In Sunrise, the Edmonton Oilers’ Tyson Barrie struck for a pair of goals in a 4-2 win over the Panthers on Saturday.
“I thought Tyson really responded to being challenged,” Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said of the defenseman, who was minus-2 in a 7-2 loss at the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. “I didn’t think this last game was his necessarily his best. We talked about it. And I saw someone have a positive impact on the game tonight, not just because he scored two goals either. I think that he made some good plays with the puck. He was competitive. He helped our team win.”
Stuart Skinner made 40 saves in the Oilers win.
Sam Bennett scored both Panthers goals.
Edmonton improved to 9-7-0.
“As I sit back and reflect on this game just immediately afterwards, I think of the type of game we played today,” Woodcroft said. “It wasn’t always pretty, we made mistakes and whatnot, but there was a mindset that I believe we bring with us on the road. … We played in a way that I think is conducive to win games in the National Hockey League. Now we have to bring that mindset with us when we get back home in front of the best fans in the world.”
Florida dropped to 8-6-1.
“We thought the offensive side of our game was good and we didn’t give up a whole lot,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “It’s a frustrating loss because we prepared, played hard. … You’re left wanting, you felt maybe the effort deserved a little more.”
Bennett’s goals came in the third period, after Barrie had give the Oilers a 1-0 lead in the middle frame.
“Finding my game little bit, feeling better than I did at the beginning of the season,” said Bennett. “It is always nice to start building that confidence.”
Barrie’s second goal gave the Oilers a 2-0 advantage, and Warren Foegele pushed the lead to 3-1.
“It’s big for our team,” Barrie said of the win. “We’ve kind of been up and down, up and down. We want to find some consistency in our game. So, you know, after a game in Carolina, where we maybe feel like we didn’t have our best, it was nice to come back and have a good performance.”
Bennett’s first goal was off the the power play, his second cut the Oilers lead to 3-2.
“The first one, it’s just a one-timer, you’re trying to hit it,” Barrie said. “The second one you know you have a little bit of good draw and it kind of pops to you, so you want to take maybe a split second to kind of you know, try to pick a spot. I was lucky they both went in.”
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins added an empty-net goal with 86 seconds left in the game.
Spencer Knight made 27 saves in the Panthers loss.
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