The Carolina Hurricanes dropped a rough game in Buffalo on Tuesday, April 5, losing to the Sabres 4-2.
The Canes (45-17-8) got off to a promising start, even if it was a little slow. The Hurricanes carried a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, but Buffalo (26-34-11) retaliated to the tune of two second period goals and Carolina never managed to recover.
“At the end of the day, there’s no easy win and no easy team to play against,” said right wing Nino Niederreiter. “They play hard. We just took that game for granted and thought it would be an easy game, and that sure wasn’t the case.
With many fans’ eyes drawn to the Hurricanes’ unique white sweater and black pants combo, the hockey being played almost became secondary until right wing Jesper Fast reminded the crowd of the talent on the ice. Fast executed a sweet series of moves to shimmy past Buffalo goalie Craig Anderson for the game opener.
For their part, the Sabres refused to get embarrassed on home ice by the statistically superior Canes. Buffalo made a late offensive push late in the first period to keep the Hurricanes from running away with the contest before pulling ahead with a pair of goals by former Hurricane Jeff Skinner and Casey Mittlestadt in the second.
Goaltender Frederik Andersen had a night to forget in the crease for Carolina. Save for a fluke chance in the third period that saw an undefended Victor Olofsson get the puck in front of the Canes net, Andersen did not perform up to his usual standard in this game, saving just 18 of 22 shots.
Niederreiter kept Carolina a chance to retake the lead with a game-tying goal early in the third period, but the Sabres had other plans. A little over a minute after Olofsson’s goal made it 3-2, defenseman Ian Cole got whistled for hooking to set up a crucial penalty kill for Carolina. The NHL’s best PK unit didn’t get the job done, as Dylan Cozens flicked in a power play goal to seal the deal.
The Hurricanes won’t have to wait long to avenge this result, as they host the Sabres in their very next game on Thursday, April 7. Puck drops in PNC Arena at 7:30 p.m.
“Yeah, that’s nice to get another crack at it,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “It’s probably less about the opponent and more about us trying to regain that game that we want to play, that 60-minute game.”
