Hurricanes maintain home mastery of Sabres
February 28 - Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 on Thursday night at Raleigh, N.C., winning for only the second time in the past seven games.
Jordan Staal, Sebastian Aho, Taylor Hall and Seth Jarvis also scored for the Hurricanes. Pyotr Kochetkov made 14 saves.
Alex Tuch and JJ Peterka scored for the Sabres, who lost for just the second time in eight games. Buffalo is 0-9-2 in its past 11 games in Raleigh.
Buffalo's James Reimer, a former Carolina goalie, made 27 saves in relief of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who was pulled after allowing two goals on seven shots in the first eight minutes.
Rantanen entered the night with only one goal in eight games since he was acquired in a trade from the Colorado Avalanche. His goal Thursday came on a power play, just the fourth in the last 55 chances with the extra man for Carolina. He has 27 total goals this season.
Rantanen was the only player in the game with more than one point.
The Hurricanes, playing at home for the first time since the NHL paused for the 4 Nations Face-Off, scored three times on their first 11 shots.
Staal, Aho and Rantanen scored in a stretch of less than four minutes of the first period. Tuch cut the Sabres' deficit to 3-1 on a power play with 56 seconds left in the opening period.
Hall's second-period goal stretched the margin to 4-1 at 15:52 of the second period. That frame ended with Carolina holding a 28-9 advantage in shots on goal.
Peterka scored 1:15 into the third period, but Jarvis notched an empty-netter with 3:15 left to seal the outcome.
Buffalo's Dylan Cozens and Carolina's Jesperi Kotkaniemi fought at the opening faceoff, perhaps setting a tone. Kotkaniemi, Tuch and Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns shared game-high honors with four shots on goal.
It was Whalers Night in Raleigh, marking an annual game when the franchise honors the Hartford Whalers, who relocated to North Carolina in the late 1990s.
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