The Carolina Hurricanes earned a full two points with a 4-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C. on Friday night.
Captain Eric Staal finished the night with a goal and two assists and was involved on every goal with the exception of Chad LaRose’s goal, the eventual game-winner, that he scored unassisted.
Both goaltenders, the Hurricanes’ Cam Ward and the Sabres’ Ryan Miller, set the tone early in the game that every goal scored would need to be earned as they each faced 33 and 35 shots respectively.
Game on
Right from the initial puck drop, Buffalo put pressure on the Hurricanes defense by passing and cutting through it and ensured that Ward got the leather in his glove worked-in quickly.
At the other end of the ice, Miller didn’t have a shortage of work either as exceptional scoring opportunities from Staal, LaRose, and Brandon Sutter were turned away as each player tallied two shots apiece during the first period.
As both teams entered their dressing rooms at the end of the period with a scoreless tie to show for it, the Hurricanes held the edge in shots on goal by a margin of 15-12.
Let’s get it started right
The second period began with both teams' play being just as spirited and energetic as during the first, and it was the Hurricanes who drew the first opportunity to break the deadlock.
Buffalo’s Mike Weber received a minor penalty for high-sticking that took Carolina only seven seconds to capitalize on.
To start the power play, Staal won the faceoff to the right of Miller and drew the puck to Jussi Jokinen who then passed the puck to rookie defenseman Justin Faulk at the point.
Faulk took a stride forward and unleashed his trademark low slap shot that penetrated through the crowd in front of Miller and past him as the puck found its way into the net to give the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 2:39 of the period.
Getting even
As the crowd of 16,095 was still celebrating and appreciating Carolina’s first power play goal of the game, Buffalo countered just 21 seconds later at the 3:00 mark as one of the NHL’s top goal scorers, Thomas Vanek, evened the score at 1-1.
As play continued, the Hurricanes offered up a power play opportunity at 6:55 that the Sabres, ranked 13th on the power play in the league, could not convert on.
Once again, by the end of the period both teams were tied, this time 1-1, and with the Hurricanes holding the advantage in shots 9-8.
Staal’s well that ends well
The third period of play has been Carolina's toughest area to solve this season - a point in the game during which many opportunities to win games have been gained and lost.
However, during recent games, Carolina's ability to improve on those opportunities has shown incremenatal progress according to Staal.
“I think at home our compete level’s been good,” Staal. “I think our energy has been pretty good.”
Understanding and utilizing his own compete level, Staal netted the go-ahead goal early in the third period as he used his long reach to wrap the puck from behind the goal line to beat Miller.
Staal's goal put the Hurricanes up 2-1 at the 1:11 point of the period.
“I think we were aggressive; I think we were making good decisions with the puck, but we were also putting the puck in areas where we could get it back," Staal said.
When asked about his goal, Staal gave a glowing smile and said, “I like those goals. It felt greasy and it felt nice.”
With Staal encountering scoring difficulties this season, his recent resurgence in that area of his game has shown a confidence that has allowed him to carry the puck from end to end more while finding open space to create such opportunities for him and his linemates.
“I think sometimes when you’re pressing you keep almost trying too hard and sometimes it just doesn’t seem like it’s clicking for you,” Staal said.
“I still have a lot of chances, but now it seems like when I’m winning faceoffs its ending up in the back of the net, and when I’m getting that chance at the side of the net, it’s ending up in the back, not just getting covered.”
When asked why there is a difference now compared to earlier in the season, Staal alluded to the fact of him and his teammates feeling better about their game.
“All of those things come with confidence and you start feeling better and moving your legs a little bit more. It’s been good. I think as a team we’ve been finding our game a little more and that’s good.”
Not over yet
Even with a 2-1 lead, the Hurricanes' inherent obstacle in wining the third period of play to secure the win stood in front of them.
So at 6:12 of the third period, Buffalo’s Jason Pominville got a bounce while being checked by Hurricanes defenseman Jamie McBain that caught Ward of guard and just like that, the game was tied 2-2.
It seemed that all Carolina fans in attendance started to get that feeling in their stomach as they have during past games - that something was going to happen.
Then it did.
At the 8:10 mark, Chad LaRose picked up the loose puck in the Sabres zone and finally put one past Miller and placed the Hurricanes ahead 3-2.
With the game not necessarily out of reach, the final ten minutes of play had the Sabres pressing and the Hurricanes didn’t help their cause as Faulk took a cross-checking penalty with 3:41 to go.
However, the Sabres did them a favor by a taking a penalty of their own at the 2:05 mark and both teams were playing with four aside.
The final touch
With Miller out of the net, the Sabres had a man-advantage with the faceoff deep in the Hurricanes’ zone to start play.
After losing the faceoff, Sutter chased the puck out of the Hurricanes zone that Staal chipped forward, and he put Carolina ahead 4-2 scoring his tenth goal of the season on an empty net while getting hauled down in the neutral zone.
The Hurricanes were finally able to secure a win during regulation time.
When asked about the significance of the win particularly with the team’s performance during the third period, LaRose said it simply, “It’s big.”
“Coming in here after two periods the last 10-12 games, we’ve put ourselves up with a chance to win the game every time we enter into the third; so we’re playing good hockey and it was a little letdown that we didn’t win the game against the Islanders, so it was a big win tonight.”
Muller is happy
“I just think their competitive level was strong at the start,” Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller said. “I think everyone was engaged and involved in the game. There was a really good atmosphere on the bench.”
As the team heads to Nashville to take on the Predators on Saturday, Muller hopes that the players will continue the trend on the road that they have started to set at home.
“We have to take this game there and compete,” Muller continued. “You can’t do that just at home, we’ve got to challenge ourselves tomorrow night and it’s going to be hard and that’s where we gotta’ get to the next level.”
With the current state of the Hurricanes, it seems like many things are on the rise: compete levels, accountability, scoring, and confidence.
Hopefully with all of that happening, one other thing will increase too – winning games.
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