Recap: 'Flat' Canes Fall In Buffalo

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Carolina Hurricanes closed out a four-game road trip with a 4-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Sunday.

GAME SUMMARY | BOX SCORE | BUY TICKETS

In a first period marred by penalties, each side traded power-play goals en route to a 1-1 tie after 20 minutes. Alex Tuch opened the scoring at 5:51, but Shayne Gostisbehere had an answer for Carolina just under 10 minutes later, taking advantage of a rebound and a wide-open net as Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was preoccupied with traffic at the side of the net.

After the special teams show, however, two even-strength goals in the second period gave the Sabres substantial separation in the tight-checking tilt. A more Hurricanes-like showing ensued in the third - Carolina outshot Buffalo 13-4 and controlled play in the offensive zone for the majority of the frame - but the visitors couldn't find the goal they needed to spark a comeback, and a late empty-netter sealed Buffalo's victory.

Frederik Andersen finished with 17 saves on 20 shots in his 12th appearance of the season.

Stats & Standouts

• Forward Andrei Svechnikov skated in his 500th NHL game on Sunday. With 376 career points, the 25-year-old boasts the fourth-highest point total through 500 games among players who began their career with the Hurricanes franchise, trailing Ron Francis (569), Sebastian Aho (456) and Eric Staal (452).
• Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere scored on the power play, recording his fifth game with a point in his last seven outings (1G, 6A). With his goal, Carolina has struck on the power play in back-to-back games for the second time this season.
• Captain Jordan Staal did not play today due to illness.

They Said It...

Rod Brind'Amour after the contest...

"I'll try to keep it PG here... not very good. It was one of those afternoons where you could feel right from the start that we were just flat. We've got guys, who, and no excuses, it's part of the schedule of a long road trip, are fighting the flu bug a little bit here. The energy was just so dead, and we played like it."

Shayne Gostisbehere expressing similar thoughts...

"It's tough when you come out a little flat and give them some goals. It was a pretty rough second (period) for us, but we came out for the third to give it a push. It was kind of a wasted effort in the sense that we need to do that from the start, not just in the third. (We've got to) stop putting ourselves in a hole and giving them some easy ones... Not the best ending (to the road trip). We obviously want to have our best every night and obviously we didn't have it. It kind of felt like we were just trying to get home. Roddy's been saying that it was kind of a wasted effort in our sense. We might as well show up if we're going to be there. It's a hard league and they're playing good hockey over there."

Rod Brind'Amour on finally putting a bow on the week-long road trip...

"Today was what was ahead of us, and we didn't answer the bell, so that's frustrating. But yeah, we did play some good hockey on this trip, for sure. Now, we've got to regroup."

What's Next After This Game?

• The Canes will fly home post-game and be off on Monday. They'll return to practice on Tuesday before a Thanksgiving Eve showdown against the New York Rangers, the start of a season-long seven-game home stretch.
• Next Game: Wednesday, Nov. 26 vs. NY Rangers | 7:00 p.m. ET | Tickets | Parking