RALEIGH, N.C. -- The shootout formula hasn't been good for the Carolina Hurricanes in recent seasons.

They made a quick fix this time, with Lee Stempniak and Sebastian Aho converting in the shootout to defeat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 on Saturday night at PNC Arena.

This came a night after a shootout loss to the Washington Capitals had dropped their mark to 1-4 in that format this season.

"I felt more relaxed and calm than the last game," Carolina goalie Cam Ward said. "To come up with a shootout win feels good. ... I told the boys I was overdue."

Carolina's franchise record in shootouts is 35-52.

"We needed this," said Aho, who failed to convert in Friday night's session.

Carolina coach Bill Peters said Aho used a similar move in both shootout attempts.

"Last night it's not good enough, tonight it is," Peters said, though pointing out there are regularly adjustments.

Now, it's the Sabres who might want to revise their plan. They fell to 1-4 in shootouts this season.

But by producing a third-period goal, Buffalo left with a team point.

"We had good possession time and a couple of chances with shots there (late)," Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said. "I think the level of the game raised."

Joakim Nordstrom scored in the first period for Carolina and the goal nearly stood up.

Evander Kane's goal with 2:37 left in regulation prevented a shutout and extended the game. His redirection with a tip resulted in his fifth goal this month, with assists going to Jake McCabe and Marcus Foligno.

The Hurricanes have at least one team point in six of their last seven games, though they haven't won back-to-back contests since a five-game win streak Nov. 12-22.

"It's rewarding to play well," Peters said. "There are a lot of good things. I like our play right now."

Ward made 23 saves while playing for the second night in a row. He was closing in on his third 1-0 victory of the season until late in regulation.

"We competed real hard in a back-to-back situation," Ward said.

Ward stopped the first eight shots of the third period. Buffalo hadn't been shut out since early November and Kane made sure it didn't happen on this night.

Goalie Anders Nilsson, playing for the first time in four games, stopped 22 shots for the Sabres, who had a two-game winning streak snapped. They've won three consecutive games only once this season.

Nordstrom beat the Sabres to the puck and smashed it off the post and into the net to open the scoring with 3:56 left in the first period. It was his second goal in the last four games.

Nordstrom, a left winger, had only two previous goals this season, both coming against the San Jose Sharks.

Jay McClement and Brett Pesce assisted on the goal.

"There wasn't much cooking there," Pesce said. "I figured I'd try to just get it in their zone and obviously keep our forwards on side and it took a nice bounce and we got a goal."

The Hurricanes kept control of a good chunk of the game. The Sabres managed only four shots on goal in the second period, but responded with 10 shots in the third.

"They were playing a patient game and clogging the middle of the ice and not giving us a lot," Bylsma said. "There wasn't much for either team in the second period. We knew we were going to have to ramp up the game to scratch and claw to get a goal."

The Sabres were unsuccessful in trying for a five-game win streak in the series with Carolina for the first time since parts of the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.

Bylsma was denied in his bid to become the 47th NHL coach with 300 regular-season victories.

NOTES: The Sabres play a league-high 19 sets of back-to-back games and Saturday's tilt was the back end of the team's fourth set of the season. ... D Brett Pesce appeared in his 100th NHL game, all with Carolina. ... Hurricanes C Derek Ryan and Buffalo D Rasmus Ristolainen had their career-best five-game point streaks end. ... Both teams had late nights Friday, with the Sabres defeating the New York Islanders in overtime and the Hurricanes seeing the end of their seven-game home winning streak with a shootout loss to the Washington Capitals. ... The Sabres and Hurricanes meet in a rematch Thursday night in Buffalo, N.Y. ... The Hurricanes complete a four-game homestand Monday night against Detroit.