BUFFALO, N.Y. — Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Bowen Byram wasn’t present for his Buffalo Sabres homecoming Saturday night, but forwards Patrick Kane and Jordan Greenway were in the lineup for the finale of a season-opening three-game trip.
Greenway, who played in Buffalo the last three-plus seasons, received a brief but warm cheer from fans in his return to the KeyBank Center. Kane, not so much.
The Sabres faithful feel the right wing spurned them by re-signing with the Hawks instead of his hometown team as a free agent in the offseason. And they let him hear it Saturday, booing the 37-year-old every time he touched the puck.
Despite the animosity, Kane still loves his Buffalo teams.
“From the outside, I’m always rooting for the city, whether it’s the Bills or even the Sabres last year in the playoffs,” Kane said at the morning skate. “They had a great run, win a playoff round and probably should have won the second round too. (I’m) always cheering them on.”
The Sabres showed Kane what he’s missing, rallying for a 4-3 win to keep the Hawks winless on the season.
The Hawks (0-3-0) were unable to hold a 3-2 third-period lead in dropping their seventh straight in the series. The Sabres have earned at least one point in the last 11 meetings.
Despite a better overall effort than the first two losses — 5-2 in Las Vegas in the opener followed by a 6-0 pummeling in Salt Lake City — the Hawks come limping home without a point before their Tuesday matchup against the St. Louis Blues at the United Center.
“I thought our compete and our swagger was way better. That’s the standard that we want to play with,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “You’re going to make mistakes and you want to learn and grow, and that’s what we’ll focus on.”
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The Hawks‘ biggest flaw thus far has been their defense against rushes. Saturday was the same story — the Sabres’ tying and winning goals were set up by breakaways, with plenty of rush shots on goal included.
Both teams committed penalties in the third period, resulting in 1 minute, 53 seconds of 4-on-4 hockey. Kane was patient in trying to create a chance, wrapping around the net looking to pass to a teammate. But that patience cost him when he floated the puck into an empty space, leading to center Jiri Kulich’s go-ahead goal with 6:40 to play.
“We were probably out there a little bit long,” Blashill said of the play. “Nice if we could have got a change instead of coming back and having to defend tired like that … (but) again, that’s part of the growth. We’ve got to continue to get better.”
First periods were a nightmare for the Hawks at Vegas and Utah — they were outscored a combined 4-0 in the first 20 minutes of those games. They flipped the script Saturday with goals from Ryan Donato and Tyler Bertuzzi.
Anton Frondell — who had two primary assists — collected a pass from Teuvo Teräväinen, then tapped the puck to Bertuzzi for the 2-0 lead.
“It’s hard to say (how I did) after the loss. All you want to do is win,” Frondell said. “But tried to help the team my way and felt like me, (Bertuzzi) and (Teräväinen) had some good plays today.”
The Hawks scored only one more goal: Oliver Moore’s first of the season late in the second period gave them a 3-2 lead. They finished with just 15 shots on goal in 38 attempts. The Sabres had 28 shots on goal in 64 attempts.
Byram, acquired in a late June trade after spending the last two-plus seasons in Buffalo, didn’t play against his former team as he attended to a family matter. Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro filled in for the defenseman, while Artyom Levshunov led the top power-play unit.
The pair struggled, both finishing with a minus-2 rating and allowing a flurry of scoring chances. Blashill liked what he saw from Del Mastro.
“I thought (Del Mastro) had a good game.” Blashill said. “I thought (he) played with some swagger out there. Nobody’s going to be perfect, but I thought he had a good game.”
The coach did not comment on Korchinski’s performance.
Alex Vlasic regained his No. 1 defenseman role with Byram out of the lineup. The 25-year-old delivered with a plus-3 rating and two assists.
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“We started off playing the way we wanted to,” Vlasic said. “We need to do a better job of maintaining that level of compete, speed and detailed hockey throughout the course of the game.”
Their next chance for a win will come in Tuesday’s home opener against the Blues. It will be Kane’s first regular-season game in a Hawks sweater at the United Center since he was traded in February 2023.
“I think (we have) the best atmosphere in the league — one of — and the best fans in the league,” Vlasic said. “It’s going to be good to get back there and get them on our side.
“We definitely need them showing up. They always do. It’s going to be a blast heading back. We’re looking forward to playing in front of the crowd.”