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Mikko Rantanen of the Carolina Hurricanes. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)

Hurricanes Defeat Sabres 5-2 on Whalers Night

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Zach Martin | Last updated Feb 27, 2025 10:20 PM ET

For their last game of February, the Carolina Hurricanes hosted the Buffalo Sabres in their sixth installment of “Whalers Night” on Thursday, Feb. 27. The Hurricanes were 4-0-1 in their first five editions of the night that honors the team that they were back in Hartford before moving to Raleigh, NC. The last time these two teams met, the Sabres defeated the Hurricanes 4-2 in Buffalo on Jan. 15. Would the Hurricanes split the season series and stay undefeated in regulation on Whalers Night? Or would the Sabres ruin the party? In the end, the Hurricanes won the game 5-2 to snap the losing streak and end February on a high note.

Game Recap

The Hurricanes came out swinging in the first period, literally and figuratively, as Jesperi Kotkaniemi won the opening faceoff fight against Dylan Cozens. Then, the team saw three goals in a span of almost four minutes to make it a 3-0 game before the halfway point of the period. Captain Jordan Staal got the crowd rocking on Whalers Night as he scored at 6:09 of the period on a great feed from Jordan Martinook. Staal’s 11th of the season got the Hurricanes going to get them a lead at the most crucial time after being shut out in their last game. Almost two minutes later, Mikko Rantanen was in the right place with the hustle to steal the pass in the slot between the faceoff circles to get the Hurricanes the puck. His huge forechecking play allowed him to settle it and find Sebastian Aho open in front of the goal to make it a 2-0 game.

Aho’s 21st goal of the season doubled the lead and Rantanen’s 42nd assist of the season was a huge one for the Finnish forward who’s looking to kickstart his time in Carolina. Rantanen did not have to wait long for his first multi-point game for the Hurricanes as he scored less than two minutes later on the power play. Fantastic puck movement saw the pass go from Shayne Gostisbehere to Andrei Svechnikov to find Rantanen between the circles. The huge Finnish forward known as “Moose” snapped the puck onto the net past James Reimer to make it a 3-0 game. His 27th goal of the season and his second as a Hurricanes player came at the right time as the team’s power play has been struggling of late.

The Sabres did get one with under a minute left in the period from Alex Tuch on a power play of their own to end the first period. The Hurricanes finished the first period up 3-1 after a huge 20 minutes into the game.

The second period saw one goal total, this one coming from the other new Hurricane in Taylor Hall. After a flurry of action in the Sabres zone, Jack Roslovic obtained the puck and made a spectacular no-look pass to a wide-open Hall in front of the net. Hall made a great tap-in goal on the doorstep to give the Hurricanes their three-goal lead once again. The goal was his first with the team and his 10th overall for the season. What a night for Hall to get his first with the team. After 40 minutes, the Hurricanes took the 4-1 lead into the second intermission.

While the Hurricanes owned the second period, the Sabres started off the third period with a goal just 1:15 into it. J.J. Peterka’s 17th of the season cut the Hurricanes’ lead in half once again after an easy backdoor pass from Ryan McLeod. Nothing much Pyotr Kochetkov could do with a partial two-on-none and no one back to help him.

Around two minutes left in the third period, Seth Jarvis scored on the empty net to ice the game for the Hurricanes. His team-leading 23rd goal of the season made it a 5-2 game. The win gave the Hurricanes their 22nd win at home and 34th of the season. Furthermore, they are now 5-0-1 on Whalers Night.

The Season March(es) On

Whalers Night was the last game of February for the Hurricanes (34-21-4) as they head into March with a huge win. They take on the Edmonton Oilers (34-20-4) on Saturday, March 1. That game is set for a 7 p.m. puck drop to kick off the second to last month of the regular season. Regarding the Sabres (24-28-5), they also play on Saturday, March 1 as they take on the Montreal Canadiens (27-26-5). That game is set for a 7 p.m. puck drop as well.