PREVIEW: Blackhawks Travel to Buffalo Friday Night

TIME: 6:00 p.m.
TV: ESPN2
RADIO: WGN-720-AM | Blackhawks App

The Blackhawks take on the Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo on Friday for their final matchup of the season. More information on how to watch Blackawks games can be found at Blackhawks.com/HowtoWatch.

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

The Blackhawks are 16-5-2 in their last 23 games against Buffalo since 2010-11. Chicago is also 6-2-2 in their last 10 games at KeyBank Center. A former Sabre, Taylor Hall posted 19 points (2G, 17A) in 37 games with Buffalo during the 2020-21 season. During their last meeting on Oct. 19, Lukas Reichel recorded two assists, while Seth Jones and Connor Murphy each tallied an assist during a 4-2 loss to the Sabres at the United Center.

LAST TIME OUT

Despite outshooting Minnesota 31-27 in the game, the Blackhawks dropped a 4-3 decision to the Wild on Monday evening. Taylor Hall posted two assists while Nick Foligno scored once and now has points (1G, 1A) in back-to-back games. Connor Bedard scored his ninth goal of the season and Jason Dickinson also found the back of the net. Frank Nazar tallied his first career NHL assist while Alex Vlasic led all game skaters with 24:52 of time on ice and led all Blackhawks with five shots on goal.

LECTURE HALL

Forward Taylor Hall notched two assists against Minnesota and has four helpers over his last two games and eight points (2G, 6A) over his last eight games. It's the first time he's recorded back-to-back multi-point games since Dec. 17-19, 2022 as a member of the Boston Bruins. Hall now ranks fourth on the club with 18 points in 34 games this season.

DICTIONARY.COM

Jason Dickinson scored versus the Wild and led all game skaters with five hits. He now ranks third among all team forwards with 52 hits in 35 games this season and is currently on pace for the fifth 100+ hit season of his NHL career. He also went 9-for-11 (81.8%) in the faceoff circle against Minnesota, which led all game skaters.

MURPH AND TURF

Chicago defenseman Connor Murphy shared first among all game skaters with three blocked shots and now ranks sixth in the NHL with 87 blocked shots in 35 games during the 2024-25 campaign. He also posted four hits against Minnesota and ranks second on the team with 64 hits this season. He comes into Friday's game with three points (1G, 2A) over his last five games.