Hustling to be the first to a loose puck, defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere drew in two Edmonton defenders, sauced the puck over an Oilers player’s stick to center Martin Necas who then put the puck on a tee for center Sebastian Aho who made no mistake and iced the game with six seconds left in overtime.
That play capped off one of the most entertaining games of the NHL’s Frozen Frenzy as the Carolina Hurricanes (3-2-0) took down the Edmonton Oilers (2-4-1) 3-2.
Aho, Necas and Gostisbehere were the only players for the Hurricanes to have a multi-point night versus the Oilers. Each of them put a goal on the board — in reverse order — to give Carolina two hard-fought points.
“McDavid Magic,” coupled with an otherworldly performance by Edmonton netminder Stuart Skinner, looked as if it would hand the Canes their second loss in as many games, but in the end, the Hurricanes found a way.
Gostisbehere scored a goal for the fourth straight game, Necas earned a point on every goal bringing him to six points through the first five games and Aho has now scored 24 points in his last 12 games vs Edmonton with his two-point performance Tuesday night.
To start this season, these three have done a lot of heavy lifting offensively, as they are all playing at a point-per-game pace. All of it was required, as the Hurricanes gave up 35 shots on goal, their highest allowed this season.
With five-time Art Ross Trophy winner center Connor McDavid scoring twice and the Hurricanes netting three in the final period plus overtime, it would be easy to paint this game as one where the offensive stars shined but anyone who stayed up to watch knew that wasn’t the case.
Between Skinner and Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen, the majority of the contest was a game of ‘Whatever you can do, I can do better.’
At each end of the ice, the two were stonewalling the other team leaving players shaking their heads whenever they skated back to the bench, wondering how on earth the pucks were staying out.
While a scorching wrister and give-and-go play with center Leon Draisaitl netted two for McDavid on Andersen, Skinner remained unblemished through 40 minutes of play. It wasn’t until Gostisbehere’s third power-play goal in as many games that the Canes found twine.
On power play time that carried over from the second period, Gostisbehere ripped a one-timer from Necas after Skinner had made a jaw-dropping save on him seconds prior.
Even after Skinner’s heroics, the Canes didn’t let the play affect them and cut the lead to one with almost all of the third period to go. With his goal, Gostisbehere became the first NHL defenseman this season to reach four goals.
After Gostisbehre’s goal gave Carolina new life in the game it searched for a tying goal, leaning on Andersen to keep it just a one-goal game. According to MoneyPuck.com, Andersen saved 2.58 goals above expected.
Stopping 33 of 35 shots, Andersen not only saved pucks but saved the game. Moving laterally from post to post, Andersen was making highlight reel saves late in the game including this one on former Hurricane center Jeff Skinner.
Once Necas had tied the game on a deflected shot-pass from left wing Eric Robinson with 6:31 left in the game, each team combined for just one shot in the final six minutes. In a game neither wanted to lose, the hatches had been battened.
In overtime, each team had their chances before Aho’s 12th overtime goal of his career. The Oilers, who won the initial faceoff, looked like they were going to capitalize on tired legs but center Jordan Staal and defensemen Brent Burns and Jaccob Slavin found some gas in the tank to deny Edmonton.
The performance in Edmonton was a dramatic bounce-back from their game in St. Louis where the team was on the second half of a back-to-back. The energy was there from both sides and played like a playoff atmosphere.
The Canes resume action quickly on Thursday and will have their hands full when they take on Calgary, who has yet to lose a game in regulation, at 9 p.m.
