Hurricanes 4, Sabres 3
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Third-string goalie Justin Peters stopped 37 shots and Jiri Tlusty scored his 11th goal in 13 games as the Carolina Hurricanes extended their winning streak to four straight with a 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.
Carolina swept the season series 3-0, outscoring Buffalo 13-7 and securing its hold on first place in the Southeast Division.
Peters was called up from the minors Monday and got the start with Cam Ward sidelined six to eight weeks with a knee injury suffered Sunday and backup Dan Ellis out sick.
Peters, an AHL All-Star this season with six shutouts for the Charlotte Checkers, didn't see much action early but was spectacular in the final 40 minutes. Peters 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 for a stick stop on the fifth-leading scorer in the league who was staring at a wide-open net.
Carolina carried the play from the start for the third straight game, getting a goal 1:31 in from a red-hot Tlusty after deflecting in a pass from Eric Staal, who registered his 600th career point with the assist.
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 period 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 period when a shot bounced off the glass behind him to the slot for an easy tap-in by 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 of the season. But Alexander Semin scored less than two minutes later to cap off his three-point night.
Hodgson added his 10th goal of the season with less than 40 seconds left.
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.
