Buffalo got off to a quick start on Thursday night with a goal from Derek Roy. Later in the first, Jochen Hecht scored to give the Sabres a two goal lead. The shot went off of a Carolina player and into the net as Hecht earned his first goal in 11 games. Hecht didn’t have any other options, so he shot it from a tough angle and it ended up going in. It’s never a bad idea to shoot the puck.
The Hurricanes did get on the board towards the end of the period, scoring a power play goal to cut the lead in half. Brandon Sutter earned his 14th goal of the season.
Carolina had Buffalo scrambling all over the place in the last few minutes of the first period. The Hurricanes had a power play that had the Sabres pinned in their own zone. Carolina also had a four-on-one rush, but Eric Staal fanned on his pass.
The Hurricanes added their second goal with just one second remaining in the first period, tying the game at two. Ray Whitney tipped in the second power play goal of the night for Carolina.
In the second period, Carolina had a 3-on-0 rush, but Ryan Miller somehow made the save. Shortly after, the Hurricanes scored on a goal from Stephane Yelle.
It took a while, but the Sabres eventually tied the game at three with under nine minutes to go in the third. Derek Roy scored his second goal of the night after Manny Legace was out of position after making a save on Thomas Vanek.
In overtime, Steve Montador cost the Sabres the game. After carrying the puck behind his own net, he fell and turned over the puck. Miller had no chance on the shot as the Sabres dropped their sixth straight game.
With Ottawa’s win over Washington, Buffalo falls to fifth in the Eastern Conference. The Sabres have one more game before the Olympic break, which is against San Jose on Saturday.