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Tricks and tanks: Hurricanes win wild one against Oilers

Elias Lindholm, Eric Staal

Elias Lindholm, Eric Staal

AP

Look, in the grand scheme of things, the Carolina Hurricanes beating the Edmonton Oilers 7-4 on Sunday doesn’t mean much.

Still, when 11 goals are scored (including a hat trick per team) and the squad that was up 3-0 ends up losing, it’s probably at least worth noting.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored two of the Oilers’ first three goals to build up that lead and eventually nabbed a rare hat trick in defeat. Here’s video of his third tally:

Elias Lindholm was the true standout, however, generating a hat trick plus two assists. He thanked Eric Staal for passing to him on his empty-netter hat trick goal, but that’s a heck of a night either way. Here’s footage of his second goal:

With the win, Carolina now has 57 standings points in 64 games played, moving them ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs and possibly (eventually) ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets when it’s all over. To some extent, cynical fans will believe that they did the Oilers a favor, as Edmonton remains two points behind the Arizona Coyotes for second-to-worst in the NHL.

Really, if you’re not playing for much at this point in the season, you might as well generate a ton of goals rather than deploying a watching-paint-dry style, right?

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins