2023-24 Regular Season, Game 58: Hurricanes at Buffalo Sabres (Postgame)

After a tough loss to the Stars last night, the Hurricanes hit the road to begin a three-game road trip. The first stop was in Buffalo as the Canes and Sabres played their final game of the season against one another. Sebastian Aho carried a three-game goal streak into Buffalo against a team on an upswing, with back-to-back wins. Buffalo features a talented group that is among the best at keeping the puck out of the net, though their offense hasn't always been there to pick up the slack. 

Scoring Summary
1st Period
CAR (2:40)- Tony DeAngelo (3) (assisted by Michael Bunting (22) & Martin Necas (24))
2nd Period
BUF (6:27)- Jeff Skinner (19) PP (assisted by Dylan Cozens (24) & Kyle Okposo (9))
3rd Period
CAR (14:42)- Martin Necas (18) PP (assisted by Brady Skjei (24) & Teuvo Teravainen (20))
BUF (15:55)- Owen Power (3) (assisted by Peyton Krebs (8) & Zach Benson (12))
Overtime
None
Shootout
BUF- Casey Mittelstadt

My Thoughts
Does anyone else feel cheated out of two points tonight? Because I certainly do. That "hand pass" call in the second period turned out to be the most consequential call of the game, and the referees appear to have blown it, pun intended. You have to be 100 percent certain that it's a hand pass, and the referee seemed to be. I know I'm biased, but I've watched it a dozen times and slowed down the video, and I still can't see Jesperi Kotkaniemi touch it with his hand, even if he really wanted to. I know it doesn't excuse the poor defense by the Aho line on Owen Power's tying goal in the third period, but we might not be worrying about that if this counts as a goal. 

Once the game went to a shootout, it felt like the writing was on the wall for the Hurricanes. They've been abysmal in the shootout this season, so it's not a surprise that they missed on all four shots. Even the one shootout that they won took nine rounds to decide. It wastes a great start from Spencer Martin, who has earned points in all four of his starts with the Hurricanes. Tonight, he didn't get the goal support. The power play came through with a late goal in the third period, but that lead lasted 73 seconds. He had no chance on either goal in regulation and was fantastic in overtime. His best moment of the night was the poke check on Tage Thompson's breakaway. Teuvo Teravainen hit two posts tonight, but none was bigger than the one he hit in the shootout. It also didn't help that Andrei Svechnikov completely missed the net on his attempt. 

I'm not sure where the offense has gone for the last three games, but I'd like for it to return as soon as possible, please. Their six-goal outburst against Chicago on Monday is two more goals than they've scored in the last three combined. Martin Necas was the center of all of the offense tonight for the Canes, helping to create Tony DeAngelo's goal before momentarily giving the Canes the lead on the power play in the third period. The DeAngelo goal was a thing of beauty, even if DeAngelo fanned on the shot. The saving grace of tonight's loss was that both the Rangers and Flyers lost today in regulation. The next two games are very winnable, but only if the offense decides it wants to help.

My Three Stars of the Game
3rd Star- Teuvo Teravainen- 1 assist
He should've had the go-ahead goal in the second period, and you aren't going to change my mind on that. He finished with a secondary assist on the power-play goal in the third period, so he did manage to find the scoresheet. He also hit the post in the first period and in the shootout, so he had plenty of chances to score. 

2nd Star- Martin Necas- 1 goal, 1 assist
From start to finish, Necas was the most dangerous Hurricane in the offensive zone. He's the only player to finish with multiple points, factoring in on both goals. He was also close to winning it in overtime, trying to run the same play that helped the Canes beat the Sabres in overtime earlier in the season in Raleigh.

1st Star- Spencer Martin- 30 saves
Three of Martin's four starts with the team have been very tight games. He has gotten a little used to playing without too much goal support, but tonight, he pretty much willed the Canes to a point. He saved the game at the moment in overtime with his great poke check. He was the Canes' best player tonight, without a doubt. 

Up Next- The Canes will play their fourth game in six days on Tuesday night when they travel to Minnesota to face the Wild. Minnesota is one of the few teams to dominate the Canes at home this season, beating them 5-2 a little over a month ago at PNC Arena. The final stop on the trip will be in Columbus on Thursday night.

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