Chicago, Ill. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres ended a rather tumultuous road trip with a victory on Saturday night in the "Windy City".
After allowing 12 goals combined over the last two contests away from home, the Sabres rebounded for a 4-2 win over the Blackhawks at the United Center in Chicago.
The Sabres owned the only two goals of the opening period of play.
First, it was Tage Thompson, who after being denied by the crossbar earlier in the stanza, he was able to fire a quick shot past Blackhawks goalie Arvid Soderblom off a rush to put Buffalo up 1-0.
Minutes later, Beck Malenstyn was in the right place at the right time in front of the Blackhawks' net. A bounding puck went in off Malenstyn's foot, which was good enough for the forward's first goal as a member of the Sabres.
The majority of the second period came up all Blackhawks, specifically Craig Smith. In a span of about six minutes of game time, the veteran forward netted his first two goals of the 2024-25 season to tie things up at 2-2 in Chicago.
The blue and gold answered back before the end of the second period, though, and was able to enjoy a 3-2 lead heading into the final frame.
With 1:23 left in the second, Thompson was able to locate JJ Peterka all alone in front, and the winger kept his strong start going with his fourth goal of the season.
From there, the Sabres held off the Blackhawks in the third period.
A late attack, which bled into Chicago pulling its goalie in the waning moments, was thwarted by Ryan McLeod. His third goal in as many games sealed things for the Sabres in a 4-2 win.
Takeaways
Peterka has come back strong in three games after sitting out two with a concussion. Buffalo forward Jordan Greenway sat out Saturday night with a lower-body injury.
Chicago forwards Patrick Maroon (undisclosed minor injury) and Joey Anderson (illness) didn't play.
Key moment
Luukkonen stopped Philipp Kurashev's drive from the slot with 1:44 left in the third and Teuvo Teravainen's deflection with 55 seconds remaining to preserve the lead. Soderblom was on the bench for an extra attacker.
Key stat
Buffalo went 0 for 4 on the power play and dropped to 0 for 21 with the man advantage for the season. The Sabres are 6-0-1 against Chicago in their last seven meetings.
Up next
The Sabres face Dallas on Tuesday night to start a four-gameTakeawaysPeterka has come back strong in three games after sitting out two with a concussion. Buffalo forward Jordan Greenway sat out Saturday night with a lower-body injury.
Chicago forwards Patrick Maroon (undisclosed minor injury) and Joey Anderson (illness) didn't play.
Key moment
Luukkonen stopped Philipp Kurashev's drive from the slot with 1:44 left in the third and Teuvo Teravainen's deflection with 55 seconds remaining to preserve the lead. Soderblom was on the bench for an extra attacker.
Key stat
Buffalo went 0 for 4 on the power play and dropped to 0 for 21 with the man advantage for the season. The Sabres are 6-0-1 against Chicago in their last seven meetings.
Up next
The Sabres face Dallas on Tuesday night to start a four-game
SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: 8:39 - Tage Thompson (4) (JJ Peterka, Alex Tuch); 11:31 - Beck Malenstyn (1) (Connor Clifton, Peyton Krebs)
CHI: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 18:37 - JJ Peterka (4) (Tage Thompson, Owen Power)
CHI: 6:28 - Craig Smith (1) (Lukas Reichel, Seth Jones); 12:48 - Craig Smith (2) (Lukas Reichel)
Third Period:
BUF: 19:34 - Ryan McLeod (3) ENG (Dylan Cozens)
CHI: NONE
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Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Craig Smith - CHI
2.) JJ Peterka - BUF
3.) Lukas Reichel - CHI
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What's next:
The Sabres return to Buffalo to host the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night at KeyBank Center. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call on the radio home of the Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.