Buffalo Sabres at Chicago Blackhawks
· National Hockey League
Thompson stars as Sabres clinch Atlantic title with a 5-1 victory over Blackhawks
Alex Tuch had a goal and an assist as Buffalo (50-23-8) posted its fourth consecutive win. Ryan McLeod and Josh Norris also scored, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 15 saves.
Buffalo earned its first division title since the 2009-10 season and seventh overall. It reached 50 wins for the third time in franchise history, also accomplishing the feat in 2005-06 and 2006-07.
The Sabres were in the mix for the top spot in the Eastern Conference before Carolina secured the position by earning a point in a shootout loss at Philadelphia.
Ryan Greene scored for Chicago (28-39-14), and Spencer Knight made 21 saves. The last-place Blackhawks dropped to 7-17-7 in their last 31 games.
The game was tied at 1 before Thompson scored from the low slot 13 minutes into the second after stealing the puck from Blackhawks defenseman Louis Crevier.
Shortly after Buffalo killed off a 5-on-3 power play in the third, Tuch got a stretch pass from Rasmus Dahlin and finished the breakaway for a 3-1 lead. It was Tuch's third goal in four games and No. 32 on the year.
Thompson scored again at 11:13 on a one-timer off a pass from Dahlin. Thompson has three seasons with at least 40 goals, including a career-high 47 in the 2022-23 season.
Chicago jumped in front on Greene's short-handed goal 3:58 into the first. Greene also scored during Saturday's 5-3 loss to St. Louis, stopping a 12-game drought.
Norris responded with his 12th goal for Buffalo, beating Knight over the goaltender's right shoulder with 58 seconds left in the first. Norris has two goals and six assists in his last seven games.
BUF wins series 2-0
Scoring Summary
 |
Goal | 1st Period 3:58 | Ryan Greene Goal (11) Wrist Shot, assists: Ilya Mikheyev (18) |
 |
Goal | 1st Period 19:02 | Josh Norris Goal (12) Wrist Shot, assists: Josh Doan (27) |
|
Goal | 2nd Period 13:00 | Tage Thompson Goal (39) Wrist Shot, assists: Alex Tuch (33) |
|
Goal | 3rd Period 5:38 | Alex Tuch Goal (32) Wrist Shot, assists: Rasmus Dahlin (54), Logan Stanley (17) |
|
Goal | 3rd Period 11:13 | Tage Thompson Goal (40) Slap Shot, assists: Rasmus Dahlin (55), Jason Zucker (21) |
|
Goal | 3rd Period 18:35 | Ryan McLeod Goal (14) Wrist Shot, assists: Zach Benson (29), Owen Power (19) |
Statistics
 BUF |
 CHI |
|
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Blocked Shots | 8 |
| 20 | Hits | 8 |
| 8 | Takeaways | 2 |
| 26 | Shots | 16 |
| 0 | Power Play Goals | 0 |
| 2 | Power Play Opportunities | 5 |
| 0.0 | Power Play Percentage | 0.0 |
| 0 | Short Handed Goals | 1 |
| 0 | Shootout Goals | 0 |
| 31 | Faceoffs Won | 25 |
| 55.4 | Faceoff Win Percent | 44.6 |
| 12 | Giveaways | 23 |
| 5 | Total Penalties | 2 |
| 10 | Penalty Minutes | 4 |
Chicago Blackhawks Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Mangiapane, LW | Out | Apr 15 |
| Matt Grzelcyk, D | Out | Mar 31 |
| Artyom Levshunov, D | Out | Mar 31 |
| Ryan Ellis, D | Injured Reserve | Jan 8 |
| Shea Weber, D | Injured Reserve | Sep 30 |
Buffalo Sabres Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Justin Danforth, RW | Injured Reserve | May 20 |
| Jiri Kulich, C | Injured Reserve | May 19 |
| Noah Ostlund, C | Out | May 3 |
