RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Each Hurricanes player knew what was at
stake. A loss by Washington earlier Saturday gave Carolina a chance
to extend its lead in the Southeast Division.
"That gives you that much more motivation going out there,"
right wing Keith Aucoin said. "It's nice knowing where you
stand."
Now the Hurricanes stand a bit further ahead.
Scott Walker deflected in a shot from Eric Staal in overtime and
Carolina beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 Saturday night to take a
seven-point lead over the Capitals.
Sergei Samsonov, Keith Aucoin and Tim Gleason also scored for
the Hurricanes, who won for the seventh time in eight games to pull
away from Washington. In Boston, the Capitals gave up two
power-play goals in the final 5 minutes to lose 2-1.
"We're worrying about ourselves now," Walker said. "That's
all we can do."
Walker's goal made Carolina 1-for-8 with the man-advantage, but
that hardly mattered. With 11 games left, the 2006 Stanley Cup
champions appear to be headed back to the playoffs after missing
out last season.
"We want to push that gap further," Staal said. "We have to
keep winning games."
Derek Roy, Drew Stafford and Toni Lydman had goals for the
Sabres, who have lost four of five. Buffalo dropped four points
behind eighth-place Philadelphia and the postseason cutoff in the
Eastern Conference with 13 games remaining.
"It's good that we got a point and battled back and showed
character, but on the other hand, we needed two points," Roy said.
"We can't wait until the last five games to start playing. We've
got to do it now."
Buffalo tied the game midway through the third period while on
the power play. A scrum in front of the net caused Carolina goalie
Cam Ward to lose his stick. Lydman skated in from the blue line to
take advantage, poking in a rebound to make it 3-3.
The Hurricanes had two opportunities with the man-advantage in
the final 5 minutes of regulation, but the Sabres held on to force
overtime, mostly because of goalie Ryan Miller. He swallowed up a
handful of chances, keeping Carolina 0-for-7 on the power play in
regulation.
Then came overtime, and Walker came through. He was sent on the
ice by coach Peter Laviolette to replace Samsonov, and seconds
later, he made the move pay off with his 10th goal of the season.
"Guys were tired, we played a lot of power play down the
stretch," Laviolette said. "Walks, I thought he would go to the
front of the net. It worked out well."
Ward finished with 27 saves but probably would like to replay
the first two Buffalo goals. On the initial one, he was alone with
the puck behind his net and tried to clear it along the boards. Roy
followed up a bad bounce and poked the puck in to cut Carolina's
lead to 2-1 in the second period.
About a minute later, the Hurricanes had their two-goal lead
back when Samsonov put back the rebound of Staal's shot. It was
Samsonov's 12th goal since joining the team Jan. 8 when he was
claimed on waivers from Chicago.
Buffalo got back within a goal late in the second when Ward
again got caught out of position. This time, he glided out to meet
Dmitri Kalinin, who was skating in with the puck. Kalinin sent the
puck around Ward toward the crease, and Stafford got enough of his
stick on it to make it 3-2.
"It was kind of a playoff game," Buffalo right wing Maxim
Afinogenov said. "They are playing for the playoffs, we are
fighting for the playoffs. It's tough right now."
Of course, the Sabres were a bit fortunate to be that close. The
Hurricanes dominated the opening period, and only the brilliance of
Miller kept the game from becoming a rout early on, even when the
penalties started piling up.
"You can't help but call them the way we're skating," Staal
said. "The way the game is played right now, it plays to our
strength."
Notes: Staal was sporting a gash on his face after the game after
taking an inadvertent high stick. The Sabres play five of their
next seven at home, including a rematch with Carolina on Friday.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)