Sabres rattle in four quick goals to edge out Hurricanes

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Daniel Briere scored twice to help
lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-3 home victory over the Carolina
Hurricanes on Wednesday, a win that gives the hosts a 2-1 lead
in their Eastern Conference finals series.

The Sabres racked up four straight goals in less than 14
minutes from late in the first period to midway through the
second to chase Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward out of the game,
while Ryan Miller’s 24-save effort at the other end secured the
win.

Buffalo hosts Game Four of the best-of-seven on Friday.

The victory came on the back of an improved performance by
the Sabres, who were heavily criticized by coach Lindy Ruff for
poor preparation in their Game Two loss.

“It was a much better effort, we came back much stronger,”
Briere told reporters.

“We showed them what we have and we built up the momentum.”

Buffalo had the edge for most of the game, but the
injury-riddled Sabres appeared to sag in the third period
before closing out the win.

“It’s tough sometimes when you have a two or three goal
lead to keep the intensity up,” Briere admitted.

“Overall we’re very happy with our win.”

Cory Stillman opened the scoring for the Hurricanes with an
unassisted goal at 14:07 of the opening period, but the Sabres
took advantage of several powerplays to take control with their
four-goal salvo.

Chris Drury tied the game on a powerplay with just 30
seconds left in the opening period before Briere went to work
early in the second period, giving the Sabres the lead for
good.

WARD WITHDRAWN

Briere scored on another powerplay 1:02 into the second
period and again at even strength at 8:28 to make it 3-1, much
to the delight of the sell-out crowd at HSBC Arena.

A little over four minutes later, Ales Kotalik gave Buffalo
a three-goal cushion, forcing Carolina to remove rookie Ward,
whose sensational play has helped the Hurricanes reach to the
East finals.

Ward was replaced by Martin Gerber, who made two key saves
during a Carolina powerplay late in the period to keep the game
close.

Stillman gave the Hurricanes some hope with his second goal
of the game and sixth of the playoffs at 18:18, but the Sabres
turned in a strong defensive performance for most the third
period, limiting Carolina’s scoring chances.

Eric Staal pulled the Hurricanes back to within a goal on a
powerplay with 4:08 remaining, but the Sabres managed to
survive a determined Carolina attack with Gerber on the bench
for an extra attacker in the last 90 seconds to hold on for the
victory.

Buffalo out-shot the Hurricanes 33-27, including 29-16 over
the first two periods, but the Hurricanes dominated late in the
third, out-shooting the Sabres 11-4.

It was just the second loss on the road in six post-season
games for Carolina, while the Sabres improved to 5-1 at home in
the playoffs.

(Writing by Roger Lajoie in Toronto)