Sabres at Hurricanes
THE STORY: Ryan Miller being sidelined for a stretch due to a concussion did not seem like such a bad thing with the way Jhonas Enroth had been playing. After a rough game against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday, the shine might be off Enroth. The 23-year old Swede was pulled after allowing his fifth goal midway through the third period and suffered his first loss of the season in the 5-3 setback for the Buffalo Sabres. That marked just the team's second loss in its last seven games. Buffalo is one of the highest scoring teams in the NHL at an average of just under three goals and will be looking to jump back into the win column when it visits the defensively deficient Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. The Hurricanes have lost six of their last seven to drop into the Southeast Division basement, allowing an average of 4.3 goals during the stretch.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG (Buffalo), FSCR (Carolina)
ABOUT THE SABRES (11-7-0): Prior to Wednesday’s debacle, Enroth was riding a nine-game winning streak dating back to last season and was 13-0-1 over his last 14 decisions. But the light-scoring Devils had their way with the new starter, pushing in their five tallies on just 19 shots. With Miller out indefinitely, Buffalo has called up Drew MacIntyre to help in goal.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (6-10-3): Cam Ward is a long way from the All-Star form that he showed last season. The Saskatchewan native has allowed at least three goals in each of his last seven starts and fell to 6-8-2 on the season with Wednesday’s 4-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Ward is not getting much help from a defense that is allowing the third most shots on goal in the NHL.
OVERTIME:
1. Ward made 39 saves in a 4-3 win over Buffalo at Oct. 14 and is 7-6-2 against the Sabres in his career.
2. Enroth earned a 2-1 overtime win over Carolina last April - his lone appearance against the Hurricanes.
3. Carolina defenseman Joni Pitkanen has missed three straight games with a lower body injury.