After losing to the Winnipeg Jets on Monday night, the Sabres were able to get back to within two points of the Jets with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.
The first period of the game started about as flat as it could be for the Sabres. The Hurricanes got the scoring started early as former Sabre Jaroslav Spacek boomed a slap shot past Ryan Miller right off a face off. Assists on the goal came from Jamie McBain and Tim Gleason. The Hurricanes outshot the Sabres 9-8 in the period and the Sabres were able to lull fans to sleep for much of the period with their play .
That changed in the second period as Tyler Myers got the Sabres on the scoreboard 22 seconds into the period with a little help from Justin Faulk. Myers blasted a shot that bounced off of goaltender Cam Ward and then deflected in off of Faulk’s face. The Sabres got their first lead of the game 40 seconds later as Thomas Vanek got in front of the net and found the loose puck and flipped it past Ward. The Sabres lead would not last long though as the Hurricanes were able to tie the game on a Chad LaRose tip-in in front of the net.
The Sabres second period was exponentially better than their first. They outshot the Hurricanes 17-8 in the period and had a bunch of good scoring chances in the period that the team could not capitalize on. The third period saw both teams trade good chances back and forth, but neither could break the tie and end the game in regulation.
56 seconds into overtime, Jason Pominville was able to break the tie and score on a one-timer on the power play. Christian Ehrhoff fed Pominville the puck at the top of the left faceoff circle and Pominville blasted the shot past Cam Ward on the power play. The goal was the Sabres second on the power play, a unit that had gone dry for a long period.
The Sabres will now travel to Boston to take on the Bruins Thursday night.