Nazar Buries Two as Blackhawks Edge Sabres at Home
Buffalo fired more pucks, but Chicago's forward found the better ice and the Blackhawks snapped a four-game skid.
Frank Nazar didn't need many looks to sink Buffalo. He scored twice on five shots, and the chances behind those goals were genuine scoring looks, not fluky bounces, as Chicago won 3-2 in a game that needed extra time.
The Sabres had the puck heading toward the net more often, out-attempting Chicago 51-40. But volume isn't the same as danger. By expected goals -- how many goals a team's chances were worth based on where and how the shots came -- Chicago came out ahead, 2.37 to 2.04. Nazar alone generated the best looks of anyone on the ice, playing 18:48 alongside Patrick Kane and Oliver Moore.
Ryan Donato added the other Chicago goal, and Sam Rinzel set up two. At the other end, Spencer Knight stopped 21 of 23, turning aside all four of Buffalo's best chances. Tage Thompson and Owen Power scored for the Sabres, while Alex Lyon made 22 saves.
No posts, no crossbars, no hard-luck story. For a 4-13-1 club that had lost four straight, this one was earned.
