The Chicago Blackhawks continued their onslaught of the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night when they beat the Sabres for the 10th consecutive game in the series between these two clubs. The last time the Blackhawks lost to the Buffalo Sabres came back on Dec. 11, 2009. The win-streak at home actually dates back even further with the Blackhawks last home loss to the Sabres coming on Jan. 10, 2007.
The Sabres started the scoring early but the Blackhawks never seemed out of it as the first period progressed. Despite both teams having dealt with injuries all season, the Blackhawks are looking much healthier as of late with only Marcus Kruger missing from the lineup.
A fun fact from the game comes from penalties. There were five penalties in the first two periods, all of which were unique infractions from different players. The first call of the game was against Evander Kane for elbowing. The second came against Zach Bogosian for interference. Michal Kempny was whistled for holding, while the Chicago Blackhawks were called for having too many men on the ice. Brent Seabrook closed out the second period with a hooking call at the 19:52 mark of the frame.
First Period
The Buffalo Sabres got on the board first courtesy of Marcus Foligno scoring his sixth goal of the season at the 7:21 mark of the first frame. It didn’t take long for Foligno to find the back of the net, leading to an early uphill battle for the Blackhawks.
Foligno strikes early for the Sabres and it's 1-0 Buffalo. #CHIvsBUF
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 6, 2017
Ryan Hartman tied the game up at 1-1 with an unassisted goal of his own at 16:20 of the first. It marked Hartman’s seventh goal of the season and gave the Blackhawks some life closing out the first and heading into the second period.
Local product @RHartzy18 makes it happen all by himself… and gets some serious air in the process pic.twitter.com/xWofk1gFzb
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 6, 2017
Second Period
Just like they did in the first period, the Sabres struck first in the second. With just under two minutes to go in the period, Kyle Okposo buried his 12th of the season on the power play from Ryan O’Reilly and Rasmus Ristolainen to give the Sabres the 2-1 lead.
The Sabres convert on the power play and take a 2-1 lead. #CHIvsBUF
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 6, 2017
Not one to go down easy, Artem Anisimov answered just 18 seconds later by scoring a goal of his own from Michal Kempny and Patrick Kane. Anisimov’s tally was his 17th of the season and put him in sole possession of first place on the team in goal scoring.
Terrific turn-around shot from Anisimov. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/hwFaORTEvW
— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) January 6, 2017
The Sabres got the last laugh in the period, however, as Jack Eichel was hooked late by Seabrook, giving the Sabres the early power play to start the third period.
Third Period
The Sabres didn’t take long to capitalize on the power play opportunity they were awarded to close out the second period. Eichel was tripped with just eight seconds left in the second and scored the go-ahead goal for the Sabres just 1:10 into the third period. For the third straight period, the Sabres found the back of the net first.
Eichel tallies the go-ahead goal on the power play for the Sabres. 3-2. #CHIvsBUF
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 6, 2017
In truly dramatic fashion, Artem Anisimov scored at the 17:56 mark of the third period to tie the game up again for the Blackhawks with his second of the game.
Artem Anisimov ties the game for Chicago, his second of the game. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/TcpkRV2zkJ
— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) January 6, 2017
Overtime
Just 56 seconds into the extra frame, Patrick Kane buried his 12th of the season to give the Blackhawks their 10th straight victory against the Buffalo Sabres.
GOAL: Kane 4-3.
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) January 6, 2017
Scoring Summary
FIRST PERIOD
BUF – M. Foligno (6)
CHI – R. Hartman (7)
SECOND PERIOD
BUF – K. Okposo (12) PP assisted by R. O’Reilly and R. Ristolainen
CHI – A. Anisimov (17) assisted by M. Kempny and P. Kane
THIRD PERIOD
BUF – J. Eichel (8) PP assisted by R. O’Reilly and K. Okposo
CHI – A. Anisimov (18) assisted by P. Kane and D. Keith
OVERTIME
CHI – P. Kane (12) assisted by J. Toews
THW Three Stars
First: A. Anisimov (2 goals)
Second: P. Kane (GWG, 2 assists)
Third: K. Okposo (1 goal, 1 assist)
Up Next:
Carolina Hurricanes at Chicago Blackhawks
United Center – 7:30 p.m. CT on Friday, Jan. 6
Broadcast channels – CSN Chicago, NHLN-US
2016-17 Season Series:
Dec. 30 – Blackhawks 2 – Hurricanes 4
Up Next:
Winnipeg Jets at Buffalo Sabres
KeyBank Center – 1:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, Jan. 7
Broadcast channels – MSG-B TSN3
2016-17 Season Series:
Oct. 30 – Sabres 3- Jets 1