The Carolina Hurricanes had a chance to clinch a playoff berth Tuesday.
That will have to wait another game or two.
The Buffalo Sabres skated past the Hurricanes 4-2 at KeyBank Center, taking the lead with two goals in the second period and sealing it in the third.
Jeff Skinner scored his 29th goal of the season to get the Sabres going and resurgent goalie Craig Anderson won for the eighth time in his last 12 games.
A win over the Sabres and a regulation loss by the New York Islanders against the Dallas Stars would have qualified the Canes for the Stanley Cup playoffs for a fourth straight season under coach Rod Brind’Amour. The Canes and Sabres play against Thursday in Raleigh.
Canes (45-17-8) also had their four-point lead over the New York Rangers in the Metropolitan Division cut in half. The Rangers topped the New Jersey Devils.
The Sabres (26-34-11), in a rebuild, have been a more competitive team late in the season and Anderson has been a part of that. The 40-year-old veteran was 7-2-2 in his 11 games before Tuesday and was sharp enough against the Canes in earning his 305th career win.
Victor Olofsson had a goal and assist for the Sabres, giving Buffalo a 3-2 lead at 12:08 of the third. He then assisted on Dylan Cozens’ power-play gola that made it 4-2.
Jesper Fast and Nino Niederreiter scored for the Canes as center Jordan Staal assisted on both -- Staal now with 601 career NHL points. Brind’Amour kept the Staal line intact in the game but made changes on the other three in the game.
The Canes had no complaints about the first period, taking a 1-0 lead on the Fast score, keeping the puck much of the period and outshooting Buffalo 13-5.
Staal caused a turnover, Niederreiter backhanded a quick centering pass and Fast went forehand-to-backhand for his 12th of the season. Pretty play, good finish by Fast.
But the Sabres owned the second, outskating the Canes much of the period and and shooting them 12-9.
Skinner’s goal was as much about Tage Thompson as Skinner. Thompson first forced a Canes turnover in the Sabres zone, was off in transition and held on the puck long enough to keep Andersen frozen before the quick pass to Skinner for an easy score.
In a period where the Canes took away little time and little space from the Sabres, Casey Middelstadt skated into the right circle unencumbered and beat Andersen.
The Canes, lethargic much of the second, did show some jump on a power play late in the period. The Canes had a couple of good shots and Sebastian Aho was wide of the net on a tip.
Canes defenseman Jaccob Slavin helped Andersen from allowing a third goal in the second. With bodies falling all around the crease and Andersen under some of them, Slavin was able to knock the puck away.
The Sabres were 7-2-3 in their last 12 games before Tuesday and had a nine-game point streak end Sunday with 5-3 regulation loss to Florida. Included were wins over Toronto, Pittsburgh, Calgary and Nashville.
“They’re playing loose and just a ‘go and play’ kind of attitude without worrying too much about the outcome, and that frees up guys,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Tuesday morning. “But you watch them play and there’s definitely more pace to their game. Their top guys seems to be playing more effectively. Their overall game looks better and I think they’ve taken some big strides.”
Skinner is on the verge of his fifth season with 30 or more -- the winger had a career-high 40 goal with Buffalo in 2018-19, his first season with the Sabres after being traded by Carolina.
