
In Buffalo, New York, Claude Giroux scored 2:27 into overtime as the Philadelphia Flyers overcame a three-goal, first-period deficit to beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-4 on Wednesday.
Matt Read, Scott Hartnell, Jaromir Jagr and Maxime Talbot scored goals for the Flyers on 10 shots bridging the first and second periods to help the team win its third straight game.
Philadelphia also won on an overtime shot by Giroux after climbing out of a three-goal hole at Anaheim on Friday.
Zack Kassian had a goal and an assist, and Ville Leino, Thomas Vanek and Drew Stafford also scored for the Sabres, who have lost three of four.
CAPITALS 5, SENATORS 3
In Ottawa, Alex Ovechkin scored the go-ahead goal in the third period to lift Washington past the Senators.
Ottawa led 2-1 going into the final period, but Nicklas Backstrom scored on a power play 9:45 into the third and Ovechkin and Troy Brouwer scored goals in a 15-second span to put the Capitals in front for good.
Tomas Vokoun made 31 saves for Washington, which has won two of its last three games.
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