But after about 20 minutes in, Ryan Miller probably thought he was partaking in ‘Duck And Cover’ drills instead of playing in an NHL game. Or like one of the people in the picture above.

Miller was peppered for 18 shots in the 1st period alone, and the Hurricanes continued the assault on my favorite backup and yours, Patrick Lalime, for a grand total of 47 shots, as the Hurricanes cruised to a 3-0 victory against the Sabres at HSBC Arena.

Right from the opening face-off, you can tell the Hurricanes needed this game just a bit more, as they came out flying, and pulled to within 3 points of the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference standings. The Sabres had their chances, but Cam Ward was up to the task, stopping all 36 shots he faced.

One of Ward’s saves was highlight material, a scintillating glove save on Tim Connolly.

Before Sabres fans panic, I think this game was just a case of a team coming out with a purpose, and setting the tone right from the get-go.  For the Hurricanes, this was a must of a win as you can imagine, as falling 7 points behind the Sabres would have been a critical blow to the team’s playoff aspirations.

And as another resident blogger here at BONY knows, I do not like to use effort as an excuse like some other fans do on an almost nightly basis, but the Canes wanted this one more.  I do not completely question the Sabres effort, I really just believed Carolina was embarrassed the night before when they were beat down by the Columbus Blue Jackets at home 5-1.

And with all due respect to the solid turnaround by Columbus this year, if I was on a team and the Blue Jackets came into my building and won by four goals, I would be pretty embarrassed myself!

The Sabres now hit the road for two games, staring Tuesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs,  and then finish the mini road trip with a visit to the Wachovia Center to play the Philadelphia Flyers.

NOTES:

Can the Sabres please find a place for Jochen Hecht? He is getting bounced around on different lines by coach Lindy Ruff like a ball in a pinball machine, and from my vantage point, this is clearly effecting his performance of late.