RECAP

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Carolina Hurricanes fell behind early and never recovered on Wednesday, falling 4-2 to the Buffalo Sabres.

GAME SUMMARY | BOX SCORE | UPCOMING HOME GAMES

Facing one of his former teams, Dustin Tokarski's night got off to a tough start when he was beaten by Ryan McLeod on the game's first shot just 43 seconds in. Although his team started to find some footing as the period progressed, the visitors were unable to convert on either of their first-period power play attempts, and play moved to the second with them trailing.

Things really started to get away from Rod Brind'Amour's group during the middle 20 though, when Buffalo added a pair of tallies.

Going to the third down by three, Jaccob Slavin snapped Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen's shutout bid and Martin Necas added one with the extra attacker on, but it was too little, too late.

Tage Thompson was awarded an empty net goal inside the final minute, handing the Canes a second loss in a row.

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      CAR at BUF | Recap

      Stats & Standouts

      • Tonight was the latest chapter in an unpleasant trend for Carolina since American Thanksgiving - falling behind early. In six of their last seven games, their opposition has gotten the first one and the Canes have scored first in just 7 of their 24 games (30.4%) dating back to the late-November holiday. Only the New York Islanders have scored first on fewer occasions (5-for-20, 25%) during that span.
      • While we're covering themes and holidays, tonight's 0-for-3 performance on the man advantage adds to what has been a tough stretch for the group. Since Christmas, Carolina is 3-for-32 (9.3%) on the power play. That would rank 28th out of all 32 teams during that time, based on numbers entering the night's play.
      • Notching his 52nd career goal in the third, Jaccob Slavin passed Mark Howe and Glen Wesley (both with 51) for the second-most goals by a defenseman in franchise history. Justin Faulk (85) holds the top spot.
      • Despite conceding the empty-net goal by virtue of an empty-net penalty shot awarded to the Sabres, the Canes kept their foe without a shot in the final frame - the first time they've held an opponent shot-less for a full period on the road in nearly 21 years (Feb. 3, 2004 at COL).
      • Andrei Svechnikov was held without a point, ending his five-game point streak.

      They Said It...

      Jaccob Slavin on what the team could have done differently in Buffalo...

      "We could have just played good hockey. It wasn't a good start, those first 40 minutes were just ugly hockey. It's not good enough...As a D-core, we weren't great at breaking the puck out. Too many soft plays, even on their second goal, I had (a soft play) that led to that. It's just being harder with the puck, making better puck decisions and breaking the puck out with ease."

      Jaccob Slavin on whether the team's up-and-down results come as a surprise...

      "It definitely surprises us. We're normally a team that competes every night, we're consistent, we have a chance to win every night. But lately, we haven't had chances to win every night. We're not helping ourselves by the way we play, when we play like that. It's not good enough as a group. To a man, it's not good enough. We can all be better."

      Rod Brind'Amour on Slavin's assessment of the Canes playing "ugly hockey"...

      "Yeah, it wasn't good. We essentially just gave goals away again. The first one can't go in, but we were loose on our gap. Turnover - no pressure on us, we just turn it over. Six seconds left, we don't line up right on the faceoff and it's in your net, so those are just, to me, poor decisions tonight. You can't do that in this league."

      Rod Brind'Amour on the Canes' inconsistencies...

      "Tonight, I thought our D weren't very good. Usually, that's a strength, but that wasn't good enough, the way they were handling the puck. It seems to be one thing one night, one thing the next, but we do need to be better. That's just it, at the end of the day, the urgency needs to be more dialed in from the start of the game."

      What's Next?

      The Canes are scheduled to practice in Raleigh on Thursday before they host Vegas at Lenovo Center on Friday.

      Next Home Game: Friday, Jan. 17 vs. Vegas | 7:00 pm | Tickets | Parking | Upcoming Theme Nights