Gerber gets Carolina even

BUFFALO -- 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 banged-up Buffalo Sabres.

Gerber stopped 22 shots to register his first career postseason shutout and victory in a 4-0 win last 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."

Gerber was sharp, stopping 11 shots in the first period, including foiling J.P. Dumont twice from in close during the opening six minutes, then getting his glove hand up to rob Chris Drury, who got in alone.

It was a carryover 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 2-0 lead 9:53 into the game.

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 is 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. The Hurricanes are without forward Erik Cole, who is still recovering from a serious neck injury.