Sabres 2, Hurricanes 1 (OT)
Defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani scored his first career NHL goal 2:56 into overtime as the Buffalo Sabres recorded a 2-1 road victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.
Fellow blue-liner Chris Butler netted his first goal of the season midway through the first period for Buffalo (40-29-10), which regained sole possession of seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings. The New York Rangers (42-32-5) had temporarily moved past the Sabres after skating to a 3-2 shootout win over the Philadelphia Flyers earlier in the day.
Playing in place of reigning Vezina Trophy winner Ryan Miller, Jhonas Enroth turned aside 35 shots in this one. The Swede turned in a much better performance than the one on Saturday, when he permitted five goals in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals.
In overtime, Gragnani wristed a shot which caromed off the sticks of two defenders and past Cam Ward for his first goal in 12 career games.
Captain Eric Staal collected his team-leading 33rd goal and 500th career point for Carolina (38-30-11), which fell two points behind the eighth-place Rangers.
Making his 13th straight start, Ward finished with 29 saves as the Hurricanes fell for just the second time in eight games.