2022-23 Regular Season, Game 51: Hurricanes (33-9-8) at Buffalo Sabres

What we've witnessed from the Hurricanes in the last week is nothing short of special. It's not just that they've won three of their last four games in overtime during this six-game win streak or the quality of the opponent they've beaten, it's how they've managed to dig themselves out of holes in all three of their overtime wins to achieve something spectacular. Last night, we witnessed 40 minutes of some of the worst hockey we've seen the Canes play, allowing four goals in the second period to the Los Angeles Kings to trail 4-1. They came out in the third period as if nothing had happened and scored three straight to force overtime before Sebastian Aho scored in his fifth straight game on the power play to complete the comeback. 12 different Hurricanes found the scoresheet with Brent Burns scoring a goal and assisting on the game-winner to extend his point streak to six games and Andrei Svechnikov assisted on two goals. Frederik Andersen wasn't as sharp as he has been, making 17 saves, but it was enough to earn the victory, his sixth straight. Tonight, the Canes close out the "first half" of the season with a nationally televised tilt against the Sabres before they earn their long break. 

Projected Lines/Pairs

Teuvo Teravainen-Sebastian Aho-Seth Jarvis

Andrei Svechnikov-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Martin Necas

Jordan Martinook-Jordan Staal-Jesper Fast

Stefan Noesen-Paul Stastny-Derek Stepan

Jalen Chatfield-Brent Burns

Brady Skjei-Brett Pesce

Dylan Coghlan-Calvin de Haan

Antti Raanta

Frederik Andersen

Injuries/Scratches- Jaccob Slavin (lower-body injury)

IR- Max Pacioretty (Achilles), Ondrej Kase (LTIR- concussion)

There are no changes to the Canes' lineup among the skaters as the same group of 18 from last night will take the ice again tonight s we celebrate Seth Jarvis' 21st birthday. Jaccob Slavin will miss his sixth game with a lower-body injury. Antti Raanta will get the nod in the second half of the back-to-back. He's 8-0-1 in his last nine starts and backstopped the Canes' win over Buffalo in November. 

Tonight's Opponent: Buffalo Sabres (26-19-4, 56 Points, 4th in the Atlantic)

It's been a long time since we've been able to say it's fun to watch the Buffalo Sabres play hockey. After so many years of finishing near the bottom of the division and not even sniffing the playoffs, they're in a good position to break the curse this season. At the forefront of the effort is a quartet of players who all have 50+ points and are quickly becoming one of the most exciting lines in the NHL. Buffalo's All-Star Tage Thompson leads the group with 34 goals and 68 points, though he's been dealing with an upper-body injury. He, along with linemates Alex Tuch (23 goals, 54 points) and former Hurricane Jeff Skinner (20 goals, 50 points) helm a Sabres' offensive group that is third in the league in scoring. Rasmus Dahlin, who I'd argue is one of the biggest snubs in terms of All-Star voting, has 55 points, trailing only Erik Karlsson amongst defensemen. They haven't played since Saturday night, a 3-2 losing effort in the shootout to the Minnesota Wild. The Sabres and Wild traded goals in the first and second periods with Jack Quinn and Zemgus Girgensons scoring for the Sabres and after no one scored in overtime, Minnesota scored on all three of their shootout attempts against Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to win the game. 

Last Meeting v. Carolina- The Canes and Sabres met in early November at PNC Arena and on that night, the star of the show was Sebastian Aho. Each side scored twice in the first period with both of Carolina's goals coming from Aho. Martin Necas scored the lone goal of the second period, assisted by Aho, to give the Canes a 3-2 lead. Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored his first of the season early in the third period and Aho put the nail in the coffin by scoring into the empty net to complete the hat trick and a four-point night. Dahlin scored a power-play goal with less than a second left to make it appear closer than it was but the Canes ended the night with a 5-3 victory. Antti Raanta made 22 saves in the victory, beating Craig Anderson. 

Buffalo's Starting Goalie: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (13-5-2, 3.26 GAA, .900 SV%)- Luukkonen is primed to be the future between the pipes for the Sabres and he's proven he can get the job done by being named the NHL's Rookie of the Month for January. While his GAA and save percentage don't look amazing, he's won 13 of his 20 starts. He's been very consistent in his last seven starts, allowing two or three goals in all seven. Before the shootout loss to Minnesota, he'd won his last three starts and he's won ten of his last 13. Tonight will be his first appearance against the Hurricanes. 

Buffalo Player to Watch: Victor Olofsson- By definition, Olofsson is a pure goal scorer. He has 29 points this season, 23 of which are goals. His 23 goals are tied for second on the team with Tuch and he's been doing a lot of scoring lately. He has eight goals and nine points in his last ten games. Olofsson scored in the first meeting this season between the two sides, his third in five career games against the Canes. While all of the attention with be on Thompson, Tuch, and Skinner, I expect him to get some good chances tonight.  

Scoring Summary

1st Period

(CAR) 2:35- Sebastian Aho (23) PP (assisted by Teuvo Teravainen (19) & Andrei Svechnikov (23))

(CAR) 10:04- Stefan Noesen (9) (assisted by Martin Necas (26) & Jesperi Kotkaniemi (12))

(CAR) 12:47- Brent Burns (10) (assisted by Jesperi Kotkaniemi (13) & Jalen Chatfield (5))

(BUF) 14:45- Alex Tuch (24) (assisted by Henri Jokiharju (6))

2nd Period

None

3rd Period

(CAR) 10:30- Derek Stepan (5) (assisted by Stefan Noesen (16) & Jalen Chatfield (6))

(CAR) 18:19- Jordan Martinook (11) SH EN (assisted by Jordan Staal (11))

Let's Talk About the Game

I wouldn't have been too upset if the Canes had phoned this game in given the fact they're on the second game of a back-to-back in the final game before the break after some tough games. Shame on me for thinking that with this team because this was a masterclass in how to win a game. They dominated from the opening drop to the final horn in a wire-to-wire victory to push their win streak to seven games and the point streak into double digits for the second time this season. The scoring was early and often for the Canes with the power play getting a chance in the first two minutes. Picking up where he left off from last night, Sebastian Aho took a pass at the backdoor from Teuvo Teravainen and he tapped it home for a goal in his sixth straight game. This goal would set the tone for the first period because they terrorized Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Shots were coming from all angles by the Canes' attack but it would take some time before they found the answer once again. Buffalo turned it over in the neutral zone and it sprung the Canes on a 3-on-1. Martin Necas waited for a lane to open up and he fed Stefan Noesen for another easy tap-in just before the halfway point in the first. A little over two minutes later, the attack continued as the Canes moved the puck beautifully. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who also picked up an assist on the Noesen goal, pushed a pass between his legs to Brent Burns as he fired it into an open net for his tenth of the season to extend his personal point streak to seven games. Buffalo's coach used the next commercial break to bring his team together and it seemed to work. Just six seconds after returning from the commercial, Alex Tuch unleashed a wicked shot that Antti Raanta didn't seem to see and the lead shrunk to two goals. The Canes came very close to getting a fourth goal in the period if not for the posterior of a defender as the Canes had to settle for a 3-1 lead at the intermission after putting 17 shots on Luukkonen. 

The second period was a low event period for both sides. Each team had some decent chances but Raanta and Luukkonen didn't budge. The Canes' power play streak would come to an end early in the period as the Sabres killed a roughing penalty from Tyson Jost. The turning point in the game might have come at the end of the second. After drawing a holding penalty from Jalen Chatfield, Tage Thompson was in visible pain, needing to be looked at by the training staff during the break before the power play. He would be on the ice for the advantage for the Sabres, though it came up empty. Buffalo made a good push at the end of the period. Jack Quinn hit the outside of the net on a chance from the left dot. Victor Olofsson was stopped twice at the end of the period as each team was held off of the board which was fine for the Canes since they were in control on the scoreboard. The Sabres weren't playing around to begin the third period, even with Thompson being ruled out for the rest of the night. They drew an early power play and though they didn't convert, they were firing pucks at Raanta seemingly at will. Buffalo kept the puck in their offensive zone for long stretches of the period. The problem was that they couldn't solve Raanta. After a solid eight minutes for the Sabres, it felt like their tires deflated. Seth Jarvis would force a puck just high on a 2-on-1 but the fourth line would pick him up. Noesen made an excellent play behind the net to find Derek Stepan all alone in front of the net. He made Luukkonen go to his stomach and while he got a skate on it, Stepan's shot found the back of the net to make it 4-1. The Sabres would earn another power play shortly after the goal. Tuch came inches from getting his second of the night if only the iron wasn't in the way as the Canes remained perfect by killing their third penalty. The Canes decided to take another penalty late in the game as the Sabres kept Luukkonen on the bench to make it a 6-on-4. This didn't phase the Canes' killers as Jordan Martinook scored the team's league-leading 10th short-handed goal of the season into the empty net as they placed the dagger in this one. 

After 12 players found the scoresheet last night, 11 recorded a point tonight, led by multi-point nights from Noesen, Kotkaniemi, and Jalen Chatfield. 17 of the 18 skaters recorded at least one shot. The Canes' won the special teams battle, scoring both on the power play and the penalty kill while keeping Buffalo off of the board on four power plays. Each line had its moment to shine tonight and Raanta was phenomenal, making 29 saves. More impressive than everything else after all of the comeback wins they've had recently, they didn't allow the goal from Tuch at the end of the first period to provide a spark for the Sabres. We've seen that it only takes one goal for a team to get back in a game but that wasn't the case tonight. In two periods, they held Thompson to just one shot and Skinner to two in his 900th game. It was a great way to head into the break as they extended their streaks and their lead in the division over the Devils. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Antti Raanta (29 Saves)

It's unbelievable that Raanta hasn't lost a game in regulation since November. For all of the talk about Andersen's play recently and how good Kochetkov was while he was up, Raanta has remained the quietly consistent part of this group. He made some huge stops tonight and he didn't allow the tough goal from Tuch to compound into anything else for the rest of the night as he earned his 10th win in 12 decisions. 

Second Star- Jesperi Kotkaniemi (2 Assists)

I mentioned that all but one player had a shot on the net tonight. That lone exception was Kotkaniemi. Instead, he helped to set up two goals. The first assist was a secondary helper on the Noesen goal that he helped to start during the 3-on-1. His second assist was a quietly beautiful pass that allowed Burns a chance to shoot on a wide-open net to make it 3-0. 

First Star- Stefan Noesen (Goal, Assist)

You can't get more efficient than scoring a goal on your only shot of the night. It's even easier when your only shot comes a few feet away from the net for a tap-in. His assist was even more impressive, winning a battle behind the net to find a wide-open Stepan at the front door as he effectively ended the game. He isn't playing like a fourth-line player, which makes him an invaluable asset. 

What's Next

The break doesn't quite start yet for Andrei Svechnukov and Rod Brind'Amour as they'll head to Sunrise, Florida for the All-Star Game. We won't know what event Svechnikov will compete in during Friday's Skills Competition but we do know that he'll be right back at it on Saturday as the Metropolitan Division looks to defend their title after winning the mini-tournament last season with Brind'Amour at the helm. Once the festivities end, they'll be able to enjoy their break as the Canes aren't set to play again until next Saturday when they host the New York Rangers at PNC Arena.