Raleigh, N.C. (WGR 550) – After going 3-1-0 on their four-game homestand, the Buffalo Sabres get, maybe, their toughest game of the season on Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes. Buffalo is 1-6-3 in their last 10 meetings against the Canes, and 2-7-1 in Raleigh.
Carolina is 13-1-0 in its last 14 games against the Sabres going back to 2016.
It never really matters who the Hurricanes have in goal, their smothering style of defense under head coach Rod Brind’Amour makes all the goalies that have played under him look good.
Both teams have a 2.80 goals-against average, and Sabres head coach Don Granato knows why.
“They force the opposition to make a lot of mistakes through their work ethic, through their compete, and they’re very determined," said Granato of the matchup. "They know their identity, and they play to it every night. So you can prepare for it, but you’re also preparing for a real challenge."
To start the season, Buffalo was giving up 41 shots per game. Recently they’ve only given up 21, 18, 26, 34, 24 and 30. Granato said, “I really feel the last few games we’ve caught some teams that haven’t played well, but on this trip we’re playing some teams that were hitting on all cylinders, so it’s so different from some of the last teams we’ve played.”
Buffalo had been the second worst team at that, but now at 31.7 shots per game against, the Sabres are 19th.
Tage Thompson has 11 points in his last three games. His 14 points has him and Rasmus Dahlin tied for 13th in league scoring. Dahlin has a point in nine out of the 10 games they’ve played.
Jeff Skinner has two goals and six assists for eight points in his last four games.
Granato is always excited when his team plays top teams and the Hurricanes are third in the NHL with a points percentage of .750. The Sabres at .700 are fifth.
Craig Anderson gets the call in goal for Buffalo on Friday. He’s 3-0-0 this season with a 1.66 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage.
Martin Necas leads Carolina in scoring with 14 points in 10 games. Freddie Andersen played in goal Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, so there's a good chance the Sabres will play against Antti Raanta. He’s 2-0-1 with a 2.23 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.
Join the Bulldog for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. ET when you’ll hear from Granato, Dahlin and JJ Peterka.
