The Chicago Blackhawks face the Buffalo Sabres with both teams off to promising starts to the season. The Blackhawks were expected to finish the season with one of the league's worst records but are off to a 4-3 start. The Sabres meanwhile are 4-3 but are looking to bounce back after two consecutive losses. Both teams are looking to improve in their divisions and build off strong starts and the upcoming game should be a great one as a result.
The Blackhawks are off to a strong start to the season led by an offense that is scoring 3.57 goals per game including 23 goals in their last five games. Patrick Kane and Max Domi have scored six goals and nine assists to lead the top line but the rest of the offense has also stepped up. Jonathan Toews, Jason Dickenson, and Sam Lafferty have combined for eight goals and seven assists while Taylor Raddysh, Andreas Athanasiou, and Philipp Kurashev have added six goals and seven assists to the backend of the forward unit, making the Blackhawks offense tough to stop.
The offense has been great but the defense has struggled, allowing 3.29 goals per game. Seth Jones and Connor Murphy have led the top pairing but the rest of the defense has struggled, allowing opponents to find open shots on the net at will. In addition, goaltender Alex Stalock has struggled in the net with a .913 save percentage and a 3.00 goals-against average on 150 shots.