GAME RECAP: Hurricanes 2, Oilers 1

RALEIGH, NC - Unfortunately, there was no rally in Raleigh.
Despite missing two top forwards in Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Kailer Yamamoto due to injury, and losing Connor McDavid for most of the first period after the captain took a high stick to the face, the Oilers put forth a valiant effort against the Eastern Conference-leading Carolina Hurricanes but ultimately dropped a slim 2-1 decision to split this weekend's matinee matchups.

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POST-RAW | Ceci
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FIRST BLOOD

The Oilers put the first puck in the back of the net when Connor McDavid fired a five-hole shot past Frederik Andersen just 51 seconds after the opening faceoff, but the goal was disallowed after a successful offside challenge. The official first goal came at the 11:57 mark as Jalen Chatfield, Andrei Svechnikov and Teuvo Teravainen went tic-tac-toe with Teravainen tallying from the slot for his 15th of the season.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Derek Ryan is officially on fire. After scoring his first NHL hat-trick during Saturday's win over the Florida Panthers, the forward found the back of the net again with a tremendous individual effort. Ryan blocked an Ian Cole shot just inside the Oilers blue line, beat the Carolina defender to the loose puck in the neutral zone, drove to the net and slide a five-hole shot past Andersen for his fourth goal of the weekend and eighth of the season.

SAVE OF THE GAME

Andersen made back-to-back denials with six and a half minutes to go in regulation to keep Carolina ahead by a goal. First, he stopped Zach Hyman from the high slot, and then he managed to keep the puck out after Colton Sceviour tried to bank it in off the netminder's back from below the goal line.

TURNING POINT

The eventual game-winner was scored way back in the opening frame as Sebastian Aho secured a perfectly-executed power-play tally at the 16:53 mark. Svechnikov slid a cross-ice pass to Teravainen, who dropped it back to Aho for the no-doubt wrist shot and his team-leading 23rd goal of the season.

TOP PERFORMER

Andersen made 29 saves to improve to 29-7-2 on the season, stopping 51 of the 53 shots he faced combined in a pair of victories over the Oilers this year.

FAST FACTS

Hyman played a season-high 26:39. His previous top TOI was 22:40 on Dec.3 in Seattle.
Despite missing most of the opening period, McDavid still led Edmonton with five shots.
With another goal, Ryan has five tallies, three assists and a plus-7 rating in his last nine games.

PARTING WORDS

Head Coach Jay Woodcroft on the Oilers effort on Sunday:
"I thought our compete was off the charts. They pushed us, we pushed them. It was a heck of a hockey game with lots of good in it."
Woodcroft on Yamamoto's status after missing the game:
"He was banged up in yesterday's game. I don't think it's anything major going forward. He's day-to-day and dealing with some bumps and bruises."

Hyman on the tightly-contested matchup:
"We lost the special teams battle and it was a 1-1 game at even strength. I thought we were pushing and just ran out of time there at the end. Competitive game. They're a really good team and we showed up but just fell short."
Hyman on the three games against Tampa Bay, Florida and Carolina:
"We came away with one out of three. We wanted more, but I thought we played well in all those games. Later on, when it gets down to the nitty gritty in the playoffs, games are tight, teams are good. This was a big learning experience for us and we'll be better moving forward."
Ceci on the team's performances thus far on the road trip:
"We played some of the best teams in the league the last three games and we showed up every single night. It's definitely a step in the right direction. We're frustrated with the results a little bit, but we've got to build off it."