🌪️ Away Hurricanes 22-13-7 before this game

5–4

Final

Scoring	1st	2nd	3rd	F
CAR	2	1	2	5
BUF	1	0	3	4

Hurricanes at Sabres

Hurricanes beat Sabres 5–4 at KeyBank Center on December 31, 2001.

🗓 Mon, Dec 31, 2001 · 18:00 CST 📍 KeyBank Center, Buffalo 🏒 2001-02 🔁 Sabres lead the season series 2–1 Head-to-head history →

⭐ Three stars

Best games by the box score

1st star 🌪️ CAR

Ron Francis

2 G, 1 A

6 shots · 19:25 TOI · +1

2nd star 🌪️ CAR

Sami Kapanen

3 A

5 shots · 21:50 TOI · +1

3rd star 🌪️ CAR

Bates Battaglia

1 G, 1 A

3 shots · 23:03 TOI

🚨 Scoring

9 goals · in order

1st period

🌪️ Bates Battaglia Go-ahead 1st · 00:46

Assists: David Tanabe, Sami Kapanen · beat Mika Noronen

1–0

⚔️ Maxim Afinogenov SH Tying 1st · 15:34

Assists: Stu Barnes · beat Arturs Irbe

1–1

🌪️ Martin Gelinas Go-ahead 1st · 16:58

Assists: Sandis Ozolinsh · beat Mika Noronen

2–1

2nd period

🌪️ Sean Hill PP 2nd · 18:42

Assists: Ron Francis, Bates Battaglia · beat Martin Biron

3–1

3rd period

⚔️ Rhett Warrener 3rd · 07:29

Unassisted · beat Arturs Irbe

3–2

⚔️ Denis Hamel Tying 3rd · 08:56

Assists: Alexei Zhitnik, Maxim Afinogenov · beat Arturs Irbe

3–3

🌪️ Ron Francis Go-ahead 3rd · 14:33

Assists: Sami Kapanen · beat Martin Biron

4–3

🌪️ Ron Francis Empty net 3rd · 19:17

Assists: Sami Kapanen, Rod Brind'Amour

5–3

⚔️ Curtis Brown 3rd · 19:35

Assists: Miroslav Satan, Denis Hamel · beat Arturs Irbe

5–4

📊 Team stats

Away left · home right

🌪️CAR BUF⚔️

30 Shots on goal 27

1/8 Power play (goals / chances) 0/6

25 Hits 48

9 Blocked shots 8

3 Takeaways 5

14 Giveaways 12

26 Penalty minutes 30

CAR shooting 16.7% (5/30) BUF shooting 14.8% (4/27)

🥅 Goaltending

Saves, shots faced and save percentage

🌪️Hurricanes

Arturs Irbe

23/27

.852 SV% · 4 GA · 59:58 TOI

⚔️Sabres

Martin Biron

16/18

.889 SV% · 2 GA · 39:11 TOI

Mika Noronen

9/11

.818 SV% · 2 GA · 20:00 TOI

🔮 Period by period

After 1st — 2–1

Hurricanes

Hurricanes: no games found in this situation this year.

Sabres

Sabres: no games found in this situation this year.

After 2nd — 3–1

Hurricanes

Hurricanes: no games found in this situation this year.

Sabres

Sabres: no games found in this situation this year.

🧩 Lines & pairings

Estimated from ice time

🌪️Hurricanes

L1 Battaglia · Brind'Amour · Kapanen 23:03

L2 Cole · Francis · Willis 16:27

L3 Gelinas · Vestlund · Daniels 11:46

L4 Langdon · Vasicek · Adams 4:04

D1 Hill · Malik 23:43

D2 Ozolinsh · Ward 18:08

D3 Tanabe · Wesley 13:06

⚔️Sabres

L1 Barnes · Satan · Afinogenov 22:11

L2 Gratton · Connolly · Varada 16:12

L3 Brown · Rasmussen · Dumont 13:55

L4 Hamel · Pyatt · Ray 5:49

D1 Zhitnik · Woolley 21:44

D2 Smehlik · Warrener 18:44

D3 McKee · Kalinin 17:33

⚔️ Last meetings

Sabres lead the season series 2–1 Full head-to-head →

Dec 14, 2001

🌪️CAR @ ⚔️BUF

2–3 (OT) · Sabres won

❓ CAR vs BUF, answered

Who won Hurricanes vs Sabres on December 31, 2001?

Hurricanes won 5–4.

What was the final score of Hurricanes vs Sabres?

The final score was Hurricanes 5, Sabres 4.

Who scored for Hurricanes?

Ron Francis (2), Bates Battaglia, Martin Gelinas, Sean Hill.

Who scored for Sabres?

Curtis Brown, Denis Hamel, Maxim Afinogenov, Rhett Warrener.

How did the Hurricanes goalie play?

Arturs Irbe made 23 saves on 27 shots (.852 save percentage).

How did the Sabres goalie play?

Martin Biron made 16 saves on 18 shots (.889 save percentage).

Where is Hurricanes vs Sabres played?

At KeyBank Center in Buffalo, the Sabres home rink.

What is the Hurricanes vs Sabres season series?

Sabres lead the season series 2–1 after 3 games.

Have a different question? Ask the Oracle — it answers from this season's box scores.

🧭 Around this game

Each team's schedule either side of it

🌪️Hurricanes

Previous game · Dec 30

⚔️Sabres

Previous game · Dec 29

Also on December 31, 2001

Hurricanes season page Sabres season page Head-to-head record Full NHL schedule