Blackhawks 3, Sabres 2 (OT)
CHICAGO — The Buffalo Sabres left United Center with one point Thursday night, and a gripe. Ryan Donato scored 3:12 into overtime to lift the Chicago Blackhawks to a 3-2 win, capping a comeback from two one-goal deficits — and the game-winner came right after a play the Sabres felt should have been whistled dead.
Owen Power was chasing Donato in the defensive zone when Chicago’s Anton Frondell backed into Power and knocked the Buffalo defenseman down. By the time Power was back on his skates, Donato had found the high slot and beaten Alex Lyon for the winner.
“It’s a penalty in any league. It’s a call you’ve got to get. It’s a call that has to be made,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “Guy turns and sticks his ass out and dumps our guy. Make the call.”
“Obviously, I think that should probably be a penalty,” Power added. “Or at least take both of us.”
A better defensive response, same result
Buffalo (8-7-4) came into the night prioritizing defense after Wednesday’s 8-3 loss to Tampa Bay, and on that front, the Sabres mostly got what they wanted. Chicago was credited with just four rush scoring chances and three odd-man rushes. Tampa Bay, for comparison, had 10 and seven the night before.
The Sabres also survived a scare late in regulation. Chicago’s Andrew Mangiapane got behind Buffalo’s top pair for a breakaway with 1:38 remaining, and Rasmus Dahlin had to hook him to disrupt the shot. The Sabres killed the resulting penalty to secure the point.
“We came into tonight making sure that we weren’t giving up many rush chances and we were on the right side of pucks. I thought we did that,” Tage Thompson said. “Sucks the result being what it was, but definitely, in my opinion, a better response than the last game.”
How it unfolded
Buffalo struck first at 9:00 of the first period, when Josh Norris found a wide-open Owen Power for a goal from the faceoff dot. Chicago tied it a little over three minutes later on the power play, when Connor Bedard set up Frank Nazar for a backdoor tap-in at 12:22.
The Sabres answered on a power play of their own. Tage Thompson scored at 15:46 of the first, with Jack Quinn and Rasmus Dahlin assisting, to put Buffalo back in front 2-1.
After a scoreless second period, Nazar tied it again at 8:22 of the third, tipping a Sam Rinzel point shot past Lyon for his second goal of the night. Buffalo managed just five shots in the third period, which it entered with a 2-1 lead, and none in overtime.
Donato’s overtime winner, assisted by Frondell and Rinzel, snapped Chicago’s six-game losing streak. The Blackhawks improved to 5-13-1. The season series is tied 1-1 — Buffalo won the first meeting 4-3 on Oct. 3.
Lyon’s season debut
Alex Lyon made his season debut in net for Buffalo after a preseason upper-body injury and an October setback delayed his first start. He stopped 22 of 25 shots, and his biggest save came with five seconds remaining in regulation, when he gloved a dangerous Connor Bedard wrister on the power play to force overtime.
“(Felt) good. Pretty comfortable,” Lyon said. “I just put a lot of work here in the last couple weeks, so felt nice that it kind of paid off. It’s kind of a perfect storm when you don’t win and you feel good — it’s still a bad feeling. Just have to keep grinding.”
“We all felt for Lyno,” Thompson said. “It’s nice to see him back in the cage there. He’s such a competitor. He’s a guy that wants to be in the pipes and wants to be a difference maker. And he was. He held us in the game for a long time there.”
Chicago’s Spencer Knight stopped 21 of 23 shots. The Blackhawks outshot Buffalo 25-23. Chicago went 1-for-3 on the power play; Buffalo went 1-for-4.
Quinn keeps producing
Jack Quinn assisted on both first-period Sabres goals, giving him 19 points (9 goals, 10 assists) on the season. Quinn raced into the offensive zone and kept possession after being knocked down to help set up Power’s goal, then poked a pass out to Thompson for the power-play goal despite being pinned against the half wall.
Where the Sabres stand
Winless in their last three games (0-2-1), the Sabres sit four points behind the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot. It’s still less than a quarter of the way through the season, but Buffalo can’t wait around to find its stride in a crowded Atlantic Division.
“Getting the point is okay,” Ruff said, “but we’ve got to start winning games.”
“We’re just going to focus one game at a time,” Thompson said. “Same kind of mentality we had last year when we started to get hot. I don’t think we’re looking to go on a miracle run like we did last year; I think we’re looking to be more consistent.”
Next 5 Sabres games
The Sabres continue their six-game, 11-day road trip — the longest of the season:
- Saturday, Nov. 14 — at Dallas Stars, 8:00 p.m. ET, American Airlines Center, ESPN+
- Tuesday, Nov. 17 — at Philadelphia Flyers, 7:00 p.m. ET, Xfinity Mobile Arena
- Thursday, Nov. 19 — at Washington Capitals, 7:00 p.m. ET, Capital One Arena
- Saturday, Nov. 21 — at Florida Panthers, 6:00 p.m. ET, Amerant Bank Arena
- Sunday, Nov. 22 — at Tampa Bay Lightning, 5:00 p.m. ET, Benchmark International Arena