Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the deciding goal in the third round of the shootout as the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 6-5 at Rogers Place on Thursday.
Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring on a power play at 8:07 of the first period with a tip-in goal. Jackson Blake responded on the man advantage for Carolina at 10:30, and Sebastian Aho gave the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead 30 seconds into the second period with a backhand shot. Nugent-Hopkins tied it on another Edmonton power play at 4:20 with his first goal of the season. Carolina then built a two-goal cushion on even-strength wrist shots from Seth Jarvis, his first of the year, at 12:59 and Logan Stankoven at 17:53.
Edmonton erased the deficit early in the third period. Connor McDavid snapped in a goal 26 seconds into the frame, and Draisaitl converted on the power play at 2:51 to make it 4-4. Juuso Välimäki put Carolina back ahead 5-4 with his first goal of the season at 17:20, but McDavid deflected in the tying goal at 18:32 to send the game to overtime. After a scoreless extra period, McDavid, Shayne Gostisbehere, Draisaitl, and Andrei Svechnikov were all denied before Nugent-Hopkins scored and Jarvis was stopped.
Special teams played a prominent role in the outcome. Edmonton finished 3-for-5 on the power play, while Carolina scored on one of its two opportunities. In net, Devon Levi stopped 22 of 27 shots to earn the victory for the Oilers. Brandon Bussi made 16 saves on 21 shots for the Hurricanes in the overtime loss.
McDavid and Draisaitl each posted five points with two goals and three assists. With the victory, Edmonton extended its winning streak to three games and improved its regular-season record to 8-1-1. Carolina moved to 8-2-2 on the season.
Both teams return to the ice on Saturday, October 24. The Hurricanes visit the St. Louis Blues, while the Oilers host the Toronto Maple Leafs.
