The Sabres knew the Blackhawks had an early morning flight because of the NHL’s travel restrictions during the holiday break. That left an already beatable team more prone to start slow. Buffalo took advantage with a 12-4 advantage in scoring chances in the first period, according to Natural Stat Trick.

The NHL's travel rules did the Hawks no favors Friday, but the team looked utterly unready to play in a 6-2 defeat — during which they fell behind 4-0 in the first period.

What a difference a win makes. The second sellout crowd of the season at KeyBank Center erupted into the wave and sang along in unison throughout a jubilant third period. And there wasn’t an inflatable palm tree or frown-faced paper bag in sight.

The Chicago Blackhawks and the Buffalo Sabres met for the second time this season, and both teams are in the bottom three of the standings, so it wasn’t meant to be a barn burner… or so people thought.

The Buffalo Sabres are back from the three-day NHL holiday break to host the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. Visiting teams were not allowed to travel on Thursday, so the Blackhawks left for Buffalo Friday morning.