Sabres score nine in big win over Blackhawks

Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres gave the home crowd at KeyBank Center plenty to cheer about Friday night against the Chicago Blackhawks, putting up a huge 9-3 victory. Josh Doan led the way with two goals, while Alex Tuch earned four assists in the win.

The Sabres and Blackhawks each had a chance on the power play in the first, but neither team could break through with the man advantage.

The contest remained scoreless until Doan put Buffalo up 1-0, as he slammed home his own rebound.

Buffalo extended its lead, as Jack Quinn jumped on a turnover and found Jason Zucker in the slot to make it a 2-0 game.

Just moments later, while on the power play, the Sabres made it a 3-0 game as Bowen Byram crashed the net and converted on a great feed from Alex Tuch.

Chicago got on the board in the final minutes of the first period, as winger Tyler Bertuzzi found a loose puck in front to make it a 3-1 game after one period of play.

Buffalo continued to carry play early in the second period, as Zucker won a puck battle down low and found Ryan McLeod in front to increase the lead to 4-1.

Just eight seconds later on the next shift, Mattias Samuelsson scored to extend the Sabres' lead to 5-1 on his fifth goal of the season.

Later in the period, Blackhawks defenseman Alex Vlasic scored on a point shot through some traffic to make it a 5-2 game.

Just minutes later, the four-goal lead was restored as Doan scored his second of the night for a 6-2 lead after two periods of play.

The Blackhawks quickly got on the board in the third period, as Bertuzzi scored his second of the game on a deflection in front to cut the Buffalo lead to 6-3 just 24 seconds into the final frame.

The Sabres squashed any momentum from Chicago's early goal, as Tage Thompson cruised in and scored five-hole for the seventh goal of the night.

The puck continued to find the back of the net for Buffalo, as Quinn snapped a wrist shot from the slot, making it 8-3, Sabres.

The goals kept coming with Jacob Bryson scoring his first of the season on a beautiful deke in front of the Chicago net for a 9-3 lead to cap off a big night for Buffalo at KeyBank Center.

In total, nine Sabres players put up a multi-point game, while goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukonen stopped 20 saves in his second win of the season.

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SCORING RECAP

First Period:
BUF: 13:57 - Josh Doan (6) (Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch); 15:19 - Jason Zucker (5) (Jack Quinn); 17:33 - Bowen Byram (4) PPG (Alex Tuch, Ryan McLeod)
CHI: 18:12 - Tyler Bertuzzi (11) (Sam Rinzel, Connor Bedard)

Second Period:
BUF: 5:42 - Ryan McLeod (5) (Jason Zucker, Conor Timmins); 5:50 - Mattias Samuelsson (5) (Isak Rosen, Jacob Bryson); 17:31 - Josh Doan (7) (Rasmus Dahlin, Alex Tuch)
CHI: 14:45 - Alex Vlasic (2) (Ryan Greene, Sam Rinzel)

Third Period:
BUF: 1:56 - Tage Thompson (11) (Alex Tuch); 7:07 - Jack Quinn (4) (Bowen Byram, Jason Zucker); 16:22 - Jacob Bryson (1) (Beck Malenstyn, Jordan Greenway)
CHI: 0:24 - Tyler Bertuzzi (12) PPG (Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar)

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STATS OF THE GAME:

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Blue Star Home Services Three Stars of the Game:

1.) Alex Tuch - BUF
2.) Josh Doan - BUF
3.) Jason Zucker - BUF

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What's next:

The Sabres look to get another win at home as they welcome the Carolina Hurricanes to KeyBank Center on Sunday afternoon for a 1 p.m. faceoff. Catch all of the action on WGR Sports Radio 550, starting with pregame coverage at 12 p.m. with Brian Koziol.