Rantanen has goal, assist for Hurricanes in win against Sabres
Forward gets 1st multipoint game for Carolina; Buffalo had won 2 straight, 6 of 7
Sabres at Hurricanes | Recap
RALEIGH, N.C. — Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist for the Carolina Hurricanes in a 5-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres at Lenovo Center on Thursday.
It was the 28-year-old forwards first multipoint effort in his ninth game for the Hurricanes after he was acquired in a trade from the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 24.
Jordan Staal, Sebastian Aho, Taylor Hall and Seth Jarvis also scored, and Pyotr Kochetkov made 14 saves for the Hurricanes (34-21-4), who had lost two in a row.
Alex Tuch and JJ Peterka scored for the Sabres (24-28-5), who had won two straight and six of seven. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen allowed two goals on seven shots before he was relieved by James Reimer 7:57 into the first period, who made 27 saves.
Staal gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 6:09 of the first period when Jordan Martinook’s turnaround centering pass from the left-side wall deflected in off his skate.
After Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram lost the puck below the Buffalo goal line, Rantanen passed to Aho alone in front to give Carolina a 2-0 lead at 7:57.
Rantanen then scored on the power play with a wrist shot over Reimer’s blocker to make it 3-0 at 9:41.
Tuch scored on the power play to cut to the lead to 3-1 at 19:02. He followed his rebound and scored with Kochetkov out of position after Carolina defenseman Dmitry Orlov fanned on a clearing attempt in front of the net.
Jack Roslovic made a no-look backhand pass to Hall between the circles to push it to 4-1 at 15:52 of the second period. It was Hall’s first goal since he was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in the same deal that brought Rantanen to Carolina.
Peterka took a pass from Ryan McLeod and finished a 2-on-1 rush into an open net at 1:15 of the third period to make it 4-2.
Jarvis scored an empty-net goal with 2:12 remaining for the 5-2 final.
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Rantanen scores a goal and has an assist as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-2
Carolina Hurricanes right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) shoots the puck against the Minnesota Wild during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 on Thursday night.
Jordan Staal, Sebastian Aho, Taylor Hall and Seth Jarvis also scored for Carolina, which had lost its first two games after the league break for the 4 Nations Face-Off. Pyotr Kochetkov made 14 saves.
Alex Tuch and JJ Peterka scored for Buffalo but it was a quick night for goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who gave up two goals in the first eight minutes and was replaced by backup James Reimer, who finished with 26 saves.
Rantanen set up Aho at 7:57 to give Carolina a 2-0 lead in the first period. Rantanen then scored on a power-play goal at 9:41 in the first for his first multipoint game with Carolina.
The Hurricanes led 3-0 and had a 17-3 shot advantage before Tuch scored with 56 seconds left in the first period. Peterka’s goal early in the third cut Carolina’s lead to 4-2.
Sabres: Buffalo had been trending up with wins in six of its previous seven games. A slow start cost them on Thursday with Luukkonen getting chased early and the Hurricanes playing with the urgency of a playoff team. Tuch has 10 points (five goals) in his past eight games.
Hurricanes: Hall, a former Hart Trophy winner, has been overshadowed by the Rantanen portion of the three-team trade with Colorado and Chicago on Jan. 25, but he scored his first goal in nine games with Carolina.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi wasted no time trying to add some energy to the Hurricanes’ first home game since Feb. 8 by fighting with Dylan Cozens after the opening puck drop.
The Hurricanes improved to 6-0-3 when wearing throwback Hartford Whalers uniforms. Aho leads the team with 11 points, on eight goals, in the retro uniforms.
On Saturday night, the Sabres host Montreal while the Hurricanes host Edmonton.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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Game Preview: Sabres vs. Hurricanes
FILED UNDER:
The Canes have not found the reset button yet.
Tonight at the Lenovo Center, an abysmal February mercifully ends. March will be a critical month for the Carolina Hurricanes, and the matchup against the last-place team in the Eastern Conference must be a hard reset for the Canes.
Buffalo Sabres Key Facts
Buffalo travels to Raleigh on a different trajectory. The Sabres lost just one game in February and have won six of their last seven. Over the past ten games, Buffalo has been one of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference.
Tage Thompson, who leads the Sabres in goals and points, jumpstarted Buffalo’s hot streak with a hat trick on January 28. Thompson has 11 points in his last six games. He missed one game due to a Stefan Noesen hit in their win over New Jersey.
Linemates Alex Tuch and Jason Zucker are also playing well, tallying nine and eight points over the last seven games.
Captain Rasmus Dahlin had a six-game point streak come to an end Tuesday night, racking up 12 points during this recent stretch. With 46 points this season, he ranked seventh in scoring by a defenseman.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will likely get the nod in net. The Finnish goaltender has played in 41 games this season, carrying the load for Buffalo. Luukkonen is 20-14-4 with a 2.97 goals against average and a .895 save percentage.
The Canes have had an awful February, dropping five of six games. On Tuesday, they played one of their worst games in recent memory, a 4-0 shutout loss to Montreal.
There are valid concerns about lines and pairs from the armchair coaches across the internet.
Mikko Rantanen’s lack of production has sparked trade rumors. This is certainly causing unrest among the Caniacs, and one must wonder if it is distracting them in the locker room.
Below are the projected lines and pairs, although there may be plenty of shuffling during the game, for better or worse. Pyotr Kochetkov is in the starter’s crease.
Tonight is Whalers Night at Lenovo Center. The Canes will wear white Hartford Whalers throwback uniforms.
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