BUFFALO, N.Y. — Ryan McLeod scored two goals and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Wednesday night. Dylan Cozens and Tage Thompson also scored and Jason Zucker had two assists for the Sabres, who won for the third time in four games. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 35 saves.

It’s hard to maintain patience while watching the Buffalo Sabres these days. They’ll have dazzling performances then follow it up with losses like the 6-2 embarrassment at the hands of the Seattle Kraken.

Buffalo Sabres center Ryan McLeod, center, celebrates after scoring as Carolina Hurricanes goalie Dustin Tokarski (34) and center Sebastian Aho (20) look on during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Buffalo,

The Sabres got a fourth goal in the third period to ice the game — despite not recording a shot on net in the entire period, an NHL first.

With a rare 6:00 pm start time, the Hurricanes arrived late to the game and Buffalo did not. The Hurricanes didn’t really get to their game until the third and Buffalo took advantage, getting a three-goal lead before the final frame.

At the end of 40 minutes it was 3-0 and Buffalo got trapped in their end for most of the third. Buffalo got outshot 8-0 and I’d be surprised if they had 60 seconds inside the Carolina zone.