Analysis from Raleigh
→ In back-to-back nights, 65 minutes was not enough to decide a winner at PNC Arena. Tonight, the Carolina Hurricanes were able to break through and snag the 2-1 victory in the shootout. Joakim Nordstrom scored for the Hurricanes in regulation, Lee Stempniak and Sebastian Aho scored for the team in the shootout and Cam Ward made 23 saves and stopped both shots he saw in the skills competition to help the Canes improve to 8-0-1 in their last nine home games.
"It was a tight game throughout the whole match," Jordan Staal said. "Shootouts have been a sore spot for us. Wardo did a great job and a couple big goals from two skilled guys got us over the top."
"It's good to get the win in the shootout," said Stempniak, who shot first in the shootout and scored. "Those points make a difference at the end of the year."
"We played better last night and lost. We played not as good tonight and won," head coach Bill Peters said. "You've got to stay with it, battle and compete."
Recap: Canes Top Sabres in Shootout
→ For a majority of this game, the Hurricanes held a 1-0 advantage and it looked like until very late in regulation that the team was going to eke out its third 1-0 victory in just over a month.
"I don't want to go to the shootout. I don't want to go to overtime. I want to beat you 7-0. That's what we try to do every game," Peters said. "We try to put our foot right on your throat. That's what we really want to do, but it's a good league."
Joakim Nordstrom got the Canes on the board at the 14:04 mark of the first period, as he trailed the play, picked up a rebound and fired it to the back of the net for his third goal of the season. Nordstrom now has three points (2g, 1a) in his last four games played.
From there, there wasn't much given either way. The Hurricanes had just 16 shots on goal in regulation to the Sabres' 22. And with 2:37 left in regulation, Buffalo tied it up off the stick of Evander Kane, a redirection of a point shot, to force extra hockey for the second night in a row for both teams.
"We competed real hard in a back-to-back situation. I thought they played pretty stingy too. It was kind of game where there wasn't a whole lot going on. Both teams were kind of waiting for their opportunities," Ward said. "We controlled the play for the first 40 minutes. You kind of have to give them credit for making a push in the third period. To come up with a shootout win, those are pretty rare with me, so I certainly feel good."
"We had the puck a lot tonight through 40. They had the puck a lot in the last 20. We had the puck a lot in overtime," Peters said. "That's the way it felt."
→ As the home team, the Hurricanes opted to shoot first in the skills competition, and Stempniak delivered.
"There's some strategy where you shoot first or second," Stempniak said. "If you get the first goal and then a save, it definitely puts the pressure on the other team."
"I think we owed him a good first goal to get him loosened up. He did the rest," Staal said of Ward.
Ward then made a save on Sam Reinhart before Aho got his second shootout opportunity in as many nights, utilized the same move - but at a quicker pace - and scored.
"It helps with Stemper scoring the first goal. I kind of like our players going first. It gives us an opportunity to get a jump on them," Ward said. "Seeing that go in definitely calmed me down, and then once Seabass made that play to give us two, I certainly wasn't going to let it up."
Ward turned away Jack Eichel to seal the team's shootout win.
"I told the boys I was overdue, which is the truth. I almost laughed it off, you know? Just kind of said, just go out there and whatever happens, happens," Ward said. "Sometimes you try too hard in the shootout, and you kind of have to slow it down because the shooter treats it different than in a regular breakaway."
→ The Hurricanes will look to extend their home point streak to 10 games when their four-game homestand continues on Monday, as the Detroit Red Wings make their first of two visits to PNC Arena.
"We've got the standings right on the board behind me, so we know where we stand. Our division is tough. Teams keep winning," Stempniak said. "We need to keep getting points and climb up. They're all important."
