Hurricanes at Sabres
THE STORY: The Buffalo Sabres return home from a successful road trip that in part helped get them back in the playoff race in the Eastern Conference to take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday. Buffalo went 3-1-1 on its five-game trek thanks in large part to Ryan Miller, who posted a pair of shutouts and allowed a total of nine goals. The Sabres, who have earned at least one point in eight of their last nine (6-1-2), are four points behind eighth-place Winnipeg in the East. Carolina also has turned it on of late, going 3-1-3 over its last seven contests. The Hurricanes are 1-0-0 on their five-game road trip and 3-1-4 in their last eight away from home.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN (Carolina), MSG (Buffalo)
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (25-27-14): Eric Staal extended a pair of streaks in Tuesday's overtime win over Washington. The captain's assist on Jiri Tlusty's second-period goal gave him at least one point in 12 straight games, the longest such streak since the team moved from Hartford to Carolina for the 1997-98 season. The longest points streak in franchise history is an 18-game run in 1980-81 by Mike Rogers. Staal now owns the franchise assist streak as he has set up a goal in 11 straight contests, eclipsing Dave Keon's 10-game stretch during the 1979-80 campaign. The Hurricanes lost eight consecutive games that went beyond regulation prior to Tuesday's victory.
ABOUT THE SABRES (30-28-8): Rookie Corey Tropp scored his second career goal in Monday's loss to Winnipeg. The 22-year-old's first tally also came against the Jets on Nov. 8. Buffalo will need more offense from Thomas Vanek if it hopes to make the playoffs. Vanek has scored just one goal in his last nine games and three in 23 contests. "I've just got to find my game again, get confident in what I do out there because when I do play confident, I make plays happen and create things," Vanek said. "Right now, I'm not doing those things." With three more tallies, Vanek will have scored at least 25 goals in each of his seven NHL seasons.
OVERTIME:
1. The Hurricanes have won six consecutive meetings with Northeast Division teams while the Sabres have dropped six straight against the Southeast.
2. Buffalo is 3-0-1 over its last four home games.
3. Carolina's eight road wins are the fewest in the NHL.