Regular Season, Game 71: Hurricanes v. Buffalo Sabres

These two are right back at it, this time in Raleigh. The Sabres and the Hurricanes played in Buffalo on Tuesday night and it was not a good night for the Canes. Jesper Fast opened the scoring on a beautiful backhand to beat Craig Anderson. Buffalo came out flying in the second period, getting goals from Jeff Skinner and Casey Mittelstadt and then holding the Canes scoreless to preserve their 2-1 lead heading into the third period. The Staal line struck again, this time Nino Niederreiter put one through Anderson to tie the game early in the period, but a bad turnover led to an easy goal for Victor Olofsson and Dylan Cozens struck on the power play late to give Buffalo the 4-2 win. The win for Buffalo was their first over the Canes since 2016. I don't think this was a good game from Andersen, but the defense didn't do him any favors on two or three of the goals. The lineup will look a little different tonight. Derek Stepan draws back in for Steven Lorentz, centering Martinook and Necas. Aho and Teravainen, whose point streaks ended in Buffalo, are being split up. During the morning skate, Aho was centering Svechnikov and Jarvis, while Teravainen, playing in his 400th game with the team, was on the wing with Trocheck and Domi. The Staal line, easily the best line in the loss, will remain intact with Antti Raanta getting the start. Raanta started the meeting in December, stopping 32 shots in a 6-2 victory for the Canes. Buffalo will turn back to Anderson in the net for tonight's game. The Canes have yet another chance to clinch a playoff spot, needing just two points to be in the dance for the fourth-straight season. I doubt we'll see the same effort from Tuesday because it was likely a wake-up call. Their destiny is in their hands and tonight is important with the Rangers just two points back. Tonight isn't a must-win game, but it's not the right time to drop a third straight.

1st Period

Scoring

(BUF) 3:49- Tage Thompson (32) (assisted by Jeff Skinner (23) & Alex Tuch (23))

(BUF) 6:25- Alex Tuch (10) (assisted by Jeff Skinner (24) & Tage Thompson (25))

Thoughts

The start to this game couldn't have been worse for the Canes. The Skinner-Tuch-Thompson line scored on Buffalo's first two shots of the game and that is where we sit after 20 minutes. I'm not sure why they decided not to play in the first 6:30 of this one, but it looked bad. Raanta didn't have much of a chance on either goal. The Canes got two power plays in the period, moved the puck well, and peppered Anderson with shots, but nothing broke through. The kill had a good stop late in the period to keep it 2-0. It feels like the Canes have been inches away a couple of times. Buffalo's had good sticks to break up passes to prevent good chances. I'm not loving the position the Canes are in right now, so the second period needs to see some huge changes. 

2nd Period

Scoring

(CAR) 4:59- Sebastian Aho (32) (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (34) & Seth Jarvis (16))

(BUF) 5:29- Victor Olofsson (17) (assisted by Casey Mittelstadt (12))

(CAR) 16:32- Teuvo Teravainen (19) (unassisted)

Thoughts

The home crowd deserves a lot of credit for where this is game is right now. The Canes broke through after a bad turnover from Dahlin trying to get the puck deep. It instead went right to Jarvis and it resulted in Sebastian Aho getting the Canes on the board. That good feeling lasted 30 seconds as the Sabres won a board battle and Olofsson scored for the second game in a row to restore the two-goal lead. Raanta made some big stops in the aftermath, but the Canes would then find themselves on the kill for the second time. During that sequence, Aho was stopped short-handed, then ate a stick from Dahlin up high that wasn't called and the crowd went nuts. On the ensuing face-off, Stepan was impeded and the fans got even louder. After the Canes killed the penalty, another bad turnover from Eakin failing to clear the puck, Teravainen intercepted it and fluttered one over Anderson's glove to bring it back within one. The noise made a huge difference in the period and the Canes suddenly have some momentum back on their side as they head for the third period.   

3rd Period

Scoring

(CAR) 5:12- Jordan Staal (9) (assisted by Brett Pesce (18) & Jesper Fast (15))

(CAR) 11:39- Sebastian Aho (33) (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (35) & Seth Jarvis (17))

(CAR) 19:05- Jordan Staal (10) EN (unassisted)

Thoughts

This might have been one of the most impressive third periods of the season. They trailed 3-2 entering the period with all the momentum after the goal from Teravainen late. The Staal line got it started by tying it courtesy of the captain Jordan Staal scoring in the same spot Turbo. Then the Aho line gave the Canes back control of their destiny on a play that really should be attributed to Andrei Svechnikov for putting a great pass on Aho's stick to bury it backhand. Staal buried the empty-net goal to give the Canes their first two-goal lead of the night and icing it for the win. The defense never allowed the Sabres to get much going in their own zone, only allowing five shots. It was a hard-fought comeback to clinch their spot in the postseason for the fourth season in a row.

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Andrei Svechnikov (2 Assists)

The entire top line should be praised for their performance in the final two periods because they got things going. Svechnikov is known more for his shot, but tonight his two assists may have been his most important of the season. He set up both of Aho's goals and the second one was particularly impressive, feeding Aho on the backhand to bury the eventual game-winner.

Second Star- Jordan Staal (2 Goals)

Remember when Staal couldn't score a goal and we were all going crazy? I don't miss those days at all. The captain got the job done tonight with two goals in the third period and they were both huge. He scored the first of the team's three goals early in the period with a snipe over Anderson's glove. He then outworked the defense to ice the game into the empty net. He also was perfect in the face-off circle.

First Star- Sebastian Aho (2 Goals)

When you're down and aren't getting anything going, it's the stars that need to get going. That's exactly what Aho did tonight. His first goal was a little out of nowhere, but it got the team on the board and that was big at the time. His game-winning goal on the backhand was a thing of beauty that may have taken the wind out of the Sabres' sails. He stepped up when the team needed something.

Final Thoughts

When it was 3-1 and the Canes were going on the kill for the second time in the game, I didn't like the team's chances. The moment this game changed was when the fans went nuts after Dahlin went at Aho in the corner and there wasn't a call. It was one of the loudest "ref you suck" chants I've ever heard while watching a game on television. The Turbo goal to bring it within one gave me a lot of hope, then the Canes just decimated the Sabres in the third period to get the job done. Four players had two points, with Aho and Staal scoring twice along with Svech and Jarvis recording two assists. Aho continues to move up the record books by passing Jeff O'Neill for sole possession of third place in goals in Hurricanes' history with his two goals tonight. The win finally puts the Canes at 100 points for just the second time in Whalers/Hurricanes' history. They also head to the playoffs for the fourth straight season, extending the ongoing streak for the longest since the team relocated. There are still a bunch of games left and there is plenty of unfinished business. The Rangers won tonight too, so they still sit just two points back. They are still in the thick of the President's Trophy battle. They have to come back tomorrow night and face another hot team, the New York Islanders. Tonight was stressful, but the end result made it worth it.