Rasmus Dahlin scored to put the Buffalo Sabres on the board early, but they were unable to solve rookie goaltender Brandon Bussi from that point on in a 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center on Monday.
The Sabres were limited to 19 shots but had nine high-danger scoring chances, according to Natural Stat Trick. Dahlin scored their lone goal 1:33 into the contest with a hard wrist shot on the rush, which beat Bussi beneath his glove.
Bussi turned away every chance from there, including a highlight-reel glove save to rob a point-blank chance for Tage Thompson on a 2-on-0 rush. He kept the puck out of the net once again during a mad scramble in the game’s final seconds, which included multiple saves on Thompson.
Bussi, a 27-year-old rookie, earned his 18th win in just his 22nd career appearance.
The Hurricanes received goals from Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis, the latter of which broke a 1-1 tie on the power play early in the third period.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 26 saves.
The loss opened a run of five consecutive road games for the Sabres, which continues Tuesday night in Nashville.
