EDMONTON, Alberta – Carolina coach Kirk Muller earned his first win behind the Hurricanes bench, and his club snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night.
Jeff Skinner, Jamie McBain, Patrick Dwyer, Chad LaRose and Tuomo Ruutu scored for the Hurricanes (9-17-4), who won their first game in five tries under Muller, a first-time NHL coach. Tomas Kaberle added two assists.
Carolina was 0-6-1 in its previous seven games and 0-5 since Muller took over for the fired Paul Maurice on Nov. 28.
Eric Belanger, Ben Eager and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had goals for the Oilers (13-12-3), who have lost two straight and five of six.
Carolina appeared to score eight minutes in when LaRose stole the puck from Ryan Smyth behind the Edmonton net and made a wraparound shot, but after a video review it was determined that the rebound was kicked in.
Edmonton had a goal reviewed three minutes later, but this one counted. Magnus Paajarvi banked a shot off of Tim Brent onto the Carolina net, and goalie Cam Ward trapped the puck under his stick. In the ensuing scrum, Belanger hit the stick with his skate and the puck skittered across the line. Belanger was credited with his first goal of the season after the original announcement that it was Paajarvi's first.
Carolina finally buried one of its many first-period chances with 40 seconds remaining as a bad bounce off of the glass landed in front of the Oilers net. Skinner beat goalie Devan Dubnyk through his pads for a power-play goal.
The Hurricanes took a 2-1 lead five minutes into the second when McBain beat a stickless Dubnyk up high with a shot with another Oilers penalty on the way.
Carolina went up by two goals with eight minutes left in the second as Eric Staal fed the puck ahead to Dwyer, who deked Dubnyk and slid a shot between his pads.
The lead grew to 4-1 three minutes later as LaRose took a pass on a 2-on-1 break and scored with a shot through Dubnyk's legs for a short-handed goal.
Edmonton got a goal back 9 seconds later as Eager scooped up a loose puck and swung a shot behind Ward for his first of the season.
The Hurricanes kept on coming to start the third and scored four minutes in. Jussi Jokinen found Ruutu in front for a shot through traffic that made it 5-2.
Skinner had a chance to get his second of the game after he was awarded a penalty shot seven minutes into the third, after he was chopped by Theo Peckham while on a breakaway, but couldn't beat Dubnyk.
Edmonton got within 5-3 with just over six minutes to play when Nugent-Hopkins recorded his 13th goal and 30th point of his already impressive rookie season.
NOTES: This was the only meeting between the teams this season. The Hurricanes beat the Oilers 7-1 at home last season. ... Oilers forwards Ben Eager and Anton Lander returned to the lineup. Eager (back) had missed six games and Lander (infected hand) sat out for three. ... Oilers F Taylor Hall (shoulder) is progressing well but hasn't been cleared for contact. ... The Hurricanes were without G Brian Boucher (lower body), D Jay Harrison (upper body) and D Joni Pitkanen (upper body).
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