Blackhawks HC Jeff Blashill makes feelings known after Chicago's 9-3 collapse vs. Sabres

Chicago Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill shared his thoughts after his team was crushed 9-3 by the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night at KeyBank Center.

The loss marked the Blackhawks’ worst performance of the season so far and ended their impressive six-game point streak.

The result was not entirely unexpected, as Blashill had previously warned that ups and downs were inevitable with such a young and inexperienced roster. Reflecting on the defeat, he said (via Chicago Sun-Times):

“We have a lot of guys that have never been through the NHL schedule, so there’s going to be moments where they have to learn as they go. Part of it is learning that when you don’t have your best physically, you’ve still got to play good mentally.”

The Chicago Blackhawks have now lost back-to-back games. They currently sit fifth in the Central Division with a 10-704 record. The Hawks' next game is against the Colorado Avalanche (14-1-5) on Sunday at the United Center.

How Buffalo Sabres down the Chicago Blackhawks?

On Friday, the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 9-3 at KeyBank Center. The Sabres improved their record to 8-9-4 with the win.

Josh Doan opened the scoring for the Sabres, giving them a 1-0 lead at 13:57 of the first period. Jason Zucker made it 2-0 at 15:19 before Bowen Byram’s power-play goal put Buffalo ahead 3-0 at 17:33. Tyler Bertuzzi pulled one back for the Blackhawks to make it 3-1 heading into the second period.

In the second period, two quick goals from Ryan McLeod and Mattias Samuelsson extended the Sabres’ lead to 5-1. At 14:45, Alex Vlasic cut the deficit to 5-2 for Chicago. With fewer than three minutes remaining in the period, Josh Doan increased Buffalo’s lead to 6-1.

Just 24 seconds into the third period, Bertuzzi scored his second goal on the power play to make it 6-3. The Sabres then pulled away with three unanswered goals from Tage Thompson, Jack Quinn, and Jacob Bryson, sealing a convincing victory for Buffalo.

Alex Tuch notched four points, while Jason Zucker contributed three points for the Sabres in the win.