Canes edge Sabres

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- For the Carolina Hurricanes, a six-day road trip was beginning to feel like an ordeal.

But a come-from-behind victory can do wonders for a tiring team.

Jussi Jokinen's goal with 3:17 left in the third period gave the Canes a 4-3 win Friday over the Buffalo Sabres at HSBC Arena, easing the sting of dismal losses to the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames this week.

Eric Staal's goal 34 seconds into the third period gave the Canes a 2-1 lead. But the Sabres' Drew Stafford answered 24 seconds later, and Buffalo then took the lead with a fluky score by Stafford.

On a shot from the point, the puck bounced off goaltender Manny Legace and popped up in the air. The puck then glanced off the back of Legace's right arm and over the goal line at 2:58 - good bounce for the Sabres, bad bounce for the Canes.

"Right after that, Staal stood up on the bench and said, 'Keep going,' and we came out and got the next two goals," Canes coach Paul Maurice said. "That's a real sign of leadership. We need someone to help us stay in the fight."

"I thought I made a good save and thought it went into the corner," said Legace, who was hit in the throat by a shot in pregame and was taken to the locker room. "Then it hits my pads and I was thinking, 'That figures.'

"But the boys bailed me out. They played so hard. It was beautiful to watch."

The Hurricanes fought back, getting a tying goal from Tom Kostopoulos at 8:23 of the third. Strong forechecking by Sergei Samsonov and Matt Cullen resulted in Samsonov centering the puck to Kostopoulos.

Jokinen then scored the winner on a shot from the top of the left circle that fooled - and beat - Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller.

"I was just hoping something good would happen," Jokinen said. "I'm not sure [Miller] saw it all the way."

The Hurricanes embarked on the four-game trip Sunday riding a season-best four-game winning streak, ready for more good things. But they lost to the Oilers, the NHL's worst team, on Monday, then were battered -- and bloodied -- by the Flames on Wednesday. The Canes' road trip ends today against the New York Islanders.

On Thursday's flight east to Buffalo, goaltender Cam Ward experienced muscle tightness that caused him to return to Raleigh. And there was talk of veteran defenseman Niclas Wallin being traded, always a distraction in the locker room.

The Hurricanes took the ice Friday with Legace in goal. Forwards Zach Boychuk and Steven Goertzen, both playing for the Albany River Rats of the AHL when the week began, also were in the lineup.

The Sabres were sluggish early as the Canes jumped to the lead. Boychuk, called up Friday, circled the goal with the puck and found defenseman Aaron Ward open in the right circle for Ward's first goal of the season.

"The last two games did not come out the way we wanted them to, and I was real pleased with the effort," Maurice said.

Buffalo generated little offensively in the first but did tie the score 1-1 with 1:25 left. Defenseman Andrej Sekera unleashed a shot from the point that appeared to nip the stick of Jochen Hecht in front of Legace - Hecht initially was awarded the goal.

Legace was making just his second start since Dec. 23 and lasted seven minutes in the last one, Jan. 23 at Philadelphia, because of vision problems.