Blackhawks top Sabres in overtime to end five-game slide

CHICAGO-- Gustav Forsling scored with five seconds left in overtime to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 3-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres at United Center on Friday.

"It's a great feeling," Forsling said. "We knew this was coming. We have great confidence in this group. We trust each other. We knew it was going to] come for us. Just have to keep working."
Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford stopped Jack Eichel on a penalty shot after Forsling was penalized for holding on a breakaway at 1:31 of overtime.
[WATCH: [All Sabres vs. Blackhawks highlights]
"I've got a chance to win the game in overtime and I don't do it," Eichel said. "I need to score that goal."
Chicago forward Tommy Wingels tied it 2-2 with 3:22 left in the third period on a shorthanded goal when he redirected Forsling's slap shot from the point

"It was a really good play by [Nick Schmaltz] there, creating a puck battle there, keeping it alive, [Jan Rutta] made a spin-o-rama to [Forsling], and [Forsling] made a heck of a shot tip there," Wingels said. "So good play all around, huge point for us."
The Blackhawks (13-11-5) ended a season-long five-game losing streak and extended their winning streak against the Sabres (7-17-5) to 12 games.
Crawford, who made 26 saves in his return after missing three games with a lower-body injury, is 9-0-0 against Buffalo. Robin Lehner made 48 saves for the Sabres, his season high.

"It's nice to play again, I thought we played a great game," Crawford said. "We didn't really give up that much on their side and we had a lot of chances. It was a big win for us, I think, after a few games."
The Sabres took a 1-0 lead when Jason Pominville tipped in Eichel's shot on the power play with 18 seconds left in the first period. It ended an 0-for-30 drought for Buffalo, which went 10 games without a goal with the man-advantage.
Alex DeBrincat scored on a Chicago power play at 8:30 to tie it 1-1. It was the rookie's 12th goal of the season, which is tied with Artem Anisimov for the Blackhawks lead.
Kyle Okposo gave the Sabres a 2-1 lead 11:00 into the second period.

"We talked about turning our game around and finding a way to get a win no matter what," Wingels said. "It's certainly frustration here from a lot of guys. We're creating some offense, we're playing with more speed tonight, and ultimately [have to] find a way to win. You can play well and lose and the confidence doesn't grow. You've got to find a way to win and we did that. We'll feel good about that tonight and try to keep a streak going here."

Goal of the game

Forsling's goal at 4:55 of overtime.

Save of the game

Crawford's penalty-shot save on Eichel at 1:31 of overtime.

Highlight of the game

Lehner's save on Panik at 19:43 of the second period.

They said it

"[Robin] was really good tonight, especially early. Really sharp, made some really key saves for us to keep it at one goal. It's unfortunate that second goal went in, but it was a solid effort on his part." -- Sabres coach Phil Housley
"No one's panicking in here. We got a lot of skill and we've been playing good games, it's just some tough losses and it's a long season. We can't get down on ourselves and we have to keep working." -- Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford

Need to know

Forsling had two assists for his first three-point game in the NHL. … Eichel has a three-game point streak after having none in his previous three. ... Pominville has two goals in his past three games after going 14 games without one. ... Sharp ended a four-game point drought with an assist, and played 17:41, his third-most this season. ... DeBrincat ranks fourth among NHL rookies with 21 points. ... Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane didn't have a point for the fourth straight game, adding to his longest drought of the season.

What's next

Sabres: At the St. Louis Blues on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; FS-MW, MSG-B, NHL.TV)
Blackhawks: Host the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; WGN, FS-A, NHL.TV)