Carolina goalie Curtis McElhinney made 40 saves as the Hurricanes rode early scoring to a 3-1 victory against the visiting Edmonton Oilers on Friday night in Raleigh, N.C.

Nino Niederreiter scored two goals and Lucas Wallmark also tallied for the Hurricanes, who opened a three-game homestand after a strong five-game road trip. Sebastian Aho provided two assists.

The teams combined for three goals in less than 2 1/2 minutes to begin the game, then went nearly the rest of the game before the final goal.

Carolina is 15-5-1 in its last 21 games. That includes the 4-1-0 road swing.

Leon Draisaitl scored for the Oilers, who have slumped to 1-7-2 since Jan. 19.

McElhinney has won four consecutive decisions, improving to 4-0-0 this month.

The Oilers scored on their first shot, then McElhinney stopped the next 40 shots he faced.

His save on Colby Cave's delivery in the third period was among the key stops.

Niederreiter has eight goals in 12 games since joining the Hurricanes in a trade from the Minnesota Wild. He also scored two goals against the Oilers on Jan. 20 in Edmonton.

Oilers goalie Mikko Koskinen made 24 saves.

Niederreiter scored 37 seconds into the game for his first goal.

Draisaitl responded just 92 seconds into the game. He had a give-and-go play with Zack Kassian, essentially shooting into an open net for the score.

Wallmark's goal at the 2:16 mark completed the crazy opening minutes of offense. It was Wallmark's first goal in 10 games.

Edmonton held a 29-14 advantage in shots on goal in the first two periods, and the Oilers were 0-for-3 on power plays in that span.

There were particularly feisty moments late in the second period as the teams clashed several times after whistles.

When Niederreiter scored with 3:37 remaining in the game, it gave him 17 goals this season.

Right winger Alex Chiasson was credited with eight of Edmonton's 41 shots.

--Field Level Media