BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 19 saves for his second consecutive shutout and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-0 on Thursday night in a game moved back a day because of snow.
Zemgus Girgensons, JJ Peterka and Rasmus Dahlin scored.
Luukkonen had his third career NHL shutout, also beating San Jose 3-0 on Monday. His best save came with 5:45 remaining when he stopped Reese Johnson from close range on a 2-on-1 opportunity.
āHeās a young goalie and a young guy that continues to get better every day through the right practices,ā Sabres coach Don Granato said. āHeās very adamant about making himself better. Heās using every experience that heās been given, every opportunity heās had over the last year to become better.ā
Arvid Soderblom made 28 saves for struggling Chicago. The Blackhawks have two victories in their last 11 games.
āWe just didnāt generate enough offense obviously with no goals,ā Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. āReally not enough offense to have a chance to win in this league. Weāve got to definitely try and do a better job to support our goaltending with some more goal support.ā
Girgensons opened the scoring with 7:33 remaining in the second period. He redirected a shot from defenseman Ryan Johnson in front of the net.
Peterka made it 2-0 at 2:57 of the third on a shot that came from behind the Chicago goal line. Peterkaās shot ricocheted off Soderblomās right shoulder into the net.
Blackhawks center Philipp Kurashev received a five-minute major for boarding 5:19 into the third following a dangerous hit that sent defenseman Erik Johnson into the boards head first.
Dahlin made it 3-0 on the ensuing power play, scoring at 6:06. Dahlinās long shot was deflected by Blackhawks defenseman Alex Vlasic into the Chicago net.
āWeāre playing with mojo right now,ā Dahlin said. āWeāre not afraid to make plays, and we back up each other if someone messes up. Weāre playing a good team game right now.ā
Dahlin received a unique penalty for the Sabres five minutes into the second period. As he prepared to exit the penalty box, Dahlin played the puck with his stick before his feet hit the ice - so the Sabres received a team penalty for bench interference.
UP NEXT:
Blackhawks: Host the New York Islanders on Friday night.
Sabres: Host Tampa Bay on Saturday.
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