Things are still not going well for the Edmonton Oilers.
After losing the first two games of their four-game road trip, the Oilers were in Carolina hoping to find some kind of momentum against the Hurricanes.
Unfortunately, things could not have started worse as the Hurricanes put up four goals on 14 shots and chased starting goaltender Stuart Skinner from the net with over five minutes remaining in the first frame. The horrendous opening period means the Oilers are now guaranteed to give up at least four goals in all three games of their current road trip.
Edmonton entered Wednesday’s game with a league-worst .873 team save percentage and the outing against the Hurricanes will certainly not help that number.
The signs of a disastrous night began right from the Oilers’ warm-up. Skinner took a spill in the pre-game skate and almost crashed into Hurricanes goalie Pyotr Kochetkov. Skinner did not appear to be injured from the fall and started the game.
The same could not be said about defenceman Darnell Nurse, as a puck deflected off the crossbar and hit the helmetless defenceman in the head during warm-up. Nurse missed the beginning of the game as he had to get stitches in his forehead.
A team many predicted to win the Stanley Cup, Edmonton is off to a disappointing 5-11-1 start and came into Wednesday’s action seventh in the Pacific Divison.
You can watch the Oilers try and battle back against the Hurricanes on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.