McLeod scored two of the Sabres' first three goals to get out to a 3-0 lead before the Hurricanes responded with two straight goals to close the gap. But McLeod (10) put in an empty-netter to secure his first career hat trick in the Sabres 4-2 win over the Canes.
Dylan Cozens (10) scored the other goal for Buffalo while Jaccob Slavin (3) and Martin Necas (16) got on the board for Carolina. The Sabres (17-22-5) have now won three of their last four while the Canes (26-16-3) have lost three of their last five.
The two will meet again for their second of three matchups on February 27th.
Oilers 5-3 Wild
The Wild got out ahead thanks to a pair of power-play goals from Matt Boldy (17) and Marco Rossi (17) to start the first period. But the Oilers quickly responded with two goals of their own from Zach Hyman (15) and Connor McDavid (17).
Ryan Hartman (7) got the Wild started in the second to extend the lead to 3-2 before the Oilers took that personally. Edmonton poured on three straight goals from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (12), Vasily Podkolzin (6), and Connor McDavid (18).
Edmonton (28-13-3) has now won seven of their last eight games and are just two points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for first place in the Pacific Division. Meanwhile, the Wild (27-14-4) dropped their second straight game and their third in the last four games.