Carolina Hurricanes vs. Buffalo Sabers NHL Game Score, Recap

RALEIGH

After struggling to score – and win – for two weeks, the Hurricanes were hoping that a pair of games against NHL basement screaming ranged teams could get them out of whatever might have gone wrong. install in the changing rooms.

A swing-and-miss effort against Ottawa on Thursday prompted coach Rod Brind’Amour to publicly preach patience in his post-game remarks.

The team didn’t miss twice.

Playing forward for the first time in more than a week, the Canes scored early, overcame a moment of bad luck late in the first and piled in late to skate with a 6-2 victory over the Sabers. Buffalo in trouble at PNC Arena on Saturday night.

And the Hurricanes did it with training cobbled together from a list beaten by COVID-19, injuries and an untimely penalty.

As defenseman Ethan Bear returned from his COVID-related leave on Saturday, Jordan Martinook (lower body) and Andrei Svechnikov (upper body) were struck out of the forward squad and two other defenders remained in COVID-19 protocols of the league, leaving the Canes to dress seven defenders and 11 forwards.

It didn’t seem to matter much.

Vincent Trocheck scored one goal and two assists before being ejected from the game after a major penalty of 5 minutes for a collision, Sebastian Aho had three assists and Teuvo Teravainen scored two goals to clear the way for Carolina, who recorded his 16th victory. and 33rd point of the season.

Here are four observations from Saturday’s game:

Playing with a lead

After scoring his 100th NHL goal on Thursday – ending a long shortage with 99 – Teravainen wasted no time in adding the 101st to his roster on Saturday. Running through the lunge on a breakout, Teravainen was on his own as Aho slipped from his forehand to his backhand on a puck behind the cage and fed his compatriot for the snipe.

The Canes added to their lead at 13:59 on another successful entry-zone play. This time, Seth Jarvis rode hard over the blue line, spun to his right and fed Martin Necas. With a lane to the cage, Necas placed Malcolm Subban on the ice and wrapped himself around the net on the side of his forehand. He stuffed the puck through the paddle of a Subban dive to score a goal.

With the goal in the first period, Carolina had a game lead for the first time in more than a week. After defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 on November 26, the Canes fell behind the Capitals last Sunday in a 4-2 loss. They also fell early against the Stars in Dallas on Tuesday, and at home against Ottawa on Thursday.

With a quick lead, the Canes controlled the central zone and were more patient with the puck instead of pressing to equalize.

The opening goal also forced Buffalo to open up at the back to try and find an equalizer. The early lead also allowed the Canes to absorb a tough break in the dying minute of the first period, when Henri Jokiharju’s point shot found its way.

And leading early isn’t just for the show. This season, the Canes are now 8-1-0 when leading after the first period and 9-2-1 when scoring the first goal overall.

The good and the bad for Trocheck

Trocheck was having one of his best nights of the season for the Canes on Saturday. He scored one goal and two assists and won seven of his 12 draws, including one that led directly to Ian Cole’s first goal with the Hurricanes on a gem of the offensive zone.

Then, with 2:13 left in the second half, things got tough. On the backcheck, Trocheck chased Buffalo Tage Thompson’s cross over the half-wall. As Trocheck lined up to lead Thompson into the boards, the 6-foot-6 Buffalo forward leaned over and turned to avoid the blow. As the players collided, Thompson entered the dasher head first and remained on the ice. Former Hurricane Jeff Skinner charged from behind the net to tackle Trocheck.

Officials assessed Trocheck for major misconduct and 5-minute match misconduct, which resulted in his ejection from the game and gave the Sabers – down 5-1 at the time – a 5-minute power play advantage, on which they scored once.

Limited minutes for Bear

Ethan Bear has been cleared for play since Thursday, but the Canes held him out of the team’s game against Ottawa that night for conditioning purposes. He trained hard on Friday and it was a game time decision on Saturday.

With a late scratch on Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina dressed seven defensemen, including Bear, but the Canes clearly limited Bear’s minutes. He saw just 2:31 of ice time in the opening period, while Jalen Chatfield – recalled from Chicago to help close the gap on the blue line – netted nearly eight minutes in the opening period. alongside loyal defender Brady Skjei.

Bear again saw limited time in the second – another 4:01 – and in the third he hit 10 minutes of play, the lowest among the team’s regular defensemen.

The misfortunes of the end of the period

The Canes were fortunate enough to play up front for most of the game, which allowed them to absorb a pair of late-period goals in what is often referred to as the ‘vulnerable minute’ – the first and last. minutes of play of any period.

In the first, with a 2-0 advantage, Buffalo recovered a goal when a Jokiharju shot from the point deflected a body past Antti Raanta and passed his left shoulder, halving the Canes’ lead.

A pair of quick strikes in the second gave the Canes some cushioning. Cole scored his first of the season – and the first as a hurricane – at 3:44 on a clean win from Trocheck and a good point explosion that beat Subban cleanly. Twenty-four seconds later, Trocheck made it 4-1 as he rushed into the net and shoved the puck past Subban on a nasty turnaround past Jacob Bryson.

But after Trocheck’s penalty, Buffalo revived with a power-play goal in the first half of their 5-minute power-play when Zemgus Girgensons deflected the puck past Raanta on a point shot.

This story was originally published 4 December 2021 10:14 pm.