3 takeaways as Canes blow 6 past the Buffalo Sabres
In a single game, Carolina seems to have woken their depth scoring up. We will see if the scoring throughout the lineup sustains as they head to Western Canada, but for now, the Canes have defeated the Buffalo Sabres 6-2 in a game that saw a lot of good come out for the Canes. Now, the result isn’t perfect, you would prefer to have not given up the two goals, but to outscore the opponent felt nice.
Carolina came into this game with major scoring woes, and they left this game with a revitalized middle six. With almost everyone on the team remembering what a puck is and how to put the rubber disk on the ice in between the pipes, Carolina found themselves on the winning end of a blowout and it felt great. Stabilizing the bad run before a long road trip gives the team a little momentum.
It’s important to remember this isn’t a very good Sabres team that the Canes trampled, but they trampled an NHL team and scored goals doing so. This was an early Christmas miracle as half the team end slumps in this game it felt like. This could be a massive turning point game as the Canes end their slide. If they get home ice by two points in the first round, this very well could be a game that decides it.
It feels so good to be able to talk about the Canes winning that I’m not entirely sure where to start. How do you even spell victory? That’s funny because it’s spelled… not the point. Now, we have a Canes win to talk about as we got to see another hug at the end of the game since the Canes beat the Buffalo Sabres by a score of six goals to two.
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.
Carolina’s special teams win the war
With the aforementioned shortie in this game being the Canes’ first of the year, the Canes edged the special teams’ fight and it meant that they were dominant at 5-on-5 in a similar aspect for the team to generate sufficient offense. Now, moving forward, the Canes might not have the most sustainable method of scoring, but it was efficient when they needed it to be.
Carolina’s powerplay allowed them to gather some momentum when the chances were presented, but they weren’t quite able to his the consistency to find the netting. They created mayhem and havoc in front of the Sabres netminders, but they never found the finishing touch. However, that doesn’t mean they didn’t kickstart the offense.
A lot of the Canes’ goals came from expired powerplays and being able to expose dog-tired defenses without tiring their offense, and that means good puck possession, forcing teams to move and move quickly. Carolina can generate scoring chances, it’s finishing them that presents chances, and they were able to nibble away at the Sabres defense making it bend and bend until it broke.
If you have ever questioned the Canes penalty kill, you need to learn how to kill penalties. This team is in the box so often, all but 1 D man and 2 forwards kill penalties. They’re able to deal with almost any group of forwards in the NHL, and they can deal with vast amounts of time shorthanded, and can even take the game to their opponents. They’re an incredibly well-coached unit.
Carolina’s depth awakens from hibernation
For a little while, the Carolina Hurricanes were in hibernation offensively with some of their best players just struggling to produce. That all changed when the middle six attacked. Only a truly fantastic performance from the depth would remove the speculation and they got that and more from this game. Carolina can score again… hopefully.
Carolina got an outburst from their wingers and centers as 12 different Canes recorded points in this one. It was a great game for the Canes to win, and it was a good performance from the depth to wake up and start performing like we know the depth of the Carolina Hurricanes can. It was the complete and utter destruction of the Sabres. It was a good performance all the way through.
If the depth has this type of success when the playoffs start to roll around, it’s going to be difficult to discount this Canes team. It’s balanced and dangerous with players around the lineup able to put the puck in the net. They’re talented, well-coached and they’re relentless. They’re going to be a major player when the time comes if they can keep their bottom nine contributing.
With the team’s scoring touch seemingly returned, this bodes well as they head out west to take on the Canadian component of the West Coast. It’s a difficult trip and the depth scoring is going to need to play a big part if the Canes are going to find success in their endeavors. Until then, the Canes hammer the Sabres 6-2 and they win for the second time in 7 games.