CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS NOTES:
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Sunday, Oct. 30 vs. MIN, 7:00 p.m. CT (NBCSCH, WGN Radio, Univision (Spanish))
Tuesday, Nov. 1 vs. NYI, 7:30 p.m. CT (NBCSCH+, WGN Radio, Univision (Spanish))
Thursday, Nov. 3 vs. LAK, 7:30 p.m. CT (NBCSCH, WGN Radio, Univision (Spanish))
Saturday, Nov. 5 at WPG, 2:00 p.m. CT (NBCSCH, WGN Radio)
Thursday, Nov. 10 at LAK, 9:30 p.m. CT (ESPN+/Hulu, WGN Radio)
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Oct. 27 – Placed Tyler Johnson (left ankle) on IR retroactive to Oct. 25 … Oct. 26 – Acquired Cooper Zech via trade with Philadelphia in exchange for Evan Barratt and assigned Zech to Rockford (AHL) … Acquired Cameron Hillis via trade with Montreal in exchange for Nicolas Beaudin and assigned Beaudin to Rockford (AHL) … Oct. 23 – Placed Petr Mrazek (groin strain) on IR retroactive to Oct. 21 … Oct. 21 – Recalled Arvid Soderblom from Rockford and assigned Alec Regula to Rockford … Activated Jake McCabe from IR … Oct. 18 – Assigned Alex Vlasic to Rockford … Oct. 14 – Activated Jason Dickinson from non-roster and reassigned Buddy Robinson to Rockford.
LAST TIME OUT
Score: Chicago (5) vs. Edmonton (6) – Thur., Oct. 27, United Center
CHI Goals: Athanasiou (2), R. Johnson (1), Toews (4), Domi (4), Kane (2)
EDM Goals: Hyman (4), McDavid (6), McDavid (7), Nugent-Hopkins (5), McDavid (8), Draisaitl (4)
Goalies: CHI – Stalock (32/38, 59:46) EDM – Campbell (31/36, 60:00)
CHI PP: 2/10; PK: 4/7
EDM PP: 3/7; PK: 8/10
Recap: The Blackhawks saw their four-game winning streak come to an end on Thursday night as the team fell to the Oilers, 6-5 at United Center … Patrick Kane shared the team lead with three points (1G, 2A) against Edmonton, extending his point streak to three games (2G, 5A) … Max Domi also shared the team lead with three points (1G, 2A) on Thursday and is now riding a four-game point streak (3G, 3A) … Jonathan Toews scored a power play goal to extend his point streak to three games (2G, 1A) … Reese Johnson lit the lamp against the Oilers for his first goal of the campaign … Taylor Raddysh tallied an assist and is currently riding a three-game point streak (1G, 2A) … Andras Athanasiou also scored a goal in Thursday’s contest and now has points in each of the last two (1G, 1A) and three of the last four games (2G, 1A).
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT – BUFFALO SABRES
Chicago travels to Buffalo to face the Sabres on Saturday in the first of two games scheduled between the clubs this season … The Blackhawks come into Saturday’s tilt having earned points in four of the last five games (3-1-1) against Buffalo and boast a 15-2-1 record in the last 18 games against them … Chicago has also earned points in each of the last two games at KeyBank Center (1-0-1) and in seven of the last eight (6-1-1) … Max Domi tallied four points (1G, 3A) in five games against Buffalo in 2021-22 and has logged seven points (2G, 5A) over his last eight games against them … Domi has recorded nine points (6G, 3A) in 10 career road games against the Sabres … Patrick Kane comes into Saturday’s tilt having registered points (3G, 7A) in five of his last six games against Buffalo, while he’s tallied 15 points (5G, 10A) in his last nine games against them … Kane has also notched points (7G, 6A) in eight of nine career road games against the Sabres … Andreas Athanasiou scored two goals in his only matchup against Buffalo last season and has three points (2G, 1A) in his last five games against them … Jonathan Toews enters Saturday’s game having logged points (5G, 7A) in nine of his last 10 games against the Sabres, including in three of his last four road games (2G, 2A) against them.
2022-23 Schedule/Results: HOME: Jan. 17| AWAY: Oct. 29
All-Time Record: 57-54-15 | Home: 37-19-7 | Road: 20-35-8
Last Home Win: Nov. 17, 2019 (4-1) | Last Road Win: Feb. 1, 2019 (7-3) | Last Home Loss: March 28,
2022 (5-6) | Last Road Loss: April 29, 2022 (2-3 OT)
BLACKHAWKS VS. EDM ALL-TIME
GOALS ASSISTS POINTS
GOALS: Stan Mikita, 15; Steve Larmer, 13; Patrick Kane/Jonathan Toews, 11
ASSISTS: Denis Savard, 27; Pit Martin, 22; Doug Wilson, 20
POINTS: Denis Savard, 37; Stan Mikita, 31; Pit Martin, 28
TEAM NOTES
ROCK YOU LIKE A HURRI-KANE: Patrick Kane registered three points (1G, 2A) on Thursday night against Edmonton … Kane extended his current point streak to three games (2G, 5A), all of which have been multi-point outings … With his two assists against the Oilers, Kane now has 756 helpers in his NHL career, passing Doug Weight (755) to move into fifth place on the League’s all-time list among U.S.-born players … The forward paces the Blackhawks with six assists and eight points (2G, 6A) in seven games this season.
TO THE MAX: Max Domi shared the team lead against the Oilers with three points (1G, 2A) on Thursday for his first three-point game since Dec. 11, 2021 at Seattle while with Columbus (2G, 1A) … With his points on Thursday, Domi extends his current point streak to four games (3G, 3A) … It marks his first streak of at least four games since the 2020-21 campaign when he also logged points in four-straight games (2G, 3A) from April 6 – 12 … Domi scored a power play goal in Thursday’s contest for his third goal with the man-advantage so far this season … His three power play goals so far in 2022-23 are currently tied for sixth in the NHL and lead the Blackhawks.
COMEBACK KIDS: The Blackhawks overcame a two-goal deficit in Sunday’s 5-4 win over the Kraken, marking the team’s third consecutive multi-goal comeback win … Chicago became the ninth team in NHL history to post three or more consecutive multi-goal comeback wins, and the first since Detroit did so during the 2018-19 season … Additionally, the Blackhawks are the fourth team in NHL history to overcome a multi-goal deficit in each of their first three wins of a season, joining St. Louis (3 GP in 2006-07), Detroit (3 GP in 1990-91) and the New York Islanders (3 GP in 1985-86).
LONG STORY SHORTHANDED: Jujhar Khaira scored his third career shorthanded on Sunday against Seattle … The Blackhawks have now scored a league-leading four shorthanded goals this season, all of which have come in the past three games … The team’s three-game streak of scoring a shorthanded goal ties the longest in franchise history, which has happened six times previously, most recently from Feb. 5 – 11, 2009 … Chicago is the first club to score a shorthanded goal in three-straight games since the Ottawa Senators accomplished the feat during the 2019-20 campaign … Sam Lafferty scored two shorthanded goals against the Sharks on Oct. 15 … He is just the seventh Blackhawks player since 1933-34 (when goals by type officially began being tracked) to score two shorthanded goals in a single period, joining Rene Bourque (Feb. 28, 2008), Patrick Sharp (Nov. 3, 2007), Steve Sullivan (Jan. 26, 2001), Rick Paterson (Jan. 16, 1985), Chico Maki (Dec. 9, 1970) and Pep Kelly (Dec. 26, 1940).
HARD HITTERS: The Blackhawks posted 29 hits in Thursday’s game against the Oilers, with Taylor Raddysh leading the way with five hits … Chicago has now posted 220 hits through the first seven games of the season for a 31.4 hits-per-game average, good for fourth in the NHL … The team notched 41 hits on Oct. 13 at Vegas with nine separate Blackhawks players registering at least three hits in the contest … This marks just the fourth time Chicago has had nine skaters post three-or-more hits in a single game since the NHL began tracking the stat in 2005-06, while the club has never had more than nine do so in a regular-season contest … Jarred Tinordi currently shares 11th in the NHL and leads the Blackhawks with 27 hits so far this season, while Jujhar Khaira ranks second with 20 hits.
(PENALTY) SHOT HEARD ‘ROUND THE WORLD: Forward Andreas Athanasiou scored a penalty shot goal on Friday night for his first goal of the season and his first in a Blackhawks sweater … He becomes the first player in franchise history to score his first career goal with the club on a penalty shot, while he’s the first NHL player to do so since Cole Bardreau with the New York Islanders on Nov. 5, 2019 … Athanasiou’s penalty shot goal is the first by a Blackhawks player since Jonathan Toews on March 11, 2019 vs. Arizona … It also marked the third penalty shot goal of Athanasiou’s career, as he’s tied for second among all active NHLers.
LET’S GET IT STARTED: Jason Dickinson picked up an assist on Tuesday against Florida … He scored the game-winning goal on Sunday, marking his first game-winner of the season … Dickinson is now tied for third on the Blackhawks with two goals, while he shares second on the squad with five points (2G, 3A) in four games so far this season … Dickinson made his Blackhawks debut on Oct. 15 at San Jose, registering three points (1G, 2A) … His three points in his debut is the second-most in franchise history behind Martin Havlat’s four-point performance (2G, 2A) in his first game with Chicago on Oct. 5, 2006 … Dickinson is the ninth player in franchise history to record at least three points in his first game in a Blackhawks sweater, and the first since Havlat’s four points in 2006-07 … Dickinson was acquired along with a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft via trade with Seattle in exchange for Riley Stillman on Oct. 7.
STICKS AND MILESTONES: Patrick Kane is one game shy of passing Brent Seabrook (1,114 GP) for third most in franchise history … Jonathan Toews is just four assists from 500 in his NHL career.
BUFFALO SABRES NOTES:
LAST GAME
Thursday, Oct. 27
Montreal 3 at Buffalo 2
Goals: Skinner, Cozens
Goalie: Comrie (31 saves/34 shots)
PP: 1/4; PK: 3/3; Shots: Buffalo 45 – Montreal 34
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 8)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Henri Jokiharju (Upper body, Oct. 22; IR) – 3 games
Mattias Samuelsson (Lower body, Oct. 25; IR) – 2 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
10/23: Recalled D Kale Clague from the Rochester Americans (AHL); Placed D Mattias Samuelsson on injured reserve
UPCOMING GAMES
Monday, Oct. 31: Detroit at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 2: Pittsburgh at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 4: Buffalo at Carolina, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 5: Buffalo at Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 8: Arizona at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
BLACKHAWKS at SABRES
• This is the first of two meetings between the Sabres and Blackhawks this season.
• Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Chicago 3-2 in overtime at home on April 29, 2022.
• Next meeting: Tuesday, Jan. 17 in Chicago
• The Sabres are 3-4-3 in their last 10 games against the Blackhawks; 4-5-1 at home.
• This is the 127th game all-time between Buffalo and Chicago; Buffalo has a 56-53-17 series record.
• The Sabres are 36-19-8 at home against the Blackhawks all-time.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
• A win tonight would give Buffalo three consecutive wins against Chicago for the first time since Dec. 3, 2003 to Dec. 7, 2007.
• With a goal in tonight’s game, Kyle Okposo would extend his goal streak against the Blackhawks to five games.
• A point in tonight’s game would give Okposo seven points in seven games against the Blackhawks as a member of the Sabres.
• Tage Thompson has recorded four points (2+2) in his last four games against Chicago.
• Dylan Cozens would match the longest goal streak of his career (three games, Nov. 27 to Dec. 2, 2021) with a goal in tonight’s game.
• Cozens owns three points (0+3) in two career games against the Blackhawks.
• A goal in tonight’s game would give Jeff Skinner 300 goals in his NHL career.
• There are currently 20 active players, and 211 all-time, with 300 or more goals scored in their respective careers.
• Alex Tuch has recorded 10 points (5+5) in his last nine games against Chicago, including three multi-point games in that span.
CHEAPER BY THE COZENS
• Dylan Cozens leads all Sabres skaters in goals scored while trailing in a game (3).
• Cozens ranks first among Sabres skaters in individual corsi for (13), individual scoring chances for (8), individual expected goals for (1.35) and individual high-danger scoring chances for (6), according to Natural Stat Trick.
• Cozens leads all Buffalo skaters in 5-on-5 goals scored per 60 minutes (2.26) and ranks second in 5-on-5 points per 60 minutes (3.02).
• Cozens is tied with Victor Olofsson for second in even-strength points (5) by a Sabres forward on the season, trailing only Alex Tuch (6).
IF YOU AIN’T FIRST, YOU’RE LAST
• Per NHL Stats, Rasmus Dahlin (No.1 overall in 2018) and Owen Power (No. 1 overall in 2021) are the second pair of defensemen selected first overall in their respective drafts to play together, and the first since Rob Ramage (No.1 overall in 1979) and Roman Hamrlik (No.1 overall in 1992) played 50 games together with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992-93.
• Paired together, Dahlin and Power rank second in corsi for (41) among Sabres defensive pairings, behind only the duo of Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson (49), according to Natural Stat Trick.
• According to Natural Stat Trick, Dahlin (102) and Power (86) rank first and second, respectively, among Sabres defensemen in on-ice scoring chances for.
JACK TO THE FUTURE
• Per Natural Stat Trick, with Jack Quinn on the ice for Buffalo, the Sabres’ expected goals for percentage is 61.05, higher than any other Buffalo skater.
• Despite not having recorded a goal in 2022-23 to this point in the season, Quinn has been on the ice for four goals for and has only been on the ice for one goal against, according to Natural Stat Trick.
WELCOME TO BUFFALO
The Sabres have three new players on their opening-day roster this season:
Player, Pos. How Acquired Pronunciation Notes
Eric Comrie, G Free agency KAWM-ree Among NHL goaltenders to play at least 10 games in 2021-22, Comrie ranked among the league leaders at 5-on-5 in save percentage (1st, .936), high-danger save percentage (6th, .863), goals saved above average per 60 minutes (2nd, .62) and high-danger goals saved above average per 60 minutes (6th, .31). Ilya Lyubushkin, D Free Agency lee-oo-BUHSH-kihn Set single-season career-highs in games played (77), goals (2), assists (13), points (15) and hits (187) after splitting the season between Arizona and Toronto last season. Riley Sheahan, C Free Agency SHAY-an Skated in his 600th NHL game on Feb. 9, 2022 vs. Arizona. Played in 53 games with Buffalo in 2020-21.
2022-23 ROSTER NOTES
Of the 24 players on Buffalo’s opening-night roster:
• 12 were drafted by the Sabres — five were first-round selections (Girgensons, 2012; Mittelstadt, 2017; Dahlin, 2018; Cozens, 2019; Quinn, 2020; Power, 2021), three were second-round picks (Asplund, 2016; Samuelsson, 2018; Peterka, 2020), one was a third-round pick (Fitzgerald, 2016), one was a fourth-round pick (Bryson, 2017) and one was a seventh-round pick (Olofsson, 2014).
• Six were acquired in trades: Bjork, Jokiharju, Krebs, Skinner, Thompson, Tuch
• Six were signed as free agents: Anderson, Comrie, Hinostroza, Lyubushkin, Okposo, Sheahan
• 21 played in Buffalo at some point last season: Anderson, Asplund, Bjork, Bryson, Cozens, Dahlin, Fitzgerald, Girgensons, Hinostroza, Jokiharju, Krebs, Mittelstadt, Okposo, Olofsson, Peterka, Power, Quinn, Samuelsson, Skinner, Thompson, Tuch
• One played for Buffalo previously: Sheahan
• Two are new to the Sabres this season: Comrie, Lyubushkin
HERE TO STAY
Four members of the Sabres’ organization signed multi-year contract extensions prior to the 2022-23 season:
• Kevyn Adams: Adams was named the ninth general manager in Buffalo Sabres franchise history on June 16, 2020. The 2022-23 season will mark his third as general manager and eighth overall with the franchise.
• Don Granato: Granato is currently in his fourth season with the Sabres and his second full season as head coach after serving as an interim head coach during part of the 2020-21 season and an assistant coach during the 2019-20 campaign.
• Tage Thompson: Thompson signed a seven-year extension worth $50 million with Buffalo on Aug. 30, 2022. In 2021-22, he became the first Buffalo skater since Thomas Vanek in 2006-07 to record 38 or more goals and 30 or more assists in a single season.
• Mattias Samuelsson: Samuelsson signed a seven-year extension worth $30 million with Buffalo on Oct. 12, 2022. He recorded NHL career highs in games played (42), assists (10), points (10) and shots on goal (44) during the 2021-22 season.
I AM THE CAPTAIN NOW
On Saturday, Oct. 8, Buffalo announced their captains for the 2022-23 season:
• Captain, Kyle Okposo: Okposo joined the Sabres organization prior to the 2016-17 season and has served as an alternate captain with Buffalo in each of the past five seasons. Has served as one of his team’s alternate captains in 12 of his previous 15 NHL seasons and this season will mark his first as a captain in the NHL.
• Alternate, Rasmus Dahlin: In 2021-22, Dahlin became the seventh Sabres defenseman ever to reach the 50-point plateau in a season. His 53 points represented the highest total by a Sabres defenseman since Garry Galley recorded 54 points in 1995-96. The 2022-23 season will mark the first time he has served as a full-time alternate captain.
• Alternate, Zemgus Girgensons: Drafted by the Sabres in the first round (14th overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft, Girgensons played in his 500th career NHL game as a Sabre on Nov. 6 vs. Detroit and became the 31st skater in Buffalo Sabres history to reach that milestone. He also served as an alternate captain in 2021-22.
