2023-24 Regular Season, Game 13: Hurricanes vs. Buffalo Sabres (Pregame)

The Hurricanes concluded a tough week against division opponents on Long Island on Saturday night as they met the Islanders for the first time this season. New York broke the ice late in the first period during a 4-on-4 as Noah Dobson walked down from the point to bury a backhander against Antti Raanta. The Islanders added to their lead in the second period on a short-handed goal by Simon Holmstrom and a wrister from Mathew Barzal. The Hurricanes broke the shutout 32 seconds later after Jalen Chatfield's shot from the point redirected off Scott Mayfield's pants to give the team some life. The Canes dominated the third period, finally getting rewarded when Dmitry Orlov's shot deflected off the skate of the Islanders' Sebastian Aho to make it a one-goal game. A few minutes later, the power play came up clutch, scoring with one second left on the man advantage as Andrei Svechnikov set up Jesperi Kotkaniemi. With the Canes forcing overtime, Raanta made a massive save on Dobson before Martin Necas dropped a pass for Sebastian Aho, who beat Ilya Sorokin through the five-hole to complete the comeback and finish the week on a high note. 

The Opponent: Buffalo Sabres (6-6-0, 12 Points- 7th in the Atlantic Division)

The fans in Buffalo were left waiting another year for their team to play postseason hockey after finishing just short of the playoffs a year ago. Behind 47 goals and 94 points from Tage Thompson and excellent performances from many of their stars, the Sabres extended the league's longest postseason drought to 12 years. A big reason for that was the goaltending. Despite scoring the third-most goals, the Sabres allowed the sixth-most. However, there was hope that top prospect Devin Levi would be the answer to their problems. Thus far, it's been a lot of the same. The offense has started to click, with Jeff Skinner and Tage Thompson each scoring six goals and being part of a quartet with at least ten points. In the net, they're still trying to figure it out. Levi's early injury put most of the workload on Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. They've won three of their last four games, including a win on Saturday night over Toronto. Alex Tuch broke a 4-4 tie in the third period and added an empty-netter to take a 6-4 win despite a hat trick by Auston Matthews. 

Last Season's Meetings- The Hurricanes won two of three meetings against the Sabres. They met for the first time about a year ago in Raleigh. After a back-and-forth first period, Sebastian Aho took over the game, recording his first hat trick of the season in a 5-3 win for the Canes. The next meeting came in the final game before the All-Star Break in Buffalo. It was a dominant performance from the Canes as five different players recorded a goal to win 5-1. The Sabres' win came late in the season when the Canes returned to Buffalo. Tage Thompson scored the lone goal of the third period, breaking a 3-3 tie to help Devin Levi earn his third win in four starts. 

Stories of the Night

1. Next Man Up in the Net

The big news from the Hurricanes on Monday was the announcement that Frederik Andersen is out indefinitely as he deals with a blood clotting issue. In response, the team has recalled Pyotr Kochetkov and signed Jaroslav Halak to a PTO. For now, Kochetkov and Antti Raanta will be the tandem, with Halak only available if the team signs him to a contract. This isn't uncharted territory for the team. Two years ago, Andersen went down in a game against Colorado, leading to Kochetkov's call-up as the team chased the division crown. Last season, injuries forced Kochetkov into action again, turning him into a big part of the franchise's record-breaking point streak. The team will ride the hot hand of whichever goalie is going. The most important thing is getting Andersen healthy. 

2. Starting Early to Avoid a Comeback

This is less a story and more a plea for the Hurricanes to play from in front tonight. I don't tend to care about how they win games, but I'd prefer if they could allow me to enjoy this game instead of putting me on edge as they try to get back into a game. Comeback wins are exhilarating. Calm and lopsided wins allow me to sleep easier. 

3. Sabres on the Rise?

I used to strongly dislike the Buffalo Sabres. The 2006 Eastern Conference Final played a big part in that, even after the Canes won Game 7. Over 17 years later, my tone toward the Sabres has lightened. They are a young team with a very bright future. Ten of their Top 11 scorers are 27 or younger, and both goalies are under 25. They're incredibly fun to watch offensively, with weapons throughout the lineup. I had the Sabres making the playoffs in my preseason predictions. Their 6-6-0 start hasn't deterred me from that. They are starting to play well at the right time, and there's plenty of season left.