Chicago, Ill. (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Sabres' three-game winless streak is a thing of the past, as the blue and gold held off the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night by a final score of 3-2 at the United Center.
The Sabres opened the scoring less than five minutes into the contest. Buffalo had the Blackhawks hemmed in their own zone, and Chicago finally bent when Zach Benson found Rasmus Dahlin for the blue liner's fourth goal of the season.
The Blackhawks evened the score 3:28 into the second period when Taylor Raddysh netted his third goal of the campaign. It was seconds after a Chicago power play had expired.
Later in the frame, another hard-working shift from the Benson-Casey Mittelstadt-JJ Peterka line produced a power play for the Sabres, and they were able to capitalize on the man advantage, which was a welcome sign for the group.
Some pretty passing opened up space to the right of Blackhawks goalie Petr Mrazek, and Jeff Skinner took advantage for his eighth of the season.
The Sabres were unable to take their lead into the third period of play, as Chicago's Philipp Kurashev beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with 2:32 left in the period off a juicy rebound from a Connor Bedard shot. That tied the game at 2-2 heading into the second intermission.
The blue and gold took their third lead of the evening just past the midway point of the third period of play, and it came from an unlikely source on a slick shot.
Defenseman Erik Johnson snuck down to the left circle and sniped his second goal as a member of the Sabres high past Mrazek.
Johnson's goal eventually served as the game-winner, as the Sabres survived a late-game push by the Blackhawks with their goalie pulled for about the final 2:15 of game action.
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SCORING SUMMARY:
First Period:
BUF: 4:53 - Rasmus Dahlin (4) (Zach Benson, JJ Peterka)
CHI: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 10:55 - Jeff Skinner (8) PPG (Rasmus Dahlin, JJ Peterka)
CHI: 3:28 - Taylor Raddysh (3) (Philipp Kurashev, Nick Foligno); 17:28 - Philipp Kurashev (4) (Connor Bedard, Lukas Reichel)
Third Period:
BUF: 10:36 - Erik Johnson (2) (Casey Mittelstadt, Rasmus Dahlin)
CHI: NONE
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Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Rasmus Dahlin - BUF
2.) Erik Johnson - BUF
3.) Philipp Kurashev - CHI
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What's next:
The Sabres will travel to the nation's capital on Wednesday to face the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. EST with pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. EST with Schopp and the Bulldog.