Sabres Smother Blackhawks In Front Of Sellout Crowd

The Buffalo Sabres appeared as if a weight had been lifted off of their shoulders after snapping their 13-game winless skid against the NY Islanders before the NHL’s Christmas break, bolting out to a 4-0 first-period lead against the Chicago Blackhawks and winning their second straight 6-2 in front of a post-holiday sellout crowd at KeyBank Center on Friday. Alex Tuch posted a hat trick in the win in a contest in which Buffalo chased Hawks starter Petr Mrazek and pelted Chicago with 35 shots but also limited them to 17 shots in the game.

"I thought only giving up two shots in the first period showed our willingness to play good defense, to get pucks in, to not make mistakes that we've been prone to making during that 13-game losing streak," Tuch said after the game. “A lot of guys played really well. Playing that defense first is going to cause us to get some turnovers and some odd-man rushes, that we were able to capitalize on tonight and it was the key to our game tonight."

The Sabres uncharacteristically were able to get some balanced scoring throughout their lineup, as Zach Benson opened the scoring halfway through the first period and the line of Jack Quinn, Dylan Cozens, and JJ Peterka contributed a pair of tallies.

"You look at those lines and how they seem to be gaining a little bit of traction when it comes to plays up ice and spreading the zone out," Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said. "I know they gave us quite a few rush opportunities, which I thought we took advantage of, but it's great to get the scoring from where we're getting it."

The contest was not without concern, as the Sabres were unable to finish off the Hawks after pulling Mrazek in favor of Arvid Soderblom after 20 minutes. Chicago’s Tyler Bertuzzi scored late in the middle frame, and Seth Jones early in the third, which brought back bad memories of Buffalo’s collapse against the Colorado Avalanche earlier this month. The Hawks had a chance to narrow the gap to 4-3 on a power play seconds after the Jones goal, but the Sabres killed off the penalty and Tuch scored after escaping the sin bin to squash any momentum Chicago had.

The Sabres will practice on Saturday before heading out on a four-game road swing to finish off 2024 in St.Louis and Dallas and start off 2025 in Colorado and Vegas.

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