Game 51
Buffalo Sabres (25-19-6) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (18-24-9)
Puck Drop: 7:00 PM | Key Bank Center | Buffalo, NY
TV: MSG-B, NSCH
Radio: WGR 550
SB Nation Blackhawks Blog: Second City Hockey
Know Your Opponent
Chicago Blackhawks
Record: (18-24-9) | 45 points
Last 10: 3-4-3
Division Ranking: 7th in the Central Division
Conference Ranking: 14th in the Western Conference
PP: 16th (20.1%)
PK: 31st (74.1%)
What to Watch
1. Home game stretch
The Sabres will be back on home ice in the first of seven home games this month. The team currently sits three points behind Columbus for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference and will be looking to edge closer with a win tonight. They have had a tough stretch as of late – losing six of their last 10. Fans will be looking for the team to start turning it back around.
2. Patrick Kane returns home
Kane returns to his hometown to face the Sabres in the pair’s first match-up since March 2018. He is shy just one point of hitting 900 NHL points in his already highly successful career. Kane has an impressive 71 points this season so far – 13 of which were recorded in his last five games.
3. First game for Blackhawks since before All Star break
After a very rough start to the season (with two separate eight-game losing streaks), the Blackhawks are hungry for any win they can get. Just before the league’s most recent ‘bye,’ the Blackhawks were gaining momentum with two big wins at home against playoff contending teams – the Washington Capitals and the New York Islanders. During the now second half of the season, they will be trying to make a nearly impossible run at a playoff spot.
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Jeff Skinner – Jack Eichel – Sam Reinhart
Conor Sheary – Casey Mittelstadt – Evan Rodrigues
Tage Thompson – Vladimir Sobotka – Jason Pominville
Zemgus Girgensons – Johan Larsson – Kyle Okposo
Defense
Jake McCabe – Rasmus Ristolainen
Rasmus Dahlin – Zach Bogosian
Marco Scandella – Lawrence Pilut
Starting Goaltender: Carter Hutton
Chicago Blackhawks
Forwards
Drake Caggiula – Jonathan Toews – Patrick Kane
Alex Debrincat – Dylan Strome – Dominik Kahun
Brandon Saad – David Kampf – Marcus Kruger
Chris Kunitz – Artem Anisimov – John Hayden
Defense
Duncan Keith – Brent Seabrook
Henri Jokiharju – Connor Murphy
Slater Koekkoek – Erik Gustafsson
Starting Goaltender: Cam Ward (unconfirmed)