TAKEAWAYS: Seth Jones Secures OT Winner Against Sabres

After trailing heading into the third period at 3-1 to the Buffalo Sabres, Seth Jones would help send the game into overtime to give the Blackhawks a second chance. From there, he would record the game winning goal to record the Blackhawks fourth win out of their last five games.
Head coach Luke Richardson stated the team created a heavy push heading into the third period to start creating those chances.
"We're chasing a little bit in the second, but I thought we really pushed in the third," Richardson said. "I thought [Philipp] Kurashev kind of led the way for us tonight and [Jonathan Toew's] line, they really got us on the board early. But, even in the second period, when we were reeling a little bit, I thought they were consistently turning the tide back for us and that led us to have an opportunity to the third."

COMEBACK WINNER

Chicago struck first for the night after Connor Murphy fired a wrist shot in the first period to put the team up 1-0. However, Buffalo would find ways to sneak some goals past Petr Mrazek to take back their lead, 3-1, heading into the third. Following the second intermission, Mrazek noted that the team was able to regroup and show that they could still win.
"We showed the character of the team and how we can play together," Mrazek said. "We talked after the second period on what to do in the third and to go harder to the net because we didn't have many opportunities in first two periods, but we showed that we can do it."

After coming off a tough loss to Seattle on Saturday night, Jones noted the resiliency that the team has to continue the fight. No matter what the results are, they still want to show up for the fans and looking for ways to improve.
"We're playing for pride, we're playing for our fans and there's no quit in here," Jones said. "As bad as things have gotten, we're always looking to each other to get better and that's what we want to do every day."
The team ended their seven-game homestand on a high note and happy they are able to send fans home with a win. As they prepare to take on Philadelphia and St. Louis on the road, they hope they can keep the success going.
"Especially after last game [against Seattle] like we didn't play the way we [wanted to] and I think we showed a great reaction today," Kurashev said. "Hopefully we can take it with us for the road."

KURASHEV'S CAREER NIGHT

In a career high game, Kurashev recorded three points (1G, 2A) on the night to help the Blackhawks win over the Sabres. With his new tallies, he stated it felt good to help his team and hopefully can carry it over into future contests.
"It definitely gives you a good feeling for sure and to help the team win with that part of the game is fun," Kurashev said. "And hopefully we can keep it going."

Following the matchup, Richardson stated that this game was Kurashev's most consistent game since the beginning of the season. He felt that he has found his confidence that he gained during training camp to earn the points he produced.
"He deserves all the points that he got tonight, I thought he could have even added a few more," Richardson said. "He's a fun guy, he has a smile on his face. He loves the game. He puts in the work and it was really nice to see him really kind of persevere tonight and have a real solid 60-minute effort."

DEFENSE CREATES OFFENSE

The blueliners showed up on the goal sheet for tonight's victory with Murphy's opening goal and Jones finishing the game off with the game-tying and overtime goals. For the 6-foot-4 defenseman, he described the feeling of being able to help not only on defense, but on offense as well.
"It's always nice when the [defense] gets involved and help the forwards out by putting the puck to the net," Jones said. "We haven't done it enough this year, so it's nice to kind of start getting that going for us."

Richardson felt that Jones played a good two-way game tonight by joining on different rushes but also covering the ground with his heavy stick. Moving forward, he hopes to see this move from the defensive units.
"He was good and I think shooting that puck from the blue line and just finding that that lane and it doesn't have to be a booming slap shot,…" Richardson said. "It was great. It was really what we've been trying to get him and defenseman doing all year long,…"