The Sabres knew the Blackhawks had an early morning flight because of the NHL’s travel restrictions during the holiday break. That left an already beatable team more prone to start slow. Buffalo took advantage with a 12-4 advantage in scoring chances in the first period, according to Natural Stat Trick.

The Buffalo Sabres picked up their second straight win, crushing the Chicago Blackhawks on home ice to the tune of 6-2.

Playing that defense first is going to cause us to get some turnovers and some odd-man rushes, that we were able to capitalize on tonight and it was the key to our game tonight." The Sabres uncharacteristically were able to get some balanced scoring throughout their lineup,

Alex Tuch and Zach Quinn scored 15 seconds apart to make the score 3-0. Then Connor Bedard fumbled the puck with less than a minute left in the first, which led to a final rush for the Sabres. Dylan Cozens made it 4-0. They were firing on all cylinders and cycling, which made the Blackhawks uncomfortable all period.