CHICAGO--The Blackhawks faced off against Sabres Saturday night at the United Center following 4-2 home opener win on Thursday.
In a scrambly first period, they fell behind by two goals. Buffalo opened the scoring at 8:38 when Tage Thompson rushed through the neutral zone and fired a shot past Arvid Soderblom. Just three minutes later, a lucky deflection off Beck Malenstyn's skate extended Buffalo's lead. Despite the score, the Blackhawks outshot the Sabres 12-9 in the period and killed off a power play
Chicago came out with renewed energy in the second period. Craig Smith scored his first goal with the team, converting a pass from Lukas Reichel, who registered his first point of the season. The Blackhawks continued to apply pressure, with Smith netting his second goal of the game, again assisted by Reichel, to tie the score. With just 1:23 left in the period, JJ Peterka responded for Buffalo, reclaiming the lead. Chicago outshot Buffalo 13-8 in the second frame and held firm on the penalty kill, going 2-for-2.
The Blackhawks couldn’t find a way past the Sabres' goaltender to level the score in the third period. A late penalty kill with five and a half minutes remaining kept them in the game, but Buffalo added an insurance goal in the final seconds to secure the 4-2 win.
Despite the loss, Chicago’s fourth line—featuring Reichel, Andreas Athanasiou, and Smith—proved effective, accounting for both goals. Soderblom made his second start of the season, and the Blackhawks finished the night with a season-high 37 shots on goal, outshooting the Sabres 37-22.
