Behind an electric first period, the Carolina Hurricanes demolished the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 Thursday night in the Lenovo Center. Ten Canes players made it on the scorecard with right wing Mikko Rantanen leading the charge with a goal and an assist.
Carolina (34-21-4) came into the matchup with a bitter taste in its mouth after losing 4-0 to Montreal a few days prior, while the Sabres (24-28-5) came into Raleigh on a two-game winning streak, including an 8-2 win over the New York Rangers.
The Canes struck quick as center Jordan Staal lit the goal horn for the Hurricanes just over six minutes into the first period. Staal dangled behind Sabres netminder Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for a few seconds before passing the puck off to left wing Jordan Martinook. The winger then passed the puck back to Staal, who moved into the front of the zone. Staal tipped the rubber in for the 1-0 lead.
It only took one more minute for “Brass Bonanza” to be played again, this time off a goal from center Sebastian Aho. Aho, coming off of playing for Team Finland in the 4 Nations Face-off, now has 21 goals on the season and 57 points to his name, with this goal assisted by the newest Hurricane in Rantanen.
Carolina’s final goal of the first frame was on the powerplay, which allowed Rantanen to show off more of his sought-after skills. Passing the puck around the Buffalo zone, right wing Andrei Svechnikov and defender Shayne Gostisbehere allowed Rantanen to get open in front of Luukkonen for the shot through the Sabres defenders.
Buffalo got its first goal past netminder Pyotr Kochetkov with less than one minute remaining in the period.
Another new Cane also got on the scorecard. Left wing Taylor Hall notched his 10th goal of the season on a rebound pass from center Jack Roslovic. Now up 4-1, the Lenovo Center was rocking with momentum for the Hurricanes.
Buffalo kicked the third period off with a bang, scoring a minute into the frame. Right wing JJ Peterka and center Ryan McLeod were caught in a 2-on-1 battle with Carolina’s defenseman Jalen Chatfield. McLeod fired a pass right onto Peterka’s tape which gave him the perfect shot past Kochetkov, making the score 4-2.
The goal didn’t deter the Hurricanes though, with center Seth Jarvis, fresh off a win at the 4 Nations Face-Off for Team Canada, scoring the final and game-winning goal late into the final period. With a clean takeaway, Jarvis pushed himself into the Sabres’ zone and brought the final score up to 5-2 with an empty net goal.
Carolina will stay at home for its next two matchups. Slated to take on the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday and Calgary on Sunday, the Canes will have its work cut out for them during the back-to-back weekend.
