Raleigh, N.C. (WGR 550) - One step forward, two steps back.
Such a promising start to the week with Monday night's 5-1 win over the New York Rangers ended with two consecutive losses, both of which the Buffalo Sabres surrendered six goals to their opponents.
Saturday night saw the Sabres drubbed by the Carolina Hurricanes in a 6-2 loss at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Carolina scored two goals in the opening 20 minutes of action, both coming in a 70-second span.
Noted Sabres killer Sebastian Aho started the scoring for Carolina with 4:34 left in the first period with his seventh goal of the season. Moments later, forward Jack Drury netted his third goal of the year to improve the Hurricanes' lead to 2-0.
Carolina added three more goals to its total in the middle stanza, continuing to bury the Sabres deeper and deeper.
Aho scored his second goal just 1:06 into the second period with a power play goal, followed by goals from forwards Stefan Noesen and Teuvo Teravainen later in the from to make it a 5-0 advantage for Carolina through 40 minutes.
The deficit was already so large for the Sabres that despite finally breaking through with a couple of third period goals, the game was already well-decided.
Casey Mittelstadt finally got the blue and gold on the board with his fifth of the season to make it 5-1, Carolina.
After Carolina added their sixth goal from defenseman Brady Skjei with a shorthanded tally, Tyson Jost netted the last goal of the night with his second tally of the year after goalie Pyotr Kochetkov got caught out of position trying to get aggressive on the breakaway attempt from Peyton Krebs.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: NONE
CAR: 15:26 - Sebastian Aho (7) (Seth Jarvis, Jaccob Slavin); 16:36 - Jack Drury (3) (Martin Necas, Jalen Chatfield)
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
CAR: 1:06 - Sebastian Aho (8) PPG (Andrei Svechnikov, Brent Burns); 14:12 - Stefan Noesen (6) (Martin Necas, Jaccob Slavin); 18:04 - Teuvo Teravainen (11) PPG (Andrei Svechnikov, Brent Burns)
Third Period:
BUF: 4:08 - Casey Mittelstadt (5) (Alex Tuch, Henri Jokiharju); 9:24 - Tyson Jost (2) (Peyton Krebs)
CAR: 8:05 - Brady Skjei (4) SHG (Teuvo Teravainen)
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Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Sebastian Aho - CAR
2.) Brent Burns - CAR
3.) Teuvo Teravainen - CAR
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What's next:
It's back to the confines of KeyBank Center for a Sunday night date with the Nashville Predators. Puck drop is set for just after 7 p.m. EST with pregame coverage starting at 6 p.m. EST with Brian Koziol, Pat Malacaro and Paul Hamilton on the radio home of the Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.