BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The milestones keep on coming for rookie sensation Jack Eichel.

Eichel scored on a breakaway with one second remaining in overtime to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon. It was his first career overtime goal.

"It was a little closer than maybe I thought it could've been, but regardless he chased that puck down and gave us a thrill," Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma said.

With overtime winding down, Eichel raced in alone on a breakaway following a high, floating pass by Evander Kane. Eichel calmly slid a backhand shot through goaltender Cam Ward's legs to give the Sabres the victory.

"I noticed that there was nobody so I took off and Kane makes a great play," Eichel said. "He works on that flip a lot, so he flips it up over everyone's head and lets you skate into it so it's a great play by him. It's nice to win it in overtime."

Buffalo's bench may deserve an assist on the game-winner. With Eichel unsure of the direction of the pass, his teammates did their best to guide him in order to beat the buzzer.

"They were pointing, yelling," Bylsma said. "He was looking up and didn't know or couldn't see, it was kind of over his shoulder and was coming down. I think it was so high that if it had come up the middle of the ice it might've caught the scoreboard. So luckily it came down and didn't have too much forward spin on it and he had time to go on the breakaway."

It was the latest in a season filled with highlights for the 19-year-old. The No. 2 overall pick has lived up to the hype and then some in his first season with the Sabres (28-33-9), bringing hope to a franchise that has fallen on hard times.

Eichel and Marcus Foligno scored in regulation for Buffalo. Chad Johnson made 28 saves.

Phillip Di Giuseppe and Victor Rask scored for the Hurricanes (31-26-12). Ward made 21 saves.

"We just got an unfortunate bounce, the guy flipped it up and it's in the back of our net," Carolina defenseman Brett Pesce said. "We got a point but we've got a big road trip coming up and we've just got to move forward."

After a slow start for both teams, Di Giuseppe opened the scoring 6:42 into the second following a sloppy play in front of the Buffalo net. After Jeff Skinner worked his way to the Buffalo net but lost the puck, Di Giuseppe scooped the puck into the net for his sixth goal of the season.

Foligno evened the score just over a minute later. Sabres captain Brian Gionta forced a Carolina turnover inside the right circle and Foligno quickly buried his chance with a low shot to the far corner of the net. It was Foligno's ninth goal of the year.

Eichel made it 2-1 4:55 into the third period following a terrific setup by fellow rookie Sam Reinhart. Reinhart skated hard inside the left circle before cutting and finding Eichel in front of the Hurricanes net. Eichel had an easy tap-in for his 21st goal of the season.

Rask made it 2-2 with a power-play goal midway through the third. With his back to the Sabres net, the Hurricanes center lifted a backhand shot past Johnson for his 16th goal of the year at 9:01.

Late chances were few and far between up until the very end of the overtime session. Just prior to Eichel's game-winner, Carolina had a chance to win it in the Buffalo end. With the Hurricanes caught in the Buffalo zone, Eichel was left alone for the breakaway.

"Good play by them to get that last shot obviously but probably needed a better decision in the offensive zone with the clock winding down," Carolina head coach Bill Peters said.

NOTES: D Cody Franson (neck) was scratched for the Sabres. ... D Justin Faulk and C Andrej Nestrasil were scratched for the Hurricanes. ... Acting Erie County District Attorney Michael Flaherty announced Friday that Sabres LW Evander Kane will not face any criminal charges after an investigation into a possible sexual assault. Kane expressed relief following the news on Saturday morning. "I'm definitely happy that process is behind me and I'm very grateful for the support I got from the Buffalo Sabres and my teammates and family members as well," Kane said. "I'm thankful that this is behind me and I'm looking to move forward." ... This was the second of three meetings between the teams. Their final meeting takes place on March 22 in Carolina.