3 takeaways as Canes blow 6 past the Buffalo Sabres

RALEIGH, NC - DECEMBER 04: An aerial view of PNC Arena just past sunset following the game between the Louisville Cardinals and the North Carolina State Wolfpack and just ahead of the NHL game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Carolina Hurricanes on December 4, 2021 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - DECEMBER 04: An aerial view of PNC Arena just past sunset following the game between the Louisville Cardinals and the North Carolina State Wolfpack and just ahead of the NHL game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Carolina Hurricanes on December 4, 2021 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 20: Teuvo Teravainen #86 of the Carolina Hurricanes in the second period at Staples Center on November 20, 2021, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 20: Teuvo Teravainen #86 of the Carolina Hurricanes in the second period at Staples Center on November 20, 2021, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Teravainen wakes up for the Hurricanes

For a while, we’d been waiting on Teuvo Teravainen to discover the shot he’s had for a while. We saw him use it sparingly, only really shooting when the net was wide open. Even then, it was only about a quarter of the time because of his pass-first mentality. Tonight, Teuvo come to play and was the force that started and ended the scoring tonight, capturing the games first-star award,

Teravainen has started to show flashes of his brilliant shot recently that have led fans to believe that he still could become a consistent 30+ goal-scorer in this league, and that is a very valuable player for the Hurricanes moving forward. He’s not someone that should be relied upon to provide scoring every night. It’s a great aid for the team to have this player firing the puck as he is.

Carolina’s Fin has been a great player all year and has seen his results and production on the ice increase. He’s too good to keep down for too long, and his offense was always going to return to the Helsinki, Finland native. When the Canes landed this guy via a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks, they really found themselves a fantastic player to have moving forward.

He’s reliable in all situations and has been used on the powerplay in the quarterback slot in place of a defenseman while the usual suspects are on the COVID-19 list. He’s a real swiss army knife of a player for the Canes, and he makes this roster a whole lot more dangerous. He recorded the Canes’ first shorty of the season in this one.

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