Absent some long winning streak, the Sabres are toast. There have been 77 winning streaks in the NHL of at least five games since the last time the Sabres won even four in a row in January 2023.

The Sabres are still in last place in the Eastern Conference and currently sit nine points out of a playoff spot.

The Sabres survived despite becoming the first team in NHL shot tracking history (to 1965) to score a goal in a 20-minute period without a shot on goal.

At the end of 40 minutes it was 3-0 and Buffalo got trapped in their end for most of the third. Buffalo got outshot 8-0 and I’d be surprised if they had 60 seconds inside the Carolina zone.

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff swapped Ryan McLeod and Dylan Cozens atop the lineup during the win over the Hurricanes, a move that paid immediate dividends with both players scoring goals on their new lines.

The Sabres got a fourth goal in the third period to ice the game — despite not recording a shot on net in the entire period, an NHL first.

Zucker is an influential voice in the locker room and wants to make Buffalo better despite knowing he could be traded at the deadline.

The Sabres power play ranks sixth in the NHL since Dec. 21 with a 32.1-percent conversion rate (9-for-28). The unit will be tested against a Hurricanes penalty kill that ranks second in the league at 85.0 percent and first since the beginning of December.