TAKEAWAYS: Blackhawks Come Up Short to Sabres

In an effort to try and tie the game in the third period, the Chicago Blackhawks came up one goal short in the 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday night. 

As the team entered the third period tonight at 2-2, the Blackhawks brought on early pressure to take over the lead before Buffalo’s Erik Johnson scored to make it 3-2. However, the Blackhawks struggled to find the back of the night for a chance to send it in overtime. 

“It's frustrating, there are times in a game where I feel like we can dominate it and there's games like that where we feel like we should walk away with a win and end up losing and not getting a point out of it,” Taylor Rayddsh said. 

Sunday’s contest marked the fourth straight loss that Chicago endured where the game was decided by two goals or less.

Nick Foligno described his frustrations with the team’s competitive level throughout the last few games this season and the overall mindset. While the team might keep the score close enough to try and win a game, the “almost moments” don’t count in the records. 

“I just don't think we understand how we have to compete each and every shift,” Foligno said. “It's some of the time right now and that's the result we're getting. We either have to find a way to get that into overtime or win it by playing the right way.” 

Over the Blackhawks’ last seven games, the team tied the score or led as they entered the third period. 

Head coach Luke Richardson noted that he wants to see more life from his players for a full 60 minutes to actually come out of a game with a win. With a mix of younger and veteran players, he knows that they can come together to create more positives to get themselves a foundation to build off on in the next few games. 

“We're going into the third period a lot these days tied, and we don't come out on top,” Richardson said. “So, we got to find a way to be on top of these for a change and just get some life and build off of that.”

Some of the ways that Foligno stated that the team can move in that direction include creating better habits throughout the matchup. Whether it’s helping a teammate out on the ice or finding a way to get on the board, little actions can help create an impact as they look for a victory. 

Once they find the right mindset and take the compete level they have in practice to a game, then they can showcase the potential that the team has. 

“Once we start having those kinds of habits and those kinds of mindsets, it's amazing how the game just starts to come to you,” Foligno said. “Once we get those good habits, this team could do a lot of damage.”