BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Ryan McLeod netted a pair of goals to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night. Dylan Cozens and Tage Thompson also found the back of the net for the Sabres, with Jason Zucker providing two assists. This win marked Buffalo’s third victory in four games as goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen turned aside 35 shots.
Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin and Martin Necas scored for the Hurricanes, while Brent Burns contributed with two assists in their second consecutive defeat. Dustin Tokarski made 20 saves in the losing effort.
In another game, the Edmonton Oilers triumphed over the Minnesota Wild with a final score of 5-3 in St. Paul, Minn. Vasily Podkolzin broke the tie early in the third period, while Connor McDavid recorded two goals and an assist to propel the Oilers to their seventh win in the last eight contests. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also had a goal and an assist, and Zach Hyman kickstarted Edmonton’s comeback from a 2-0 deficit with his 15th goal of the season. Goaltender Calvin Pickard stood tall with 31 saves.
Minnesota’s offense was powered by goals from Matt Boldy, Marco Rossi, and Ryan Hartman. The Wild, grappling with significant injuries, have now dropped three of their last four games. Filip Gustavsson made 31 saves in the losing effort.
Boldy opened the scoring with his 17th goal of the season on the power play just 3:02 into the contest, and Rossi doubled the lead with his 17th goal later in the first period. However, the Oilers clawed back to level the score by the end of the first period, with McDavid notching his first goal of the night on the power play.
