Sabres make history in bizarre win over Hurricanes

The Buffalo Sabres will take wins any way they can get them.

You won't find anyone in the Sabres room complaining about the, ummm, unique finish in their 4-2 win over the visiting Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday.

The Eastern Conference's worst team managed to score one goal — an empty-netter credited to Ryan McLeod to seal the game and his first-career hat trick — on zero shots in the third period. This is not a misprint.

Tage Thompson's shot from the other end of the ice hit the post before McLeod tried to chase it down in the final minute. As McLeod appeared to be on the verge of putting it into the empty net to complete a hat trick, a trailing Brent Burns lunged to chop his stick.

The refs awarded the Sabres a penalty shot, but with the net empty, it counts as a goal. Thompson, it seems, got credit for the goal initially because McLeod did not clearly touch the puck. The NHL issued a correction and awarded the goal back to McLeod shortly after the game concluded.

Asked if he did, in fact, touch the puck before the NHL awarded the hat trick back to him, a grinning McLeod said "I have no idea, to be honest."

Per Sportsnet Stats, it is the first time since the NHL began keeping the stat in 1965-66 that a team has scored one goal on zero shots in a full 20-minute period.

Before the empty-netter, the Sabres seemed to be doing everything in their power to work their way to another demoralizing loss.

The Hurricanes dominated play in the third period, trimming a 3-0 deficit to 3-2 before the empty-netter.

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