Sabres overwhelmed, 4-0

The Eastern Conference finals are tied 2-2 with Game 5 in Raleigh.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Martin Gerber was rested, ready and relieved to make the most of his second chance in the playoffs.
Now the Hurricanes believe they've regained the momentum in the Eastern Conference finals against the Buffalo Sabres.
Gerber stopped 22 shots to register his first career postseason shutout and victory in a 4-0 win Friday night that enabled the Hurricanes to tie the series at 2.
It was Gerber's first start in a month, more than enough time to recover from a flu bug that contributed to his poor play to open the playoffs. That's when he allowed nine goals in two starts and lost his starting job to rookie Cam Ward.
"It's never fun when you're watching," Gerber said. "You've just got to be patient, keep working hard and wait for your chance."
Plenty of early shots
Gerber was sharp, stopping 11 shots in the first period, including foiling J.P. Dumont twice from in close during the opening six minutes and then getting his glove hand up to rob Chris Drury, who got in alone.
It was a carry-over from Game 3 Wednesday when Gerber stopped all seven shots he faced in replacing Ward, who was pulled after allowing four goals on 26 shots in a 4-3 loss.
The Hurricanes offense did the rest, building a a 2-0 lead 9:53 into the game.
"It was huge," Mark Recchi said of Gerber's play. "Marty did it all year for us. We know he was sick before, and he might not use it as an excuse. ... But we had no doubts that he was going to play the way he did tonight. No question marks whatsoever."
Other scorers
Bret Hedican had a goal and assist, and Eric Staal scored to extend his point streak to 14 games. Recchi and Andrew Ladd also scored for Carolina.
Carolina took advantage of an injury-depleted Sabres team that's down three regular defensemen after Henrik Tallinder broke his left arm Wednesday.
With Teppo Numminen (groin) and Dmitri Kalinin (ankle) also out, Buffalo was forced to go with Jeff Jillson and Doug Janik, who entered the game with a combined six playoff appearances and only two this year.
The best-of-seven series shifts to Raleigh for Game 5 on Sunday with Game 6 back in Buffalo Tuesday.
Carolina was the first team in the series to win by more than one goal, and the margin of defeat was the Sabres' worst in the playoffs since a 5-1 loss to Montreal in 1991.
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff refused to blame injuries or an inexperienced defense on the loss, instead focusing on his forwards' lack of finishing ability and a power play that went 0-for-4.
"Everybody's pointing at it as if we can use it as an excuse," Ruff said. "If we're going to win, we've got to do better on our special teams, and our forwards have got to do better."
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