The Chicago Blackhawks and the Buffalo Sabres met for the second time this season, and both teams are in the bottom three of the standings, so it wasn’t meant to be a barn burner… or so people thought.
It’s not secret the Sabres have endured a lot this season, as they recently had a 13-game losing streak that was broken against the New York Islanders on Dec. 23. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks were on a two-game losing streak. They hoped not to suffer another disappointing loss, as their 4-2 loss to Buffalo in October was one of their most dispirited efforts of the season.
Somehow for the Blackhawks, it was a worse effort, in a 6-2 loss to the Sabres.
Sabres Blank Blackhawks in First Period
The first period was one of the ugliest from the Blackhawks this season while simultaneously one of the best for the Sabres. The Blackhawks were very “off” defensively, leaving Buffalo wide open in front, which led to an opening goal from Zach Benson.
Alex Tuch and Zach Quinn scored 15 seconds apart to make the score 3-0. Then Connor Bedard fumbled the puck with less than a minute left in the first, which led to a final rush for the Sabres. Dylan Cozens made it 4-0. They were firing on all cylinders and cycling, which made the Blackhawks uncomfortable all period.
Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was taking a nap on the other end of the ice, as the Blackhawks had only two shots on goal coming from Bedard and Philipp Kurashev. Kurashev’s shot came with three minutes left in the period, which was good for him, considering he was healthy scratched the previous four games. It was an encouraging way to make a statement. He was a bright spot for Chicago all game.
Otherwise, the Blackhawks had nothing, and the Sabres had everything to start.
Blackhawks Show Some Bite In Second
The Blackhawks made a goaltending change to start the second period, swapping Petr Mrazek for Arvid Soderblom. Mrazek didn’t have his best stuff in the first period, so that was no surprise.
They say a goaltending change is a wakeup call for a team, and as far as changing momentum, it wasn’t a bad period for Chicago. Granted, it couldn’t get worse. They had eight shots on goal to the Sabres’ 11 shots. The Blackhawks, as they have done very successfully lately, killed off a TJ Brodie penalty. Captain Nick Foligno also started two different scrums with Buffalo in hopes of bringing more energy.
Related: Projected Lineups for Blackhawks vs Sabres – 12/27/24
Then, Chicago finally got on the board after a beautiful rush from Taylor Hall, Connor Bedard, and Tyler Bertuzzi, with Bertuzzi’s goal making it 4-1. You hope to see that from a top line in a lopsided game.
However, it wasn’t a bad period for the Sabres, either. They had some pressure, like from JJ Peterka and Owen Power, but could not pile onto their lead.
Sabres Break Blackhawks Momentum
About three minutes into the third period, Seth Jones scored off of a great pass from Pat Maroon, which made the score 4-2. It seemed like it might get interesting because the Sabres’ Alex Tuch took a penalty. The Blackhawks often make strong pushes in the third period, so if they could’ve made it 4-3, who knows how that would have turned out?
Yet, the Sabres killed the penalty, and then Tuch scored out of the penalty box to make it 5-2, which was the true nail in the coffin for the Hawks.
Finally, Tuch got the hat trick to make the score 6-2.
The Blackhawks veterans did make some plays with their two goals, but it was Buffalo’s night. They outshot Chicago 35-17 and were the better team. The Hawks will want to flush this one with their losing streak extended to three games, while the Sabres will look to keep building off their two-game win streak.
