RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Sebastian Aho scored two goals and the Carolina Hurricanes cruised to a 6-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
Carolina goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov, playing for the fourth game in a row despite an expected night off, carried a shutout into the third period. He finished with 20 saves.
Jack Drury, Stefan Noesen, Teuvo Teravainen and Brady Skjei also scored for the Hurricanes. Martin Necas, Jaccob Slavin, Brent Burns and Andrei Svechnikov all posted two assists as Carolina won for the third time in four games.
“It just counts for the two (team) points, but it’s nice to have that kind of effort,” Aho said.
Carolina matched its highest scoring game of the season.
“We just were able to score and, for the most part, keep them off the scoresheet,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We were able to cash in.”
Casey Mittelstadt and Tyson Jost scored for the Sabres, who had secured at least one point in seven of their previous 13 road games. Eric Comrie stopped 29 shots in his first game in a week.
“We needed to compete harder from the drop of the puck,” Sabres coach Don Granato said. “Problems are going to be complicated, especially when the other team is more competitive.”
Kochetkov, who has been busy lately, delivered in a tough spot for Carolina.
“We were trying to give him the night off, but (Antti Raanta) wasn’t able to go,” Brind’Amour said. “So you got to give him credit for answering that.”
The Hurricanes were 2 for 2 on power plays, and Skjei’s fourth goal of the season was short-handed. Buffalo was 0 for 4 on power plays.
“We know how important it is here to get some wins,” Drury said.
It was Aho’s first multigoal game of the season and No. 39 for his career. He has eight goals this season, including three in the last two games. He has 15 goals in 18 career regular-season games against Buffalo.
Aho scored his first goal of the night off a pass from Seth Jarvis. Drury’s third goal of the season developed as he converted his own rebound after the initial shot bounced off the side of the net.
“Pretty fortunate to play with good players out there,” Drury said. “They make it easy.”
The Hurricanes scored 13 seconds into a second-period power play on Aho’s second goal of the game. Noesen scored later in the second, making the most of the opportunity after Necas left the puck in the slot in transition.
Teravainen’s team-high 11th goal came with 1:58 to play in the second.
Carolina beat the Sabres for the second time in less than four weeks, both times on home ice.
UP NEXT
Sabres: Sunday home vs. Nashville.
Hurricanes: Monday at Winnipeg to begin a six-game road trip. ___
AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
Bob Sutton, The Associated Press
