The Buffalo Sabres’ bad luck in Raleigh continued as the Carolina Hurricanes handed them their 13th straight loss from home ice. However, the match was no one’s until the final buzzer, as the Hurricanes had to dig in their heels to defend their 2-1 lead from a Sabres team who pushed until the end.
High physicality was an unexpected element that manifested into the game, with numerous scrums and roughing penalties handed out for the chippy behavior. There were 48 total hits in the game, with 23 from the Hurricanes. It didn’t begin that way, as it sprung up after Eric Robinson left the game to injury after a hit from Rasmus Dahlin early in the first period.
Two more concerning moments followed as both Jordan Martinook and Logan Stankoven went down the tunnel in the following frame, although both returned.
After Dahlin scored on the first shot of the game, Andrei Svechnikov answered minutes later with a tip-in on a Sebastian Aho feed. The score remained locked at 1-1, but after Stankoven drew a penalty on the play that sent him off the ice in the early third period, Seth Jarvis found twine from a difficult angle.
Following a difficult stretch on the defensive side of his game, Alexander Nikishin showed great improvement as he made crucial plays throughout the game. He prevented two potential goals with–once during a two-on-one, and again after Aho lost the handle on the puck in the defensive zone.
Meanwhile, Brandon Bussi had an incredible game, as the puck only beat him twice; the initial goal and once off the post. With the win, he became the first goaltender in NHL history to win 18 of the first 22 games of his career.
Hurricanes Game Notes
William Carrier played for the first time since January 10th’s game against the Seattle Kraken. Due to his return to the lineup, Jesperi Kotkaniemi was scratched.
Eric Robinson only clocked 2:02 of ice time before his injury. After the game, Rod Brind’Amour said that he expects him to remain out, for ‘a little while’ at the least.
