The Chicago Blackhawks (10-6-4) are on the road for the final time in November for the back end of their back-to-back against the Buffalo Sabres (7-9-4) at KeyBank Center on Friday night.
Last time out, the Blackhawks fell 3-2 to the Seattle Kraken at the United Center on Thursday, as they surrendered three unanswered goals in the third period to have their six-game point streak snapped. Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen each recorded two points, while Frank Nazar also extended his point streak to three games. Chicago has only two regulation losses in nine games in November, with both coming to the Kraken.
The Sabres are coming off a 6-2 beating at the hands of the lowly Calgary Flames in their most recent outing on Tuesday. Tage Thompson, the team’s leading goal scorer & point getter, and Mattias Samuelson were responsible for the two tallies against Calgary. With only 18 points through 20 games this season, Buffalo is currently dead last in the Eastern Conference. They are 3-5-1 in nine games during November.
Here’s everything to note before puck drops at 6:00 p.m. CT in Buffalo.
Blackhawks Regular Season Notes (Last Five Games)
The Blackhawks closed out their road trip with three consecutive wins after a 5-1 victory against the Detroit Red Wings. Connor Bedard momentarily jumped into the NHL lead in points after recording one goal and two assists at Little Caesars Arena.
Andre Burakovsky, Jason Dickinson, and Frank Nazar were all out with injuries, but the Blackhawks still managed to claw their way to a point in a 4-3 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils.
Clutch third-period goals from Teuvo Teravainen and Colton Dach lifted the Blackhawks to a 3-2 comeback win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, the Hawks lost captain Nick Foligno in the process, as he’s set to miss an extended period with a hand injury.
For the second time in 11 days, Connor Bedard carried the Blackhawks to victory over the Calgary Flames. Bedard, who wore an “A” as an alternate captain for the first time in his NHL career, recorded his second hat trick of the season in the 5-2 win.
After leading 2-0 through two periods, the Blackhawks surrendered three unanswered goals in the third to fall 3-2 to the Seattle Kraken. A controversial penalty call also had an impact on the outcome at the United Center.
Projected Blackhawks Lineup
Forward Lines
Ryan Greene — Connor Bedard – Tyler Bertuzzi
Teuvo Teravainen — Frank Nazar — Oliver Moore
Colton Dach — Ryan Donato — Ilya Mikheyev
Landon Slaggert — Sam Lafferty
Defensive Pairings
Alex Vlasic-Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser-Artyom Levshunov
Matt Grzelcyk-Connor Murphy
Sam Rinzel
Scratched
None
Injured
G — Laurent Brossoit (hip), F — Andre Burakovsky (undisclosed), F — Jason Dickinson (upper body), F — Nick Foligno (hand)
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Andre Burakovsky exited Thursday’s game early after taking a shoulder check to the head from Kraken defenseman Ryan Lindgren. Burakovsky wasn’t able to return to the game, and head coach Jeff Blashill already ruled him out against the Sabres.
Jason Dickinson remains on injured reserve, but there’s a chance he returns to the lineup in Buffalo. If he doesn’t play, Landon Slaggert will jump into a fourth-line spot after being scratched versus Seattle. Should Dickinson play, then Slaggert or Sam Lafferty is likely to be the lone extra.
Projected Sabres Lineup
Forward Lines
Josh Doan — Tage Thompson — Alex Tuch
Jason Zucker — Ryan McLeod — Jack Quinn
Tyson Kozak — Noah Ostlund — Isak Rosen
Jordan Greenway — Peyton Krebs — Beck Malenstyn
Defensive Pairings
Mattias Samuelsson-Rasmus Dahlin
Bowen Byram-Connor Timmins
Jacob Bryson-Owen Power
Scratched
F — Josh Dunne, G — Colten Ellis, D — Zach Metsa
Injured
F — Zach Benson (lower body), F — Justin Danforth (lower body), D — Michael Kesselring (lower body), F — Jiri Kulich (blood clot), F — Josh Norris (upper body)
Projected Goaltending Matchup
Arvid Soderblom (3-2-1, 2.52 GAA, .912 Sv%, 0 SO) vs. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (1-2-1, 3.02 GAA, .883 Sv%, 0 SO)
Soderblom is expected to make his seventh start of the season in net after Spencer Knight played in the front end of the back-to-back. The 26-year-old netminder has won each of his last two starts, stopping 64 of 67 shots combined. Soderblom is 0-2-1 with a 3.29 GAA and .901 Sv% in four career appearances against Buffalo.
Luukkonen is expected to make his fifth start of the year after being out since Nov. 13. UPL is 4-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA, .939 Sv%, and one shutout in four career outings against Chicago.
2024-25 Results vs. Sabres
Chicago dropped both meetings with Buffalo during the 2024-25 campaign, getting outscored 10-4 in the process. However, the Blackhawks are 17-7-2 over their last 26 games against the Sabres overall, and they also have a 6-4-2 record at KeyBank Center in the past 12 contests.
The second and final matchup of the 2025-26 season comes at the United Center on Apr. 13, which is the penultimate game of the year for the Blackhawks.
10/19/24 — 4-2 L, United Center
12/27/24 — 6-2 L, KeyBank Center
2025-26 Team Stats & Leaders
Chicago Blackhawks:
Goals — Connor Bedard (13)
Assists — Connor Bedard (16)
Points — Connor Bedard (29)
GF/GP — 3.30 (7th)
GA/GP — 2.55 (3rd)
PP% — 24.1% (9th)
PK% — 83.6% (7th)
FOW% — 46.6% (29th)
Buffalo Sabres:
Goals — Tage Thompson (10)
Assists — Rasmus Dahlin (13)
Points — Tage Thompson (18)
GF/GP — 2.85 (24th)
GA/GP — 3.55 (27th)
PP% — 16.4% (24th)
PK% — 89.8% (1st)
FOW% — 42.6% (32nd)
How To Watch, Listen, & Game Info
Chicago Blackhawks (10-6-4, 24 points) vs. Buffalo Sabres (7-9-4, 18 points)
6:00 p.m. CT — KeyBank Center
Head Coaches — Jeff Blashill (CHI), Lindy Ruff (BUF)
TV/Stream: CHSN (Ball/Pang), SN, MSG-B
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)
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