The Carolina Hurricanes are embarking on their first back-to-back of the season, beginning on Saturday night at the Lenovo Center. The Canes have won two in a row, looking to get a winning streak going after knocking off the Minnesota Wild in a crazy contest on Thursday night. The teams combined for three goals in 0:52 and two goals in 0:09 at various points in a 4-3 Canes win.
The team got great news on Thursday with K'Andre Miller returning to the lineup, but it was quickly squashed with Jalen Chatfield's exit midway through the first after an illegal check to the head. While the defense might be struggling to stay healthy, the team sent Bradly Nadeau back to Chicago, opening the door for one or both of Eric Robinson or William Carrier to return.
On the Other Side: Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres are desperate to get over the hump and break their postseason drought, which is now at 14 years. While boasting a Top 10 offense a season ago, they couldn't keep teams out of their net, finishing the year with 79 points and a 7th-place finish in the Atlantic. Tage Thompson torched the league for 44 goals, leading a group of four players with 65+ points.
If the Sabres were trying to get back to the postseason, their offseason didn't give any indication. One might argue that they got worse. While I liked their move to improve in the net by signing Alex Lyon, they traded JJ Peterka to Utah and failed to bolster any other areas of their lineup with anyone impactful enough to support their solid star core.
The Sabres sit at .500 entering play on Saturday, coming off a 3-0 loss on home ice to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday. They've dropped five of their last six, though four of their losses came in extra time. Captain Rasmus Dahlin announced he'd be taking a leave and returning to Sweden to be with his wife as she recovers after receiving a heart transplant this offseason.
Last season: The Sabres won two of three, with the home team winning each battle. Ryan McLeod was the star of the first meeting, scoring his first hat trick in a 4-2 Sabres win in January. The Canes responded with a 5-2 win on Whalers Night in February. James Reimer, who relieved Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen in the Canes' win, pitched a 33-save shutout against his former team in April in a 3-0 win.
Sabres to Watch
Ryan McLeod: As mentioned, McLeod notched the first hat trick of his career when the Canes visited Buffalo for the first time last season. He has five goals and eight points in nine career encounters with the Canes, five of which came in 2024-25. McLeod put together his first 20-goal, 50-point campaign last year, but he's off to a slower start this season, with three goals and seven points in 14 games.
Josh Doan: A central part of the Peterka trade this offseason, Doan has fit into Buffalo's system nicely. He's tied for third on the team in goals (4) and points (9), having a three-game point streak snapped earlier this week. Doan has faced the Hurricanes just once in his career, scoring on the power play when Utah visited Raleigh in February.
Hurricanes to Watch
Sean Walker: With the injuries that have piled up for the defense this season, Walker has been put into some spots no one thought he'd be in. However, he has risen to the occasion, with a goal and an assist in back-to-back games, accounting for four of his five points this season. He's also averaging nearly 24 minutes a night, over seven minutes more than last year.
Joel Nystrom: There were four or five times during Thursday's contest when it felt that Nystrom was about to score his first NHL goal. He was only credited with one shot, but he missed the net a half dozen times. Still, even though he hasn't found the scoresheet, Nystrom has steadily improved with each game, proving to be an excellent find by the front office and the amateur scouting department.