G Peters answers call for Hurricanes in win
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Justin Peters has played a combined 29 games with the Carolina Hurricanes in the last four seasons and admittedly has had his share of ups and downs. But his performance Tuesday night should make the extended loss of Cam Ward a bit more tolerable.
The third-string goalie stopped 37 shots when pressed into emergency duty, Jiri Tlusty scored his 11th goal in 13 games, and linemates Eric Staal and Alexander Semin registered three-point nights as the Hurricanes extended their winning streak to four with a 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.
Peters was called up from the minors Monday and got the start with Ward sidelined six to eight weeks with a knee injury suffered Sunday and backup Dan Ellis out sick. He pitched a shutout through two periods as the Canes jumped to a 2-0 lead and extended their cushion in the Southeast Division to six points.
"It has been an exciting 24 hours for me," Peters said. "I found out I was playing this morning and it feels really good right now to step in and win for the team."
Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller said, "This is an opportunity that he knows is going to be more than one game, being realistic. He came in ready to go. He has been wanting to be here. He showed he has prepared himself and he has matured."
Peters, an AHL All-Star this season with six shutouts for the Checkers, didn't see much action early but made a remarkable save on Thomas Vanek with 1:17 left in the second period and his team leading 2-0, diving across the crease to make a stick stop on the fifth-leading scorer in the league, who was staring at a wide-open net.
"That's not the guy you want to leave back door open," Staal said of Vanek. "That save was huge for us. Justin answered and it was huge for our bench. He was there when we needed him to be.
"A lot of guys are comfortable with Justin because he's played some good games for us last year and over the years. We knew he was going to compete and battle; that's what he does. He looked real solid and comfortable and he's a fun guy to play in front of because he competes so hard."
Carolina carried the play from the start, getting a goal 1:31 in from a red-hot Tlusty after deflecting in a pass from Staal, who registered his 600th career point with the assist.
The Staal-Tlusty-Alexander Semin line has been spectacular of late, scoring nine of the team's last 17 goals.
"Those guys have to be right up with the top lines in the game," Muller said. "They are playing well at both ends of the ice, they are plus players, they are producing and setting the tempo a lot of nights and they are tough to handle down low. Those three guys have great chemistry."
The Canes, with the worst home power play in the NHL, got a man-advantage goal when Joe Corvo's blast from the left point beat a screened Ryan Miller with 7:43 left in the second for a 2-0 lead. It was just Carolina's third power-play goal at PNC Arena in 38 attempts.
Peters lost his shutout bid 25 seconds into the third when a shot bounced off the glass behind him to the slot for an easy tap-in for Cody Hodgson. Jussi Jokinen countered with a goal 50 seconds later for the Canes to push the lead back to two.
The Sabres, last in the league on the power play, made it interesting by scoring at the tail end of a two-man advantage with 5:27 left as T.J. Brennan notched his first goal of the season, but Semin scored less than two minutes later to cap his three-point night.
Hodgson added his 10th goal of the season with less than 40 seconds left.
"It comes back to playing a full 60 minutes," Buffalo defenseman Tyler Myers said. "It is what has gotten us in trouble the last three years. We have to find a way to start a game and finish it. We can't start playing when it's too late."
NOTES: Staal reached his 600th point in career game No. 664 of his career. He has points in 14 of 22 games this season. ... Vanek, the fifth leading scorer in the league, was back in the lineup for the Sabres after missing two games with an upper-body injury. ... This was Buffalo's first game playing in North Carolina without former coach Lindy Ruff. ... Peters last played in net for the Canes on Feb. 25, 2012 -- a 3-2 shootout loss at PNC Arena. ... Leading after the first period just once in its first 19 games, Carolina has now led after 20 minutes in three straight. ... Carolina had 12 shots on Miller in the first period and Buffalo blocked another 15.
