So ist das Leben » The Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres kept

RALEIGH Custom Winnipeg Jets Jerseys , N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres kept shooting pucks off each other’s players — and they kept going in the net.Sebastian Aho and the Hurricanes simply did it more often.Aho scored two goals off the skates of Buffalo defensemen, and the Hurricanes held on to beat the Sabres 4-3 on Friday night, spoiling Jeff Skinner’s return to Raleigh.“Sometimes you don’t get those bounces, and today, both of my goals were lucky,” Aho said. “So that’s how it goes, but a good win.”Micheal Ferland had a deflected goal and two assists, Justin Williams also scored and Teuvo Teravainen added two assists. The Hurricanes scored three goals in 7:27 of the second period and have won five of six for the first time this season to move within five points of a playoff spot.“Huge. You can either go one way or the other,” Williams said www.officialknightsproshop.com , referring to a 3-1 loss at Tampa Bay the night before. “Tough loss, felt we deserved better, blah, blah, blah. You’ve heard that before this season. But the jump-back here for a team that was waiting for us last night — big win.”Skinner scored his 30th goal in his first game against Carolina since he was traded to the Sabres. Jason Pominville also scored and Kyle Okposo pulled Buffalo within one with a deflected goal of his own with 3:12 remaining.The Sabres have lost five of seven, going 2-4-1 in that stretch. They had Jack Eichel back in the lineup after the center with a team-best 49 points missed three games with an upper-body injury.“Those bounces go both ways,” Skinner said. “You just have to do a good job of working for your own bounces and eliminating as many opportunities (for the other team) as you can.”Curtis McElhinney made 30 saves for Carolina. Carter Hutton stopped 26 shots for the Sabres but gave up three fluky goals — including two to Aho.Carolina led 3-2 after a flurry in which the teams combined for three goals in a 72-second stretch of the second, with Aho’s goal off Rasmus Dahlin’s skate following Pominville’s tying one-timer and a wrist shot from Williams that started it all.Aho then stretched it to 4-2 with 7:33 left in the period when his wraparound shot clicked off Jake McCabe’s skate and by Hutton.Okposo made it a one-goal game late with — what else? — a tipped goal when his pass down the goal line bounced off the stick of Carolina forward Saku Maenalanen and past McElhinney.“We don’t seem to make things easy,” Williams said. “We got up a couple goals Vegas Golden Knights T-Shirts Authentic , and gave up one late, and then are really scrambling. That, we have to clean up. I’m happy we’re getting the two points, but important to make it easy on ourselves, if we can.”Those strange goals overshadowed Skinner’s return to Raleigh , which came on the same day he was picked for the All-Star Game for the first time since he was a rookie with Carolina and in the midst of the first of his six 20-goal seasons in eight years with the Hurricanes.They traded him to Buffalo in August for Cliff Pu and three draft picks, and with a goal total surpassed only by Washington star Alex Ovechkin this season, he’s certainly fit right in with his new team.“It’s a good feeling. It sort of summarizes my time here, the way I feel Vegas Golden Knights Hoodies Authentic ,” Skinner said. “I had a good time here as a player here, as a part of the community. Just a lot of good memories.”Skinner’s 30th goal tied it at 1 with 20.7 seconds left in the first, when he whacked a rebound out of midair past McElhinney. It came after Ferland was credited with the first weird goal of the night with 9:35 to go. His shot hit off Hutton’s glove before bouncing off the top of the net and off Marco Scandella’s stick before trickling across the line.NOTES: Williams has points in six straight games. … Skinner has four goals in four games. … This was Ferland’s first career three-point game. … Carolina D Justin Faulk and Buffalo C Johan Larsson dropped their gloves late in the second. Both players received roughing penalties, with Faulk’s a double minor. … The Sabres made room for Eichel by sending LW C.J. Smith to their AHL affiliate in Rochester.UP NEXTSabres: Play host to Tampa Bay on Saturday night.Hurricanes: Play host to Nashville on Sunday. ST. LOUIS (AP) — Pat Maroon gave his team a spark the last time it faced Nashville when he fought Austin Watson 2 seconds into the game that snapped the Blues’ five-game losing streak to the Predators. Therefore, he didn’t hesitate to try and see history repeat itself when Cody McLeod challenged him two minutes into their next meeting.Vladimir Tarasenko scored his 19th goal of the season after Maroon’s fight gave the Blues a lift, rookie Jordan Binnington made 28 saves and St. Louis beat Nashville 3-2 on Saturday, extending their season-best winning streak to five games.“Always when somebody throws the gloves it’s nice,” Tarasenko said. “But it’s a tough fight and Patty heated us up.”Vince Dunn and Mackenzie MacEachern also scored for the Blues, who have gone 11-4-1 in their last 16 and occupy the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.“Every line is chipping in at the right time Vegas Golden Knights Hats Authentic ,” Maroon said.“All four lines are rolling and you can see why. Our defense is playing great and we’re getting timely saves at the right time and we’re scoring and we’re going to the net and doing the little things that make this team a good hockey team.”Binnington has started all five games during the streak and improved to 9-1-1 in his NHL career.“He’s playing great,” Blues interim coach Craig Berube said. “Every night he gives us a chance to win. I’ve said that a number of times but that is the truth. He’s aggressive and challenges and he’s standing tall.”Pekka Rinne stopped 30 of 33 shots for Nashville, which had won five of six. The teams meet again Sunday in Nashville.“Pekka kept us in that game, but our first 40 minutes were just not good enough,” Predators center Ryan Johansen said. “The good thing is we are right back at it tomorrow against the same team, and the work we brought in the third period is what we need tomorrow for the whole game.”Dunn scored his seventh goal of the season 2½ minutes after Maroon’s tilt with McLeod when he roofed a rebound over Rinne 4:37 into the game.Tarasenko gave St. Louis a 2-0 lead when he one-timed a pass from Brayden Schenn past Rinne with 1:15 left in the first. Tarasenko has registered a point (four goals, five assists) in seven consecutive games.Mattias Ekholm scored his seventh goal of the season on a power play when his shot bounced off Binnington’s glove to cut the St. Louis lead to 2-1. It was just Nashville’s second power-play goal in its last twelve games.MacEachern answered with his second career goal when he poked a rebound past Rinne to restore St. Louis’ two-goal lead.“The guys seem to have some confidence when the opposing team scores,” MacEachern said. “I think it kind of fires us up a bit and we kind of go out there and respond, which is huge.”With Rinne pulled for an extra attacker late in the third Custom Vegas Golden Knights Jerseys , Nashville pulled within one when Johansen swatted Filip Forsberg’s rebound out of the air for his 11th goal of the season.NOTESTarasenko has 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists) in 30 games against Nashville since 2012-2013, tying Dallas’ Jamie Benn for second-most by an opposing player in that span. … St. Louis has outshot its opponent in 19 straight games. … Nashville has dropped two straight to St. Louis after winning five in a row dating to last season.UP NEXTThe teams head to Nashville for the second game of their back-to-back on Sunday.