Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below 
eat big
New member
Buffalo at Carolina 7:30 pm EDT Eastern Conference final Tied, 2-2
RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) - Throughout their playoff run, the Carolina Hurricanes have received consistent offensive production from Eric Staal.
The 21-year-old Staal looks to extend his postseason scoring streak to 15 games Sunday when the Hurricanes host the Buffalo Sabres in Game Five of the Eastern Conference final.
The league leader in playoff points (19) and shots on goal (64), Staal has the longest playoff scoring streak since Pavel Bure's stretch of 16 straight games for the 1994 Vancouver Canucks.
Coming off a 100-point regular season, Staal scored a power-play goal for the second straight game for Carolina in Friday's 4-0 victory over Buffalo, which tied the series at two games each.
Goaltender Martin Gerber made his first start since Game Two of the Hurricanes' quarterfinal series against the Montreal Canadiens on April 22 and turned aside 22 shots for the shutout.
"When we have played well for 60 minutes, we have been able to come up front," Hurricanes right wing Mark Recchi said. "We know that's very important and if we're going to come out on top on Sunday, we're going to have to play the exact same way and play for 60 minutes. If we have any lulls, they are a team that can exploit us."
After taking two of the first three contests in one-goal games, Buffalo is expecting to get some additional help from the defensive corps.
Seventeen-year veteran Teppo Numminen is due back for the Sabres after missing the last three games with a groin injury suffered in the series opener.
Buffalo already has lost Henrik Tallinder for the season with a broken left arm. Fellow defenseman Dmitri Kalinin has an ankle injury and may not be ready to play for another week.
"You can't really at this point in time ... afford to lose any games," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "I think the games have gone different ways, breaks have been involved. There's been periods of time where both teams have dominated. So yeah, it's desperation time."
The series moves back to Buffalo for Game Six on Tuesday.
RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) - Throughout their playoff run, the Carolina Hurricanes have received consistent offensive production from Eric Staal.
The 21-year-old Staal looks to extend his postseason scoring streak to 15 games Sunday when the Hurricanes host the Buffalo Sabres in Game Five of the Eastern Conference final.
The league leader in playoff points (19) and shots on goal (64), Staal has the longest playoff scoring streak since Pavel Bure's stretch of 16 straight games for the 1994 Vancouver Canucks.
Coming off a 100-point regular season, Staal scored a power-play goal for the second straight game for Carolina in Friday's 4-0 victory over Buffalo, which tied the series at two games each.
Goaltender Martin Gerber made his first start since Game Two of the Hurricanes' quarterfinal series against the Montreal Canadiens on April 22 and turned aside 22 shots for the shutout.
"When we have played well for 60 minutes, we have been able to come up front," Hurricanes right wing Mark Recchi said. "We know that's very important and if we're going to come out on top on Sunday, we're going to have to play the exact same way and play for 60 minutes. If we have any lulls, they are a team that can exploit us."
After taking two of the first three contests in one-goal games, Buffalo is expecting to get some additional help from the defensive corps.
Seventeen-year veteran Teppo Numminen is due back for the Sabres after missing the last three games with a groin injury suffered in the series opener.
Buffalo already has lost Henrik Tallinder for the season with a broken left arm. Fellow defenseman Dmitri Kalinin has an ankle injury and may not be ready to play for another week.
"You can't really at this point in time ... afford to lose any games," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "I think the games have gone different ways, breaks have been involved. There's been periods of time where both teams have dominated. So yeah, it's desperation time."
The series moves back to Buffalo for Game Six on Tuesday.
