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Sliding Sabres seek to start turnaround against Hurricanes

Mar 14, 2008 - 1:01 PM Carolina (38-29-5) at Buffalo (32-28-11) 7:30 pm EDT

BUFFALO, New York (Ticker) - The Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres are only separated by six points, but are in different situations regarding the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Carolina leads Washington and Florida by seven points in the Southeast Division, while Buffalo trails Philadelphia by four points in the chase for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

The Hurricanes bring a five-game winning streak into Friday's game with the Sabres.

The Hurricanes haven't won six consecutive games since a nine-game run from December 31, 2005 to January 19, 2006 - the same season Carolina won its first Stanley Cup.

Carolina goaltender Cam Ward is 8-1-1 with a 2.17 goals-against average in his last 10 games.

The Sabres need to turn things around, having lost four straight games and six of their last seven.

Things only seem to be getting worse as Jaroslav Spacek (ribs), Dmitri Kalinin (shoulder) and Nathan Paetsch (concussion) are expected to miss significant playing time due to injury.

"It comes down to grinding and battling, and a lot of young guys are in new roles," said Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller.