Blackhawks try to fend off Sabres' charge to the top of the Atlantic

Chicago Blackhawks (28-38-14, 70 pts) vs Buffalo Sabres (49-23-8, 106 pts)
7:30 pm CT – United Center
TV: CHSN (Ball/Pang)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)

Head coach Jeff Blashill was hopeful the final four games of the season would show Chicago Blackhawks fans just how good this young team can and will be. Halfway through those games, it hasn’t gone very well. They have been outscored 12-5 in back-to-back losses to the Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres.

Now the Buffalo Sabres come to town, who blew them out 9-3 back in November. That was long before the Sabers made the transition from a bottom-feeder to one of the top teams in the NHL. They are currently sitting atop the Atlantic Division after being last in the Eastern Conference on Dec. 17. They can clinch the Atlantic title with a regulation win tonight, or with a Tampa Bay Lightning loss or a win beyond regulation. There is a big difference between playing either the Boston Bruins or the Ottawa Senators in the first round and playing the Lightning or the Montreal Canadiens.

The Blackhawks have enjoyed hosting the Sabres over the years. They are 11-3-0 in their last 14 games at the United Center. However, Buffalo is on a five-game winning streak against the Blackhawks and has points in nine straight. They have a 25-9 edge in scoring in the last five games. The last regulation win for the Blackhawks over the Sabres came on Nov. 17, 2019.

Spencer Knight is 4-1-0 in his career against them, with a 2.47 goals-against average (GAA) and .916 save percentage (SV%). One win over the last two games will give him a new career-high of 19. In the other crease, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is 5-0-0 against the Blackhawks in his career with a 1.80 GAA and .926 SV%. A win tonight will make him and Andrei Vasilevskiy the only two goaltenders in NHL history to win their first six career starts against the Blackhawks.

Nazar Good to Go

Frank Nazar has had a rough season. He suffered a lower-body injury in November from a cross-check to the leg. Just when he was looking fully recovered from that, he broke his jaw from being hit with a puck. Late in the second period on Saturday, he got a deflected puck in the face again and quickly threw his stick and gloves down in frustration.

The young forward was on the ice for today’s morning skate, sporting a full cage to protect his face. He avoided a serious injury, but was sporting quite the cut on his lower lip and told us he lost his two front teeth. He was in good spirits and will be in the lineup tonight.

Defense Back to Full Strength

Ethan Del Mastro was a late scratch on Saturday with an upper-body injury, which forced head coach Jeff Blashill to play Sam Lafferty on defense. Del Mastro returned to the ice this morning and is expected to play tonight. Thankfully, the Lafferty-on-the-blue-line experiment will only be for one game.

Del Mastro will be back with Kevin Korchinski tonight, as the young duo has formed a solid third pairing in their limited time. In their six games together, they have a 46.94 Corsi for percentage (CF%), which is the sixth-highest among defensive pairings with at least 60 minutes together at 5-on-5. In 67:45 of ice time, they have only surrendered 10 high-danger scoring chances and two goals. That is a lot better than anyone had expected.

Season Series

11/21 @ BUF, 3-9 L
4/13 vs BUF

Blackhawks Team Leaders

G-Tyler Bertuzzi (32)
A-Connor Bedard (43)
P-Bedard (73)
PPG-Bertuzzi (11)
GWG-Bedard (5)
SOG-Bedard (226)
PIM-Louis Crevier (61)

Sabres Team Leaders

G-Tage Thompson (38)
A-Thompson (41)
P-Thompson (79)
PPG-Jason Zucker (10)
GWG-Zucker (7)
SOG-Thompson (266)
PIM-Logan Stanley (126)

Blackhawks Team Stats

GF/G-2.55 (31st)
GA/G-3.29 (268th)
PP%-17.5 (26th)
PK%-83.6 (2nd)
SOG/G-24.7 (32nd)
SA/G-30.2 (31st)
FO%-46.0 (31st)
PIM/G-8:48 (18th)

Sabres Team Stats

GF/G-3.44 (5th)
GA/G-2.95 (11th)
PP%-19.9 (18th)
PK%-81.7 (6th)
SOG/G-28.3 (12th)
SA/G-29.2 (23rd)
FO%-45.7 (32nd)
PIM/G-9:45 (26th)

Blackhawks Probable Lines

Forwards

Ryan Greene-Connor Bedard-Nick Lardis
Tyler Bertuzzi-Anton Frondell-Ilya Mikheyev
Ryan Donato-Frank Nazar-Andre Burakovsky
Andrew Mangiapane-Sacha Boisvert-Teuvo Teravainen

Defensemen

Alex Vlasic-San Rinzel
Wyatt Kaiser-Louis Crevier
Kevin Korchinski-Ethan Del Mastro

Scratched

F-Sam Lafferty, F-Dominic Toninato, F-Landon Slaggert

Injured

F-Oliver Moore (lower body), D-Matt Grzelcyk (upper body), D-Artyom Levshunov (hand)

Sabres Probable Lines

Forwards

Peyton Krebs-Tage Thompson-Alex Tuch
Jason Zucker-Ryan McLeod-Tanner Pearson
Zach Benson-Josh Norris-Josh Doan
Jordan Greenway-Tyson Kozak-Beck Malenstyn

Defensemen

Rasmus Dahlin-Mattias Samuelsson
Bowen Byram-Owen Power
Zach Metsa-Logan Stanley