Blackhawks Blasted 5-1 By Sabres, Disastrous Homestand Continues

· Yahoo Sports

The Chicago Blackhawks dropped a third consecutive game during their season-ending four-game homestand, losing 5-1 to the Buffalo Sabres at the United Center on Monday. The Blackhawks have now been outscored 17-6 on home ice over the last three games.

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Against a Sabres squad looking to clinch the Atlantic Division with a win, the Blackhawks were simply unable to match their opponent’s intensity throughout the course of the game. They were also the far sloppier group between the two, looking incapable of stringing even two consecutive passes together. Offensively, it was one of the worst performances of the year, and that’s saying something. The Hawks recorded a measly 16 shots on goal and were credited with only seven high-danger scoring chances. As a team, they racked up a whopping 23 giveaways.

Their lone goal of the night came in the opening minutes from Ryan Greene, giving his team an early 1-0 lead with a shorthanded tally. But after that point, the offense couldn’t get anything going, even when star forward Connor Bedard was on the ice. For just the fourth time this season, Bedard failed to record a single shot on goal. He had only two shot attempts in 22:31 of ice time.

Between Bedard, Frank Nazar, Nick Lardis, and Tyler Bertuzzi, the four players combined for two shots on goal and six giveaways on Monday. None of the four made a positive impact, with poor puck management and decision making leading to limited offensive-zone time from the team’s most dangerous players.

It also didn’t help that the Blackhawks power play was putrid against the Sabres, as they failed to convert on any of their five opportunities, including a 5-on-3 where they had over one minute to work with. That chance occurred early in the third period, when the deficit was still only one. But instead of tying the game, or at least building some momentum, the man advantage couldn’t generate a single threatening scoring chance. Somehow, standout rookie Anton Frondell didn’t receive any one-timer looks from the right circle, as the top unit seemed content with keeping the puck on the outside and trying to create the perfect play.

That plan backfired rather quickly, as just moments after the 5-on-3 expired, the Sabres raced down the other end of the ice and extended their lead to two. The momentum the Blackhawks were seeking was now on Buffalo’s side, which is where it remained until the final horn sounded.

Following Greene’s goal, the Sabres rattled off five unanswered over the final 56 minutes and cruised to a Division title on Monday. Tage Thompson was responsible for two of those five tallies, giving him 40 goals for the third time in the last four years. Alex Tuch, who racked up four assists in a 9-3 win over the Blackhawks back in late November, added another two on Monday.

The postgame locker room vibes between the Blackhawks and Sabres couldn’t have been any different. For Lindy Ruff’s bunch, they were celebrating the organization’s first division title since 2010, with adult beverages and laughs flowing into the hallways at the United Center. For Jeff Blashill’s team, they suffered another gut-punch and were just boo’d off the ice by the home fans. Naturally, there wasn’t much chatter going on afterwards, coming off a third straight multi-goal defeat in their own building.

Here are the highlights from the Blackhawks 5-1 loss to the Sabres, dropping their record to 28-39-14 through 81 games. Only one more to go, and it’s Wednesday against San Jose.

FIRST PERIOD

After Sam Rinzel was whistled for high-sticking Jason Zucker at 3:44, the Blackhawks’ penalty kill hit the ice for the first time and created the team’s only offense of the night. Off the defensive-zone faceoff, Ilya Mikheyev lugged the puck from end to end and found Greene streaking to the front of the net for his 11th goal of the season at 3:58. It’s Chicago’s sixth shorthanded goal of the year as a team. 1-0.

Neither side strung much together in the opening period, but the Sabres finished with a noticeable push and managed to tie the game before the intermission. Greene committed a turnover at his own blue line, and then Josh Doan found Josh Norris at the left circle at 19:02. 1-1.

The score remained tied 1-1 going into the intermission, while the Sabres held a slight 6-5 edge in scoring chances. Buffalo was also ahead 9-3 in scoring chances, with most coming in the final three minutes of the period.

SECOND PERIOD

The Sabres were pressuring the Blackhawks shift after shift to begin the second period, and they finally broke through to grab the lead shortly after the midway point. Louis Crevier couldn’t control a puck at his skates, leading to a turnover. Tage Thompson scooped up the loose puck and fired a shot five-hole on Knight at 13:00, putting Buffalo ahead 2-1.

Thompson had the lone tally in the period, with the Sabres maintaining their 2-1 lead going into the second intermission. The Blackhawks were credited with only four shots in the period and got out-chanced 12-6.

THIRD PERIOD

Following two unsuccessful power-play attempts by the Blackhawks, Buffalo extended their lead to 3-1 via an Tuch breakaway. Tuch split Alex Vlasic and Louis Crevier, took in a stretch pass from Rasmus Dahlin, then snipped a shot past Knight at 5:38. Three unanswered goals for the Sabres.

Thompson made it four unanswered goals for the Sabres with his second of the game and 40th of the season, blasting a one-timer from Dahlin past Knight’s blocker at 11:13. 4-1, Sabres.

To add insult to injury, Ryan McLeod added a fifth unanswered goal with just 1:25 remaining in the game, putting the Sabres ahead 5-1. Kaiser turned over the puck in his own zone, then Buffalo executed a perfect passing play in transition. McLeod finished off a pass from Zach Benson to secure the Division title.

The final horn sounded at the United Center, sending the Blackhawks to a fourth consecutive loss. They’ll look to avoid getting swept during their four-game homestand in the season finale on Wednesday against the San Jose Sharks.

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