In undoubtedly their worst performance of the season, the Chicago Blackhawks were thrashed 9-3 by the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Friday night.
The Blackhawks still looked shell-shocked from what occurred in the third period on Thursday, where they blew a 2-0 lead and let two points slip away against the Seattle Kraken. They played as if their minds were elsewhere in Buffalo, as it was one of the few uncompetitive outings from the young group this year.
“Unacceptable on our part not to be prepared mentally to play,” veteran defenseman Connor Murphy said after the game. “You can have lapses and have games where you don’t have your best, but there is no excuse for how we played tonight.”
The first of eight back-to-backs in the 2025-26 campaign did not treat the Blackhawks kindly, as the strong momentum they established during a six-game point streak quickly vanished in the span of 24 hours. After letting Seattle off the ropes in the front end, the Hawks traveled to Western New York and got embarrassed by the Sabres in the back end. It’s the first time they’ve lost two straight games in regulation during Jeff Blashill’s tenure.
From start to finish, the Blackhawks were never on their A-game on Friday. They played 60 minutes of ugly hockey, as turnovers, defensive breakdowns, and shaky goaltending were the themes of the night. The Sabres scored three goals in each of the three periods, and their nine goals in the game were the most the Blackhawks have allowed since 2011.
“Obviously, it’s a tough one for us,” Blashill said. “We didn’t have it physically… sometimes, when you don’t have your best [game], you have to make sure mentally you’re dialed in. We weren’t dialed in enough.”
After the letdown against the Kraken on Thursday, the Blackhawks had an opportunity to swiftly bounce back against a Sabres squad that’s in last place in the Eastern Conference. The same Sabres that just lost 6-2 on Wednesday to the Calgary Flames, the worst team in the NHL. Instead, what could have been a motivating turnaround has developed into a somewhat concerning two-game stretch. The Blackhawks have now surrendered a whopping 12 goals in the last 80 minutes of play.
Here are the highlights from the Blackhawks’ blowout loss in Buffalo.
FIRST PERIOD
Friday’s contest fittingly began with a clear, uncalled penalty on Tage Thompson, who caught Tyler Bertuzzi with a high stick along the boards. The officials have NOT been friendly to the Blackhawks recently. This was yet another missed call.
Buffalo came racing out of the gates with a purpose, while the Blackhawks were playing similarly to the third period on Thursday. Thanks to several clutch early stops from Arvid Soderblom, they survived the opening half of the period without falling behind. But Soderblom could only hold up for so long, and the Sabres’ top line ended up cashing in to grab a 1-0 lead.
With the Blackhawks still on their heels just over one minute later, Oliver Moore committed a costly turnover in the defensive zone while trying to stickhandle up the ice. Jack Quinn jumped on the puck and set up Jason Zucker in front of Soderblom to double the Sabres’ lead. 2-0.
Things started getting ugly in a hurry, as the Sabres added a third unanswered goal to jump ahead 3-0 on the power play. Bowen Byram was left all alone at the far post, and Alex Tuch made a perfect pass to put the puck on the defenseman’s tape.
In a similar manner to the third period against Seattle, the Blackhawks trailed 14-2 in shots on goal following Byram’s tally. Fortunately, they were able to momentarily stop the bleeding, as Tyler Bertuzzi knocked home a rebound to cut the deficit to 3-1. Bertuzzi has now registered a point in each of the last six games he’s played.
Connor Bedard➡️Sam Rinzel➡️Tyler Bertuzzi🚨
Bertuzzi puts home Rinzel’s rebound for his 11th goal of the season & 8th in his last 6 games to give the #Blackhawks a much-needed goal late in the period.pic.twitter.com/rc5YO0CKVO
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) November 22, 2025
Despite the putrid start to the game, the Blackhawks had a little wind in their sails going into the intermission.
SECOND PERIOD
The beginning of the second period didn’t go much better than the first, as the Blackhawks continued to be trapped in their own end and couldn’t get much of anything going offensively.
During an extended sequence in the defensive zone, Sam Rinzel lost a battle along the boards to Zucker, while Moore and Teuvo Teravainen were caught puck watching. That allowed Ryan McLeod to skate right down broadway and beat Soderblom with a shot to extend the lead to 4-1.
Clearly, Blashill’s bunch was deflated after giving up that goal, as Seattle added to their lead just eight seconds later to make it 5-1. Mattias Samuelsson’s shot from the point appeared to get redirected off Louis Crevier in front of the net.
Connor Bedard was visibly frustrated with the situation that was unfolding, as he threw a rare shoulder-check into Sabres’ forward Noah Ostlund.
Near the midway point of the game, the Blackhawks finally showed some signs of life and picked up their play for a brief stretch. They strung together a few quality shifts in the Sabres’ end, and then Alex Vlasic wired a one-timer past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to make it a three-goal game. Ryan Greene made a marvelous play to dance through traffic and find Vlasic at the point for his second goal of the season.
Sam Rinzel➡️Ryan Greene➡️Alex Vlasic🚨
Greene dances through a few defenders & feeds Vlasic for a one-timer to cut the #Blackhawks deficit to 5-2. 2nd goal of the season for Vlasic. Rinzel picks up his 2nd assist of the game.pic.twitter.com/n1pfZ8IOY2
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) November 22, 2025
On the following shift, Bedard had a breakaway opportunity to further cut into the deficit, but UPL reached out with his left pad and stopped a stuff shot to keep the score at 5-2. What could have been if Bedard scored here?
The nail in the coffin came with 2:29 remaining in the middle frame, as Josh Doan netted his second goal of the game to restore Buffalo’s four-goal advantage. The Sabres were ahead 6-2 going into the third period and led 21-4 in scoring chances on the night.
THIRD PERIOD
Credit to the Blackhawks for coming out of the second intermission still fighting. In the first minute of the third period, Bertuzzi recorded his second goal of the game and 12th of the season by deflecting Bedard’s shot from the blue line. Frank Nazar also extended his point streak to four games with the secondary assist.
Frank Nazar➡️Connor Bedard➡️Tyler Bertuzzi🚨
Bertuzzi deflects Bedard’s shot for his 2nd goal of the game & 12th of the season to make it 6-3. Bertuzzi also has 9 goals now in his last 6 games. Bedard with his 2nd assist of the night. #Blackhawkspic.twitter.com/PXSy6m59OP
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) November 22, 2025
Sadly, the Blackhawks weren’t able to make much of a push after that. In fact, things only got worse after Bertuzzi’s second goal. It didn’t take long for the Sabres to respond back, as Tage Thompson drove the net and beat Soderblom with a wrist shot from in tight. Touchdown, Buffalo.
Poor Soderblom was hung out to dry and remained in the game, as Spencer Knight was just in action the previous night. Blashill likely didn’t want to throw Knight into a game that was already lost, so Soderblom had to tough it out. Unfortunately for him, the Sabres never took their foot off the gas until the final horn sounded.
Quinn made it 8-3 after having far too much time and space to work with in the Blackhawks’ zone. The clock couldn’t strike triple zeroes fast enough.
To add insult to injury, Jacob Bryson carded the ninth and final goal of the evening for the home team with just under four minutes to play. Moore, Nazar, and Teravainen were on the ice again for the visitors, and all three players finished the game with a minus-four plus-minus rating.
If you watched this game all the way until the very end, you’re an absolute trooper. I apologize on behalf of the Blackhawks for having wasted your Friday night.
It’s not going to get any easier for the Hawks moving forward, as they return to action on Sunday afternoon against the red-hot Colorado Avalanche at the United Center. Nathan MacKinnon is currently leading the league in points, and the Avs have rattled off seven consecutive victories. It’s a massive Central-Division tilt in the Windy City.
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