Carolina Hurricanes (26-15-3, in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Buffalo Sabres (16-22-5, in the Atlantic Division) Buffalo, New York; Wednesday, 6 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: The Buffalo Sabres face the Carolina Hurricanes in Eastern Conference play.

The Sabres power play ranks sixth in the NHL since Dec. 21 with a 32.1-percent conversion rate (9-for-28). The unit will be tested against a Hurricanes penalty kill that ranks second in the league at 85.0 percent and first since the beginning of December.

The Carolina Hurricanes held a morning skate at Lenovo Center on Friday morning before their final matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights of the regular season.

Eric Staal played 12 of his 18 seasons in the NHL with the Canes. Sunday, he’ll notch another milestone: His jersey will be retired at Lenovo Center.

BOTTOM LINE: The Buffalo Sabres face the Carolina Hurricanes in Eastern Conference play. Buffalo has gone 8-11-3 in home games and 16-22-5 overall. The Sabres are third in league play with 181 ...

The Toronto Maple Leafs have selected their starting goaltender against the Carolina Hurricanes ahead of a tough Eastern Conference matchup. Coming off

They’re now 3-4-3 since the Christmas break, partially due to a major uptick in quality chances allowed at five-on-five; they were at 2.18 per 60 heading into the holiday, fourth-best in the NHL. In the 10 games since, though, they’re over 2.5.

The Rangers have now recorded a point in six consecutive games following a 5-3 come-from-behind victory over Utah.

McLeod’s hat-trick goal with 24 seconds remaining put the finishing touches on a bend-but-don’t-break performance by the Sabres, who were coming off a loss to Seattle in their most recent game in which goals against compounded into a blown lead.

Ryan McLeod scored on the first shot of the game, again just before the second period horn, and was awarded an empty-net goal for his first career hat trick in the Sabres’ 4-2 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night at KeyBank Center.

The Tampa Bay Lightning return to Florida having received a little bit of everything on their three-game road trip, but now the attention turns to settling a score with a Western Conference club.