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National Hockey League
Buffalo 3, Chicago 0
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 18, 2024
Where: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York
Referees: Brandon Blandina, Garrett Rank
Linesmen: Steve Barton, Brad Kovachik
Attendance: 15456

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen collected his second straight shutout and the Buffalo Sabres won consecutive home games for the first time this season with a 3-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.

Zemgus Girgensons, J.J. Peterka and Rasmus Dahlin scored for the Sabres in the game that was postponed one day due to the snowstorm in Buffalo.

Luukkonen made 19 saves to record his third career shutout, all coming this season. Ryan Johnson collected two assists as the Sabres have won three of four games and five of seven outings.

Having controlled play for the bulk of the game to that point, Girgensons finally cracked the scoreless deadlock at 12:27 of the second period with his fourth goal of the season. Girgensons was parked at the front of the net and deflected Johnson's long shot.

Peterka doubled the lead at 2:57 of the third period. From the corner of the rink, Peterka ripped a shot from below the goal line and banked his offering off Arvid Soderblom's mask and into the net for his 14th of the campaign.

Dahlin's power-play goal at 6:06 or the final frame during a major penalty assessed to Philipp Kurashev for boarding Erik Johnson made it a 3-0 affair. His point shot ricocheted off a defender's stick and into the net for his 13th goal of the campaign, tops among all NHL defensemen.

That was more than enough offense against a Chicago team that has scored one or fewer goals in regulation time in five consecutive games, and eight of its last 10.

Soderblom stopped 28 shots for the Blackhawks, who have only two victories in their last 11 games and were looking to win consecutive games for only the second time this season.

The Blackhawks are 4-19-1 on the road, where they've been outscored 74-27 during an 0-15-1 skid since beating the Lightning in Tampa Bay on Nov. 9.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Chicago   Buffalo
N/A Points Ryan Johnson 2
N/A Goals Rasmus Dahlin 1
N/A Assists Ryan Johnson 2
N/A Power Play Goals Rasmus Dahlin 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Arvid Soderblom .903 Save Percentage Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen 1.000
Arvid Soderblom 28 Saves Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen 19
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Chicago 19 0 0-4 5-6 15 22
Buffalo 31 3 1-6 4-4 10 17
Upcoming Games
  • Buffalo will play their next game at home against Tampa Bay. The Sabres have a W/L % of .158 after a win and .654 after a loss.
  • Chicago will play their next game at home against NY Islanders. The Blackhawks have a W/L % of .077 after a win and .375 after a loss.