Eichel goal with :01 left in overtime lifts Sabres

BUFFALO -- Jack Eichel made the most out of scoring his first overtime game-winning goal in the NHL.
Eichel scored two goals, including the game-winner with 0:01 left in overtime, to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 3-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at First Niagara Center on Saturday.

Eichel, the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, received a floating pass from Evander Kane and scored with a backhanded shot on a breakaway against Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward for his 22nd goal of the season.
"I heard the bench yelling that I had time, but you never really know how much time you have, so I was able to take a quick peek up at the clock behind the goalie and notice that I had a little over four seconds left," Eichel said.

Eichel had to wait for Kane's pass to land before he could skate in against Ward.
"I work on it all the time in practice, my flips," Kane said. "They're helpful when you get caught on a line change. It's kind of like a punt; four seconds of hang time in the air and you can kind of get off the ice. In that situation, there's eight seconds left, I heard a yell, I figured it was [Eichel], and I thought I'd just lay it out there for him to try to catch it. I don't think too many guys are going to catch him going up the ice for a breakaway."
No Hurricanes defenders caught Eichel and it was just Ward left alone to face him. Eichel deked and slipped the puck through Ward's five-hole to end the game.
"I like using that five-hole move here and there," Eichel said. "I just pulled it to the backhand and saw [Ward] open up. … If you don't score, you look like an idiot. It's nice that it was able to sneak through."
The Sabres (28-33-9) ended a two-game losing skid and the Hurricanes (31-26-12) had a two-game win streak end.
Eichel gave the Sabres a 2-1 lead 4:56 into the third period with his 21st goal of the season. Eichel drove to the net and received a pass from Sam Reinhart and tapped the puck past Ward.

"I think Sam's played well with both [Eichel and Ryan O'Reilly] and I do see Sam starting to have some good chemistry being a wingman for Jack as well," Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said. "I was happy to finally see Jack be the recipient of a really nice play and pass to happen there."
Hurricanes forward Victor Rask made it 2-2 with a power-play goal 9:01 into the third period. Rask received a pass from Riley Nash and drove to the net and scored on a backhand shot that beat Sabres goalie Chad Johnson for his 16th goal.
Rask's goal helped send the game to overtime and get the Hurricanes one point in the standings. Carolina is four points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference for the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"If you look at it that way it's a big power play goal to get the game tied up," Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said.

Phil DiGiuseppe gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead 6:42 into the second period when he poked a loose puck past Johnson for his sixth goal of the season. DiGiuseppe and Jeff Skinner, who assisted on the goal, each extended their point streaks to four games.
"You know what, we didn't give up a whole bunch," Peters said. "I don't think we generated as much as I'd like but we'll look at it and we'll try and figure out a way. We play these guys again in 9-10 days so we'll try to find a way to be better."
Buffalo forward Marcus Foligno made it 1-1 with his ninth goal of the season 7:52 into the second period. Brian Gionta recovered a turnover by Hurricanes defenseman Michal Jordan and fed Foligno, who beat Cam Ward through the five-hole.
"It's just one of those things where I stick with my route and come up from behind," Foligno said. "[Gionta] tapped the puck loose and I was able to grab it and put a pretty good shot on net."
Johnson made 28 saves; Ward made 21 saves.