Hurricanes thrash Sabres, enter break on 7-game win streak

Sebastian Aho scored in his sixth consecutive game to begin Carolina's three-goal first period and the Hurricanes went on to beat the host Buffalo Sabres 5-1 on Wednesday night.

Stefan Noesen, Brent Burns, Derek Stepan and Jordan Martinook also scored for the Hurricanes, who have a seven-game winning streak and a 10-game points streak (9-0-1). Martinook's goal was a short-handed tally into an empty net.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jalen Chatfield each had two assists, Noesen also had two points and Antti Raanta stopped 29 shots for Carolina, which leads the Metropolitan Division by eight points. The Hurricanes have 17 wins at home and 17 wins on the road.

It was the last game for each team prior to the All-Star break.

Alex Tuch scored in the first period for the Sabres, who saw their seven-game points streak (5-0-2) come to an end. The past five regulation defeats for Buffalo have come in home games. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 29 saves.

It turned out to be a remarkable week-long stretch for the Hurricanes, who overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period to beat the San Jose Sharks and then escaped a three-goal hole in the third period en route to a victory over the Los Angeles Kings.

In between those two overtime wins, Carolina knocked off the Boston Bruins, who are the only team in the NHL with more points than the Hurricanes.

Aho scored on a power play 2:35 into the game. He ended the Tuesday night game with an overtime power-play goal against the Los Angeles Kings.

Aho, who has nine goals across the past six games, increased his team-leading total to 23 on the season. This goal streak matches his career long, which was established from Jan. 31-Feb. 11, 2020.

The Hurricanes produced three goals in the first 13 minutes, with Noesen and Burns also scoring in the opening stretch off assists from Kotkaniemi.

Burns has 10 goals, matching his 82-game total last season with the Sharks.

Tuch posted his 24th goal at 14:45 of the first period to cut the Hurricanes' lead to 3-1.

After a scoreless second period, Stepan restored Carolina's three-goal advantage at 10:30 of the third period.

--Field Level Media

1/3: Feb 1, 2023; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres right wing Alex Tuch (89) celebrates his goal with teammates during the first period against the Carolina Hurricanes at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

2/3: Feb 1, 2023; Buffalo, New York, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal (11) skates up ice with the puck during the first period against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

3/3: Feb 1, 2023; Buffalo, New York, USA; Carolina Hurricanes right wing Stefan Noesen (23) celebrates his goal with teammates during the first period against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports