The Carolina Hurricanes, winners in three of the last four games, take on the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night (Nov. 8) to close out their mini two-game homestand. The Sabres are 4-2-4 in their last 10 and have only won one game over their recent six-game stretch. Can the Hurricanes make it a three-game winning streak before heading to Toronto, Canada, tomorrow?
Hurricanes vs. Sabres Preview
The Hurricanes are 6-4-0 over their last 10 games, with them winning the previous two over the New York Rangers and the Minnesota Wild. The Sabres have recently lost in overtime to the Utah Mammoth and in regulation to the St. Louis Blues. These two teams are heading in different directions and looking to either get back in the win column or continue their winning ways. Here is where you can watch or listen to Saturday night’s game:
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network South (Mike Maniscalco & Tripp Tracy)
Listen: 99.9 The Fan
Puck Drop: 7:00 p.m. Eastern
This is the first of three meetings against the Sabres during the 2025-26 season, and the Hurricanes are looking to get off on the right foot. Sean Walker has been lighting it up for the Hurricanes as he has scored in back-to-back games, along with having multi-point nights in consecutive games. This is the first time in his career that he has accomplished this feat. He has two goals and four points over the last two games.
Another player on a scoring run as of late is Nikolaj Ehlers, who has scored a goal in back-to-back games. Ever since joining the second line, Ehlers has been flying.
Speaking of the second line, Jackson Blake has been on a tear to begin his sophomore season. He had a multi-point night against the Wild on Tuesday, a primary assist and a solo effort wonder goal, going coast to coast to score a brilliant goal.
Following the game, head coach Rod Brind’Amour stated when asked about the second line, “Blake’s probably the one who needs the most credit for tonight. I mean, on the one goal, it was all him, and then the other one was just a great pass.”
Related: Hurricanes Turn the Wild to Mild in 4-3 Win
Blake has four goals and 10 points in 13 games for the Hurricanes this season, putting him third on the team behind Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis. Talk about a great start to his second season in the NHL for Blake, who is only three points behind Jarvis and Aho, while also being currently tied for second in goals (four). While a ton of eyes are on Aho and Jarvis to lead the way, there should be some attention put on the 22-year-old American skater for what he’s done already this season.
While the Hurricanes are surging, the Sabres are struggling to begin 2025-26. Despite having the best penalty kill in the NHL (91.3%), their power play is 20th (17.8%). Furthermore, their 5-on-5 play has shown to be Jekyll and Hyde after 14 games. They’re 28th in goals for per game (2.64) and 17th in goals allowed per game (3.07). The Sabres have shown that they can manage to keep teams from scoring, but struggle to score themselves.
Compared to the Hurricanes, who are fourth in goals for per game (3.62) and seventh in goals allowed per game (2.69), the visitors are at a disadvantage. The Hurricanes have been known as one of the best 5-on-5 teams in the NHL, and after 13 games, they’re proving that fact. Along with that, the Sabres’ goaltending has been trying to keep the team in the game, but they aren’t getting support. Alex Lyon is 3-4-3 with a 2.81 goals-against average (GAA) and a .915 save percentage (SV%), while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is 1-1-1 with a 2.91 GAA and a .877 SV%.
Related: Hurricanes’ Blake on Second Year Mindset & Relief to Stay Long-Term
On the surface, Lyon does have decent numbers, but the support isn’t there from the skaters in front of him. It’ll be interesting to see who the Sabres will put in the net against the Hurricanes. During the morning skate on Saturday, the Hurricanes had Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov on the ice. After playing the Wild on Thursday, there is a good chance Kochetkov will play in his second game of the season after getting the shutout win on Tuesday (Nov. 4) against the Rangers.
As long as the Hurricanes can once again control the tempo and keep the game 5-on-5, they should be in good shape to claim their third straight victory. If this goes into a special teams battle, they have to hope their 32nd-ranked power play (10.8%) can break through the Sabres’ top-ranked penalty kill. Thankfully, the Hurricanes’ 12th-ranked penalty kill (82.6%) should be able to hold off the visitors’ 20th-ranked power play.
It should be an exciting game as the Hurricanes will hope to end the two-game homestand with a win before the second half of their back-to-back tomorrow against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
