Buffalo, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Jonathan Toews scored to a break a third-
period tie and the Chicago Blackhawks edged the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 at First
Niagara Center.
Buffalo native Patrick Kane had the other Chicago goal and Corey Crawford made
20 saves as the Blackhawks topped the Sabres for the fifth straight time.
Drew Stafford lit the lamp for the Sabres, who had their home winning streak
snapped at three games. Jhonas Enroth was stellar in defeat with 29 saves.
"There's some good signs. When you're rebuilding you look for certain things,"
Sabres interim head coach Ted Nolan said. "Jhonas is one of those guys."
Toews finished off a nice passing sequence on a rush, firing home a feed from
Brandon Saad for the go-ahead tally with 1:34 gone in the third.
The Chicago captain then set up Andrew Shaw on an 2-on-1 break a few minutes
later, but Enroth turned the shot away with his right pad.
Crawford preserved the one-goal lead with a glove save on Brian Flynn, who
drew a hooking penalty with 5:32 remaining.
The Sabres couldn't convert on the power play and finished 0-for-5 with the
man advantage.
Kane opened the scoring wight a highlight-reel goal at the 3:12 mark of the
first period. With one hand on his stick, Kane managed to get around Buffalo
defenseman Christian Ehrhoff while maintaining control of the puck and ripped
a wrister top shelf from between the circles.
"It was nice to score early and settle down after that," said Kane. "It's a
big two points for us."
Stafford tied the game six minutes later. A trailing Cory Conacher, making his
Buffalo debut, took a pass from Tyler Ennis, faked a shot and threw the puck
toward the crease. Stafford was at the right post and put the puck into the
open net at 9:11.
Conacher, who played hockey at Canisius College in Buffalo, was claimed off
waivers Wednesday from Ottawa.
Game Notes
The Sabres have lost five straight in the series for the first time since
dropping the first five meetings between the clubs from Oct. 25, 1970-Feb. 17,
1971 ... Buffalo's last win over Chicago came Dec. 11, 2009 ... The Blackhawks
were also 0-for-5 on the power play.