"Digging Too Far": 2024-25 Regular Season, Game 45: Hurricanes at Buffalo Sabres

The Canes enjoyed a few days off after their busy start to January. Now, they'll have to get back into the swing of things when they travel to Buffalo to face the Sabres. Carolina ended the weekend on a slightly sour note, falling 3-2 in overtime to the Ducks after retiring Eric Staal's jersey on Sunday. The Sabres, who've been off since Saturday, are struggling at the bottom of the conference. While they feature a good offense, their goaltending has been suspect. With two well-rested squads facing off on national television, the Canes tried to extend their point streak to four games.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

BUF (0:43)- Ryan McLeod (8) (Connor Clifton (8) & Beck Malenstyn (5))

2nd Period

BUF (8:18)- Dylan Cozens (10) (Alex Tuch (18))

BUF 19:56)- Ryan McLeod (9) (Jason Zucker (17))

3rd Period

CAR (3:45)- Jaccob Slavin (3) (Brent Burns (13) & Jesperi Kotkaniemi (13))

CAR (16:50)- Martin Necas (16) (Shayne Gostisbehere (22) & Brent Burns (14))

BUF (19:36)- Ryan McLeod (10) EN (Tage Thompson (16) & Jason Zucker (18))

My Thoughts

I can't quite put my finger on where I want to start with this game because I'm incredibly conflicted about how I feel about it. I don't think they played a good game at all. They were sloppy with the puck in all three zones, gave the Sabres too much time, and played from behind almost the entire game. However, they controlled the puck in the offensive zone so much in the final 40 minutes that it feels like they were goalied by Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen despite that not really being the case. They had the puck for almost the entire final 20 minutes, allowing zero shots despite Buffalo scoring an awarded empty-netter. They had the game within their grasp after scoring twice in the third period. The Canes almost did it, AGAIN! That frustrates me more than anything. If they'd been blown out, I wouldn't need to waste much energy on explaining what went wrong, but they were right there. They were one shot away from tying the game. 

More frustrating yet might be that they could've been tied or won the game with one or two Dustin Tokarski saves on any of Buffalo's goals. This was his worst game as a Hurricane by quite a margin. His defense did him few favors with their effort tonight, but two of the shots were clean looks from near the blue line. There was no traffic in front of him. He saw the shots the entire way. If he stops one of them, and the game plays out the same way, it's 2-2 after Necas' goal. If he stops both, the Canes don't need to pull him in the third period, likely meaning it's 1-1 and the Canes earn at least one point. The goal with 3.5 seconds left in the second period might've been the backbreaker. Poor rebound control, too much daylight, and a lost battle in front of the net put the Canes in a spot they couldn't come back from. 

The power play has been non-existent for the last month and change. They're 5-for-51 since December 10th. They're 1-for-21 over the last eight games, snapping a six-game drought on Sunday. Getting Shayne Gostisbehere was supposed to put them back on track. Tonight, it was one of the biggest hindrances to the team getting into the game in the first period. They had two excruciating looks eight seconds apart in the first ten minutes that generated almost nothing. Their third chance in the second period was better, but they couldn't turn that into anything positive either. Something has to give. We're approaching the definition of insanity. 

Heading into Friday night, the Canes might need to completely throw everything into a blender. Rod Brind'Amour did the impossible tonight, shaking up two of his defensive pairs in the third period. The forward lines saw a slight shift, too, but that's a little more normal. I wouldn't be opposed to seeing a different prospect get called up for Juha Jaaska. It's nothing against Jaaska because I think he's been fine. It might be time for another player to get a chance. I've been preaching this for months, but I would really like to see Jackson Blake get an extended look further up the lineup. Play him with Aho for a game and see what happens. I don't know but I would really like to see this team find some consistency in their game. It has been sorely lacking for almost two months now and it's a roller coaster that I would like to exit immediately.

When We Meet Again- The second game of the season series will be on February 27th in Raleigh at the Lenovo Center. They'll conclude their three-game series in early April when the Canes return to Buffalo during a four-game road trip.

The Road Ahead- The Canes conclude their week on Friday when they return to Raleigh to host the Vegas Golden Knights. After no games this weekend, they will start next week with a Monday-Tuesday back-to-back on the road against Chicago and Dallas. They'll host the Blue Jackets on Thursday to finish their season series with Columbus before heading back to New York to face the Islanders on Saturday.