At the Horn | Sabres 3 - Blackhawks 0

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 19 saves for his second consecutive shutout and the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-0 inside KeyBank Center on Thursday.

Luukkonen extended his shutout streak to 157:55, dating back to the second period of the Sabres’ 1-0 loss to the Vancouver Canucks last Saturday. He made 28 saves to shut out the San Jose Sharks on Monday.

Luukkonen has started four straight games for the Sabres. He’s 5-1-1 in his last seven games played.

Zemgus Girgensons, JJ Peterka, and Rasmus Dahlin scored goals for the Sabres, who won for the fifth time in their last seven games. Ryan Johnson had two assists.

Arvid Soderblom made 28 saves for the Blackhawks.

SCORING SUMMARY

Period 1, 12:27 – Zemgus Girgensons from Ryan Johnson and Peyton Krebs

The Sabres turned in a dominant first period, earning lopsided advantages in shots (13-4) and shot attempts (32-7). They nearly opened the scoring just before the final horn sounded, but Soderblom turned away a deflection by Tuch on a Rasmus Dahlin shot from the point.

Buffalo finally beat Soderblom with another deflection midway through the second period. Girgensons got a piece of Ryan Johnson’s shot from the half wall for his fourth goal of the season.

Period 3, 2:57 – JJ Peterka from Ryan Johnson and Jack Quinn

Peterka doubled the Sabres’ lead shortly after the conclusion of a power play early in the third period. The forward caught a pass from Johnson down low, changed directions to pull away from defenseman Isaak Phillips, and sent a shot from along the goal line in off the mask of Soderblom.

Period 3, 6:06 (PP) – Rasmus Dahlin from Casey Mittelstadt and Alex Tuch

The Sabres were awarded a five-minute power play after Philipp Kurashev was assessed a major penalty for boarding against Erik Johnson behind the Buffalo net.

Dahlin capitalized quickly, burying a shot from the point while Zach Benson screened Soderblom.

HIGHLIGHTS

VICTORY SPEECH

POSTGAME COMMENTS

GAME GALLERY

UP NEXT

The Sabres conclude their six-game homestand on Saturday when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning at KeyBank Center for Kids Takeover Day.

Tickets are available here. 

Pregame coverage on MSG/MSG+ begins at 12 p.m. while the puck drops at 12:30. Radio coverage can be found on WGR 550. 

The first 5,000 kids in attendance for the game will receive a youth-sized Sabres bucket hat. For more information on the day, click here.