At the Horn: Hurricanes 5 - Sabres 4 (OT)

The Buffalo Sabres kept battling back against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday to earn a well-deserved point at KeyBank Center.
Johan Larsson deflected in the game-tying goal with 40.1 seconds left in the third period to force overtime, but Hurricanes defenseman Dougie Hamilton potted the winner with 2:32 to go in the extra period to give Carolina a 5-4 victory. Sabres forwards Jeff Skinner and Curtis Lazar, and defenseman Henri Jokiharju also lit the lamp for Buffalo.
The Sabres fought back in dramatic fashion.

Down 3-2 with 6:25 remaining in the third period, Jokiarju capitalized on a loose puck in the slot to beat Hurricanes goaltender Petr Mrazek and tie the game.
However, 1:58 later, Sabres forward Sam Reinhart was charged with a high-sticking penalty and the Carolina power play went back to work. Andrei Svechnikov scored with 3:54 to go in regulation for his third point of the game.
That set the stage for Larsson to tie it up with the Buffalo net empty, deflecting in a shot from Skinner.
Carter Hutton made 24 saves in net. Svechnikov's line had a big night: In addition to his goal and two assists, Teuvo Teravainen also had three points, and Sebastian Aho recorded a goal and an assist. Mrazek stopped 29 shots.

What happened

Skinner opened the scoring 4:26 into the game. He has now scored in every game he's played against his former club, tallying five goals in four games.
Let's take a look at them here:

Then the Hurricanes went off for three goals in a row. Jordan Staal wired one through traffic to tie the game with 7:53 remaining in the first and then Sebastian Aho scored on the power play with 2:43 remaining in the period to give Carolina the lead.
Teuvo Teravainen deflected in a shot by Aho to make it 3-1 just 49 seconds in to the second.
Lazar put Buffalo within one at the 4:56 mark on a breakaway.
And then there was the wild third period where Buffalo had to bounce back from 3-2 and 4-3 deficits.

What it means

The Sabres are now 9-6-3 on the season. They've lost five games in a row and are 1-5-2 in their last eight games after starting the season 8-1-1. However, they snapped a four-game losing skid in regulation by managing to earn the overtime point.
Buffalo's power play generated good scoring chances, but neither unit was able to convert on three opportunities. The Sabres have not scored on the man advantage in five games, going 0-for-12 during the current stretch.

Roll the highlight film

Lazar scored on his first shot of the season. He did it with style:

Up next

The Sabres host the Ottawa Senators on Saturday for Hockey Fights Cancer Night presented by Roswell Park Comprehensive Center.
It's a 7 p.m. faceoff with the GMC Game Night pregame show kicking off at 6:30 p.m. on MSG. If you're coming to the game, make sure you're in your seats early for a pregame ceremony.
Check out full details on the night here.