Sabres Carry Road Comfort Into a Winless-at-Home-Away Chicago Mismatch
Buffalo has been better away from home than in its own barn, while the Blackhawks are still hunting a first road win and a fresh start.
Written before the game
Buffalo walks into Chicago as the team creating more over the past ten games, and the gap between these clubs is wider than the Sabres' recent losses suggest.
Over their last 10 games, the Sabres have generated chances worth about 3.66 goals a night in expected goals (how many goals their chances were worth), and they've allowed nearly as much at the other end. That's an open, back-and-forth team, not a broken one. The Blackhawks have won just 1 of their last 10 and have generated far less at even attempt levels, while giving up more chances than Buffalo does.
The standings frame it. Buffalo is 8-7-3 with 19 points, holding the fourth wild-card spot in the East, and it has lost two straight. The Sabres are 4-1-3 on the road but only 4-6-0 at home, so a trip may suit them.
Chicago is 4-13-1, on a four-game skid, with a minus 37 goal difference. All four of its wins have come at the United Center, though, so home ice is the one place this group has found results. With the goaltending picture shifting and Buffalo missing Alex Lyon, the night may come down to which crease holds up in a game both teams play wide open.
