By Canadian Press

Hyman, McDavid lead Edmonton Oilers to 6-1 rout of Carolina Hurricanes

Dec 6, 2023 | 11:50 PM

EDMONTON — Zach Hyman scored a hat trick, Connor McDavid recorded three assists, and the Edmonton Oilers scored early and often as they continued their quest to erase a poor start to the season, defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 6-1 on Wednesday.

Ryan McLeod, Mattias Ekholm and Warren Foegele also scored for the Oilers (10-12-1), who extended their winning streak to five games.

Jordan Staal responded for the Hurricanes (14-10-1), who have lost two in a row.

Edmonton didn’t appear to have any rust from its five-day break heading into the contest, scoring on the game’s first two shots.

Just 28 seconds in, Foegele stole a puck behind Carolina’s net and sent it in front to McLeod, who scored just his second of the season on Hurricanes goalie Pyotr Kochetkov.

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Only 13 seconds after that, McDavid sent a pretty pass through the crease to Ekholm for an easy tap-in. Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard extended his points streak to a career-best nine games with an assist on the play.

The Oilers kept up the pressure with another goal coming 5:46 into the opening period as Hyman reversed thrust before cutting in front and scoring his 13th. That would be it for Kochetkov, as he was yanked for Antti Raanta after allowing three goals on a paltry six shots.

Edmonton made it 4-0 with six minutes to play in the first as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was able to get it across to Hyman all alone for a one-timer blast that beat Raanta for his second of the game. McDavid picked up his second assist, his fifth multi-point game during his current seven-game point streak.

Carolina outshot Edmonton 16-11 in the first period despite the deficit, but Oilers starter Stuart Skinner was solid in net.

The Oilers kept it coming with another goal coming three minutes into the second period as Mattias Janmark blocked a shot, sending Foegele in on a breakaway which he capped off by jamming the puck under Raanta’s pads. Janmark was credited with his third assist of the game on the play.

Carolina broke Skinner’s shutout bid seven minutes into the third as the final pass on a three-on-one break went to Staal, who scored his third.

McDavid contributed a highlight reel play to the proceedings midway through the third, stripping the puck away at the Carolina blue line before splitting the defence and dishing a pass across to Hyman for his third goal of the game. 

It was Hyman’s second hat trick of the season and third of his career. Hyman has scored 11 goals in his last 10 games.

NOTES

Edmonton’s two goals in the first 41 seconds were the second-fastest two goals to begin a game in Oilers history. The record is 24 seconds in 1982, scored by Mark Messier and Dave Lumley… McDavid recorded his 570th career NHL assist, passing Jari Kurri for the third-most in Oilers franchise history… Oddly enough, when these two teams last met in Carolina on Nov. 22, the Hurricanes held a 4-0 lead 14:48 into the game. On Wednesday, Edmonton led 4-0 14:03 into the game… The Hurricanes are currently ranked dead last in the NHL when it comes to combined goalie save percentage. Edmonton isn’t much better, sitting two spots up in 30th.

UP NEXT

The Hurricanes are right back at it on Thursday night as they head to Calgary to face the Flames for the third game of a six-game road trip. 

The Oilers host the Minnesota Wild in the second game of a six-game homestand on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2023.

Shane Jones, The Canadian Press