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Staal, Ward propel Hurricanes past Sabres

Feb 16, 2009 - 2:57 AM BUFFALO, New York (Ticker) -- All-Star Eric Staal recorded a goal and two assists and Cam Ward turned aside all 36 shots he faced for his third shutout in 10 games as the Carolina Hurricanes recorded a 3-0 triumph over the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday.

Chad LaRose and Sergei Samsonov also tallied for Carolina, which snapped a two-game losing streak.

"Anytime you get embarrassed by home losses, you'll remember that," Staal said. "Everybody did tonight and we responded well and got a good road win."

"I'm very pleased with the way we played, and most important the confidence build," Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice said. "(It's good to know) that we aren't going to let a couple of tough nights shake us from what we're trying to do."

Ward stopped nine shots in the first, 12 in the second and 15 in the third for his fourth shutout of the season and 10th career.

"He responded with a huge win in a tough building," Staal said of Ward. "He's a battler and wants to compete at a high level. He didn't feel he was at his best in the last two games at home."

Ryan Miller turned aside 16 shots in the first period before giving way to Patrick Lalime, who finished with 28 saves.

With the loss, Buffalo saw its five-game home winning streak come to an end.

"That was probably as bad as we've had, from a lot of players," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "We had some players that may have played their worst games of the year.

"Every game is going to be tough, every loss. We started the game casual, and we built a wee bit of momentum in the third. For the first 40 minutes, nothing. We pitched a clunker."

Staal opened the scoring 9:20 into the first period after taking advantage of a Sabres' turnover before wristing a shot in the slot past Miller for his 24th goal of the season.

"Getting the first goal was really important," Maurice said. "We had gone five periods of hockey without scoring a goal. It starts to weigh on your mind and it changes the way you play."

LaRose doubled Carolina's advantage exactly 4 1/2 minutes later.

With his team on the power play, Staal deked past veteran defenseman Teppo Numminen and wristed a shot on Miller. The netminder denied Staal, but LaRose cleaned up the rebound for his 13th tally of the season.

"We knew Buffalo, as bad as things seemed to be going, they would come out with a fight in the third period," Ward said. "We were only up two goals. If they were to get a goal, anything could happen. That's why you bear down on every shot and try not to give them any life."

Samsonov capped the scoring with 2:12 remaining in the third period after poking the puck past Lalime.

Following the goal, the netminder showed his frustration by slamming his stick over the crossbar.

"From my standpoint, at 2-0, you don't want to give up the extra goal," Lalime said. "Sometimes you get a chance in the last couple of two minutes to come back. It was things like that, I wasn't happy about it."