The Carolina Hurricanes brought their road trip to an end on Sunday afternoon, visiting the Buffalo Sabres on their fourth and final stop. The Canes entered 2-0-1 on this week-long journey, coming off a tight 4-3 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night. Big nights for the captain, Seth Jarvis, Sebastian Aho, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Brandon Bussi helped get them two points.
For the first time this season, the Hurricanes had to deploy an 11/7 lineup with Jordan Staal missing the game with an illness. This brought Alexander Nikishin back into the lineup. Frederik Andersen was in the net, trying to erase his recent stretch of poor starts. He was opposed by Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen for the Sabres, who welcomed Zach Benson back into the lineup.
The Hurricanes didn't play a good first period, yet somehow managed to get through it tied at one. The Sabres struck first on the power play on a tap-in for Alex Tuch. They thought they scored again, but it was waved off for goalie interference and confirmed by Toronto. Eventually, the Canes tied it with their power play. Shayne Gostisbehere was on the spot to finish it with chaos in the crease.
It didn't get much better for the Hurricanes in the second. After a pair of stunning saves, Andersen couldn't get the third one as Jack Quinn popped one past him with the Canes' defense looking two steps behind. Late in the period, Beck Malenstyn made Sebastian Aho look bad, deking around him and squeaking one through Andersen, giving the Sabres a 3-1 lead after 40.
They decided way too late in the afternoon to start making a push. They were the better team in the third period, but there wasn't anything nearly good enough to challenge Luukkonen with. The Sabres put it to rest in the dying seconds as Tage Thompson scored into the empty net, securing a 4-1 victory for Buffalo on home ice and ending the Canes' point streak at six games.
This was easily the Hurricanes' worst effort of the season
We've been fortunate this season to see some pretty good efforts from the Hurricanes. Today was not one of those times. We haven't been treated to many stinkers, but this was the smelliest of the bunch through 22 games. It makes sense, especially since the Hurricanes have now lost five straight games in Buffalo.
There's a laundry list of excuses we could go down to explain away why the Hurricanes struggled to gain any traction this afternoon. The truth is that the Sabres were the better team for 40 minutes and settled in to shut down the Canes in the third. It's not fun being on the other side of the coin after watching so many Carolina games play out exactly like that in their favor.
Andersen kept his team in the game
This was an important start for Frederik Andersen. It's a shame that the rest of his team didn't give him much to work with. The Canes' netminder did all he could to keep the group within striking distance. His entire afternoon can be summed up by what happened on the second goal. Andersen made two massive stops, but the defense was a step behind, and the Sabres took the lead for good.
Everyone will have their thoughts on Andersen allowing another breakaway goal, especially after giving up two to the Wild on Wednesday. Personally, it says a lot about the effort in front of him that he's being put into those positions. It would've been nice to see him stop Malenstyn's shot. It also would've been nice to see Sebastian Aho make a play to prevent the chance from happening.
Additional Thoughts
Shayne Gostisbehere was the only Hurricane to find the scoresheet this afternoon, burying their only goal on the power play. Ironically, he was also on the ice for all three Buffalo goals at even strength, though none were entirely his fault. The Canes' power play, which went 1-for-4 today, might be struggling, but they've scored in both games against the league's best penalty kill.
Clearly, the locker room is sharing a bug that knocked Jordan Staal out of today's game. It's no excuse for the poor effort, and it sours what was an otherwise good trip. The Canes went 2-1-1 this week, coming home with five more points and the lead in the Metropolitan Division. They didn't get it over the finish line the right way, but maybe some home cooking will get them right.
Up Next: After two days off, the Carolina Hurricanes will play their final game before Thanksgiving on Wednesday night against the Rangers, kicking off a seven-game homestand. The Canes finish November with the Winnipeg Jets visiting on Black Friday and the Calgary Flames in town next Sunday.