At the Horn

Ryan McLeod scored his first career hat trick as the Buffalo Sabres beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Wednesday at KeyBank Center.

McLeod began the night centering JJ Peterka and Alex Tuch but later joined Jason Zucker and Tage Thompson on the first line. Scoring before and after that adjustment and adding a late empty netter, McLeod now has four goals in his last three games – and 10 for the season – after going 23 games without one.

Dylan Cozens also scored his 10th goal of the season, while defenseman Connor Clifton recorded a primary assist and tied a team high with four hits.

Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 34 saves on 36 shots for his 14th win.

After missing two games due to illness, Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson returned to the lineup and had a plus-one rating and an assist in 19:55 of ice time.

Forward Beck Malenstyn, who’d missed three straight games due to illness, skated 15:05, tallied an assist and matched Clifton’s four hits.

Jaccob Slavin and Martin Necas scored Carolina’s goals, while goalie Dustin Tokarski stopped 21 of 24 shots.

Here’s more from the win.

First Period

McLeod opened the scoring just 43 seconds in. He received Clifton’s pass, entered the zone and shot from the high slot to beat Tokarski. The rush began with Tyson Kozak’s diving effort to help clear Buffalo’s defensive zone.

It was the sixth time this season the Sabres scored on their first shot of the game.

Carolina got the game’s first power play at 6:10 thanks to a Sam Lafferty tripping call. Buffalo killed it off but went right back on the penalty kill eight seconds later (McLeod cross checking). The Sabres killed that second penalty as well.

Peterka drew a Sean Walker holding-the-stick call to give the Sabres their first man advantage. Buffalo’s best chance on an eventful power play came in the final seconds as Tuch pushed a loose puck off the post from in close.

The teams recorded 11 shots apiece in the period.

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      Ryan McLeod opens the scoring

      Second Period

      Early in the period, a Clifton interference penalty sent Carolina to its third power play. Jack Quinn served the penalty for Clifton, who was injured after taking a stick to the face during his hit on Juha Jaaska. Clifton returned later in the period.

      Luukkonen made three saves during another successful kill, which also saw Samuelsson fish a puck off the goal line and out of danger.

      Andrei Svechnikov raced past Bowen Byram for a partial breakaway but hit the post with his backhand attempt.

      A minute later, at 8:18, Cozens extended the lead to 2-0. He retrieved Tuch’s pass in the high slot and ripped a shot past Tokarski for his 10th goal of the season. The goal came after Cozens joined Peterka and Tuch's line.

      McLeod notched his second of the game with 3.5 seconds remaining in the period. Following Zucker’s shot attempt from the left corner, McLeod corralled a bouncing puck in front of the crease and found space above Tokarski’s right pad.

      Luukkonen made 19 saves as Carolina held a 40-22 edge in second-period shot attempts.

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          Dylan Cozens gives the Sabres a 2-0 lead

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              Ryan McLeod scores his 2nd of the night

              Third Period

              Slavin got Carolina on the board at 3:45, finding space through Luukkonen’s five-hole with a low shot from the point.

              Necas scored on a one timer at 16:52, narrowing Buffalo’s lead to 3-2 and prompting Sabres coach Lindy Ruff to use his timeout.

              A blatant slash initially denied McLeod of an empty-net tally, but the officials awarded him the goal at 19:36. Thompson was credited with the goal when the game ended but the ruling later flipped back to McLeod.

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                  Ryan McLeod awarded hat trick goal

                  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

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                      FINAL | Sabres 4 - Hurricanes 2

                      POSTGAME SOUND

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                          Lindy Ruff addresses the media

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                              Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen addresses the media

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                                  Dylan Cozens addresses the media

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                                      Ryan McLeod addresses the media

                                      GAME PHOTOS

                                      UP NEXT

                                      The Sabres conclude their three-game homestand Friday versus the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tickets are available here.

                                      Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7.