Go ahead, blame the goalie.

Because this time it WAS Stuart Skinner’s fault.

In a game where the Edmonton Oilers spent half the night on the ropes, hanging on for dear life while the Carolina Hurricanes fired shots at them like they were clay pigeons, Skinner saved the day.

He also saved 33 of 36 shots in a 4-3 overtime decision that left the Hurricanes feeling robbed.

“Stu was great,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who was also great, it should be noted, scoring twice and assisting on Leon Draisaitl’s game-winning goal 19 seconds into the extra period.

“He gives us a chance to win and did tonight. We were taking on water there for a little while and he was making saves, giving us a chance.”

The Oilers weren’t simply taking on water, they were being tied up and water-boarded by Carolina’s relentless pressure.

Edmonton staked a quick 2-0 lead on goals from Jack Roslovic and McDavid, but a team famous for its long, lazy lulls slipped into another one and the lead was gone. From midway through the first period to the end of the second, Carolina outshot Edmonton 21-6. The Hurricanes threw it around Edmonton’s zone at will and on the rare occasions when the Oilers touched the puck they couldn’t even get through the neutral zone.

Skinner limited the damage to two goals — Eric Robinson late in the first and Nik Ehlers early in the second — but taking a period and a half off turned a nice 2-0 lead into a 2-2 tie after 40.

Late in the third period the Oilers were being outshot 36-19 but they didn’t break.

“We were hanging on for a little bit,” admitted McDavid, adding they haven’t looked as sharp as he’d like lately, but they’re getting points. “I’m sounding like a broken record, honestly, when we win, but we just found a way to win a game.

“I know it’s painful to say but they’re a really good team over there and we hung on.”

So, no, it wasn’t pretty for much of the night, but nobody will remember that in a week, only that the Oilers got it done.

“It would be nice if we had an easy one every once in a while,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch. “They force you into mistakes and we made a few of them, but Stu played a really solid game.”

And the top of Edmonton’s lineup was money when it mattered most.

After the red-hot Roslovic (13 points in his last 11 games) opened the scoring unassisted on a horrendous giveaway by Canes goalie Freddie Andersen, the scoring line for Edmonton read: McDavid from Roslovic; McDavid from Draisaitl and Zach Hyman and Draisaitl from McDavid and Bouchard.

“We were able to get the two points because our best players were our best players,” said Knoblauch. “Bouchard played a heck of a game, and obviously Connor and Leon did, too. And Hyman.”

Did somebody say Hyman?

The veteran winger went right back to his spot on the first line in his first game back since a wrist injury in the Western Conference Final and he didn’t miss a beat.

Hyman was a monster, logging 23:10 of ice time, posting a career-high 11 hits, notching a third-period assist and helping create some net-front commotion on Edmonton’s first-period power play goal.

“We weren’t exactly sure what to get from him in his first game but he looked like what we’re used to,” said Knoblauch. “He picked up right where he left off, the way he was playing in the playoffs.

“He told me his legs are feeling great. Playing 23 minutes is not an easy task for a guy who hadn’t played in seven months.”

When it came to the three-on-three overtime, the ninth time in 20 games Edmonton had to go to the extra period, it was over before it started.

Draisaitl’s snap shot from distance caught Andersen flat-footed and the Canes were still wondering what happened, how this game possibly got away from them, while the Oilers were headed back to the dressing room.

Overtime used to be Edmonton’s wheelhouse, but they were just 4-4 heading into this one, so it felt nice to stick a dagger in.

“We’ve had better years, our little three-man group there,” said McDavid. “We’ve had lots of opportunities, lots of games have gone to overtime and we haven’t been able to be the difference on a lot of nights.

“That’s what we get paid to do, we get paid to be the difference and tonight we were able to do that. We have lots of experience playing three-on-three, we enjoy it. I’m playing with two special players out there so it’s always exciting.”

CALLING FOR THE STECHER

The Oilers knew they were running the risk of losing Troy Stecher when they placed him on waivers with the intention of sending him to Bakersfield and, sure enough, the Toronto Maple Leafs scooped up the veteran to bolster their own depth.

E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com