Sabres battle back in shootout loss to Hurricanes

RALEIGH, N.C. -The Buffalo Sabres scratched and clawed their way to earn a point Saturday night against the Carolina Hurricanes. Stymied in a defensive second period, the game opened up a bit in the third and the Sabres - buoyed by a few new line combinations - were able to tie the game and force overtime.
Evander Kane scored Buffalo's lone goal in their 2-1 shootout loss at PNC Arena. Anders Nilsson made 21 saves in net for Buffalo.

"It was a tough grind pretty much all night," captain Brian Gionta said. "I thought we had a good effort in the third, but we gotta find a way. We played one period tonight. We were able to get one point, but at the end of the day, that's a team that's ahead of you - we need to have better."
Zach Bogosian made his return to the lineup after missing 20 games due to a sprained MCL, reuniting Buffalo's top six defensemen for the first time since Nov. 1.
"When either team did get offense, our goalie and their goalie made some pretty nice saves. It was a pretty tight-checking game," Bogosian said. "Obviously not a real high-scoring game, but there were plenty of chances in the third for both teams. I thought we probably had the majority of those. If we play the way we did in the third, I think we'll be all right."
The Sabres were able to hold the Hurricanes to 16 shots in regulation and 22 overall.
"Any time you give up 20 or less, you're doing a pretty darn good job on the defensive side of it," Bylsma said.
"There wasn't a lot in the second period from both sides. They were playing a patient game, clogging up the middle of the ice and not giving us a lot, and vice versa," Sabres coach Bylsma said. "There just wasn't a lot in that second period both ways. We knew we were going to have to ramp up the game to get back in it - to scratch and claw to get a goal. I thought we did that."

'An unfortunate bounce'

Buffalo fell behind in the first period once again for the third game in a row. Joakim Nordstrom scored with 5:56 left in the period to put the Hurricanes ahead on an unconventional - and for the Sabres, unlucky - play. Brett Pesce flipped the puck in high and it landed and bounced just outside the Buffalo crease.
Bogosian tried to clear it on his backhand as he skated back to track it, but ended up deflecting the puck off a forechecking Jay McClement's stick and right to on Nordstrom, who buried it past Nilsson.
"Sometimes those puck bounce in the other team's favor. I thought initially, I was trying to get a stick on it," Bogosian said. "Unfortunately, I whacked it off his stick right to the other guy. Just an unlucky, unfortunate bounce. But I wasn't going to let it affect me too much. I wanted to get back out there and keep playing."

A spark in the third

Buffalo sustained some early pressure in the third and it really started with a shift in the offensive zone led by the Matt Moulson-Jack Eichel-Kyle Okposo line. It culminated in a point shot by Bogosian that Cam Ward kicked out into the slot.
As Carolina started to race back up ice, Bogosian caught up to Viktor Stalberg down the left wing just past the Buffalo bench and unloaded a big hit on the Hurricanes forward.

"I thought we really pushed at them in the third and the game ratcheted up a bit," Bylsma said. "The level of the game raised at that point."
Buffalo was finally able to break through when Kane tipped in a shot from Jake McCabe with 2:37 remaining in regulation.

In overtime, both teams traded chances and Nilsson ended up making six saves in the extra period.
However, it came down to the shootout, where Lee Stempniak and Sebastian Aho both scored for Carolina while Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel were denied.

Standings watch

The win gives Carolina 33 points on the season and they stay ahead of Buffalo, who now have 31. The Hurricanes are eight points out of the final Wild Card spot, held by Philadelphia. Buffalo, meanwhile, is six points behind Ottawa for second place in the Atlantic Division with a game in hand and four points behind third-place Boston with two games in hand.
"At the end of the day here, we're pushing for playoffs. We're pushing for teams ahead of us," Gionta said. "That team's the next team ahead of us, [we were] back by a point, and we need to find a way to get two points out of that."

Up next

The road trip continues to Buffalo as they head to southern Florida to face the Panthers on Tuesday.
The Panthers, who are also outside the playoff picture with 33 points, beat Colorado by a 3-1 score Friday night in Denver and are off until they host Buffalo.