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 Girgensons scored in the eighth round of the shootout, and the
Sabres defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in a matchup of
previously winless teams Tuesday night at PNC Arena.
"I'm glad to get the win, but we could have got out of here
quicker," Girgensons said.
The Hurricanes (0-2-1) scored two goals in the last eight minutes of
regulation to force overtime. The teams became the last two in the
league to record a point in the standings.
It was the longest shootout in Hurricanes franchise history.
The positive result for the Sabres came a night after a 5-1 home
loss to Anaheim. Coach Ted Nolan expressed displeasure about that
performance.
"He's not the only one who's not happy," Girgensons said, describing
a determined attitude displayed by the Sabres.
Nolan said: "When you're going through what we're going through, you
have to take baby steps. ... We let up a little bit in the third. We
bent but we didn't break."
Buffalo left winger Marcus Foligno scored two goals, one each in the
first and third periods as part of an outing that he hopes is
indicative of what he can contribute.
"You want to be a power forward and it all comes down to those
situations," Foligno said. "The second goal was a great showing of
what I can do."
Center Torrey Mitchell posted the go-ahead goal in the second period
as the Sabres eventually collected their first victory in this arena
since November 2011.
Buffalo goalie Jhonas Enroth stopped 22 shots.
Carolina center Zach Boychuk, playing his first NHL game of the
season, tied the game with 1:48 left.
"You play to the end of the game (and that happens)," Boychuk said.
While first-year coach Bill Peters is still waiting for his first
victory, he was encouraged by Carolina's play.
"Down two with 10 (minutes) to go, you're not going to get many
points," Peters said. "I think the guys stayed with it, got
energized and got rewarded. There's still a lot of time if you
believe and have some mental toughness."
The shootout included successful attempts from Buffalo left winger
Matt Moulson and Carolina left winger Chris Terry before Girgenson's
winner.
Center Riley Nash and Terry also scored in regulation for the
Hurricanes, who were in danger of going without a point through
three games for only the second time since the franchise relocated
to North Carolina in 1997. The Hurricanes were 0-3-0 to begin the
1997-98 season in their first games after shedding the Hartford
Whalers label.
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Buffalo (1-3-0), outscored by a combined 14-4 across its first three
games, kept pressure on Carolina goalie Cam Ward for stretches of
the game. Ward finished with 23 saves.
The Hurricanes outshot Buffalo 11-2 in the third period.
Buffalo scored first when Foligno took a pass from right winger
Chris Stewart and deposited a one-timer past Ward.
On the scoring sequence, Carolina defenseman Andrej Sekera tripped
over Ward's outstretched leg and crashed into the boards. Sekera
sustained an upper-body injury and didn't return.
The injury-riddled Hurricanes have used some unexpected combinations
already.
"We had a lot of different depth charts drawn up and now there's
some new ones," Peters said.
Nash's goal came 30 seconds into the second period on a rebound off
a shot from defenseman Jay Harrison. Harrison has 45 assists in 300
games with the Hurricanes. Mitchell put the Sabres back on top less
than 90 seconds later.
After Foligno increased Buffalo's lead to 3-1 early in the third
period, Terry' scored with 7:49 remaining, adding some drama for the
final minutes.
Boychuk provided the tying goal amid some confusion. Initially, his
goal was waved off, but that ruling was overturned by video review.
The Hurricanes have allowed the first goal in each of their games
this season.
Buffalo, which completed the first of 18 sets of games on
back-to-back days, avoided becoming the NHL's first four-loss team
this season.
Two of Carolina's setbacks came at home, where the Hurricanes won't
play for another 2 1/2 weeks.
NOTES: C Eric Staal, the Hurricanes' captain, missed the game with
an upper-body injury. RW Patrick Dwyer sat out with a lower-body
injury. ... C Jeff Skinner hasn't played yet for the Hurricanes this
season because of a concussion, but he has resumed skating and he
could be available later this week. ... The Sabres entered the game
with only two goal scorers -- C Zemgus Girgensons and C Tyler Ennis
-- across their first three games. ... Buffalo returns home for
games on back-to-back nights against Florida on Friday and Boston on
Saturday. ... The Hurricanes don't play at home again until Nov. 1,
with their next five games -- beginning Thursday night against the
New York Rangers -- on the road.
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