EDMONTON — Sebastian Aho had two goals and an assist as the Carolina Hurricanes won their fourth consecutive game, defeating the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 on Saturday.
Nino Niederreiter also scored for the Hurricanes (19-6-1), which improved to 12-3-1 on the road. Carolina starter Frederik Andersen made 22 saves.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins replied for the Oilers (16-10-0), who are in a free-fall after their hot start to the season with five straight losses. Mikko Koskinen stopped 28-of-31 shots.
The Oilers once again found themselves chasing the game by allowing the first goal as Carolina’s Aho continued his hot play of late, swatting in his own rebound on the power play 7:17 into the opening period.
The Hurricanes made it 2-0 just over six minutes into the second period when Niederreiter beat Oilers goalie Koskinen on a long shot to the blocker side.
Edmonton got back into the game midway through the middle frame as Nugent-Hopkins beat Andersen with a wrist shot on a partial breakaway for his first goal on home ice in 19 games.
The Oilers had a glorious chance on the power play midway though the third, but Zach Hyman, who would leave the game with an injury, missed a wide-open net.
Carolina got an insurance marker with 2:44 left as Koskinen fumbled a puck behind the net and it was stolen by Aho, who scored his 15th goal of the season and his fifth goal in the last three games. Aho also has 12 points in his last five games.
The Hurricanes are right back at it on Sunday night as they head to Vancouver to face the Canucks. The Oilers play the fifth game of a six-game homestand against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
Notes: Veteran defenceman Duncan Keith remains out for the Oilers. He is skating and could be back next game. Also out for Edmonton were Mike Smith (lower body), Slater Koekkoek (lower body) and Kris Russell (upper body). … Absent for the Hurricanes was Jordan Martinook (ankle), while Tony DeAngelo and Brett Pesce remained out on COVID-19 protocol. … The game marked the return of defenceman Ethan Bear to Edmonton after being traded in the off-season for forward Warren Foegele. … It was Vincent Trocheck’s 500th NHL game.
